CHAOS has ensued regarding the proposed merger between Ospreys and Scarlets to make room for a new rugby region in the north.

The Welsh Rugby Union announced the plans as part of Project Reset, which would see the two rivals joined as one as early as next season.

A meeting was held between the newly formed Professional Rugby Board on Tuesday, which began with the resignation of Ospreys chairman Mike James due to the “catastrophic mismanagement” of the situation from the governing body’s power-brokers.

The region also claimed it was not on the verge of a merger with the Scarlets in a statement, stating: "The instability created by PRB’s chaotic approach to its own imposed restructuring criteria has been the height of recklessness at its worst and incompetent management at its best - an approach which has resulted in wild conjecture, hostility and uncertainty in the regional game."

This claim has been refuted by the PRB in a statement of their own, which claimed that a Heads of Terms for the merger was formally agreed between all parties on St David’s Day.

It read: “Members of the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) - the chairmen of the regions, and the WRU - have been meeting for 15 months and formally since the new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA), signed by all parties, came into effect on the January 31, 2019.

“The new PRA has brought in the rigour, transparency and accountability required to make the decisions necessary to take the game in Wales forward.

“A central component of the proposal was a merger between the Scarlets and Ospreys. The PRB were advised Heads of Terms for the merger had been reached between the two regions on Friday (March 1).

“The PRB would like to make clear that the statements issued today by the Ospreys do not reconcile with the minuted meetings, actions and documented agreements that have taken place to date.

“The PRB support the principle of the proposed merger, not least because it is in keeping with the overall strategic direction agreed in planning sessions attended and agreed by the entire PRB in January.”

Should a region in the area be confirmed, it would be another massive boost for rugby in North Wales, with the game going from strength-to-strength thanks in no small part to the supreme rise to prominence of RGC 1404.

They have risen to the Principality Premiership and also scooped the WRU National Cup in 2017, building a strong Academy system and boosting participation through various community related initiatives at youth level.

The radical changes have also been met with concern by Welsh senior squad members, with many plying their trade for the two merging regions.