The 1998–99 rebel season in rugby union occurred when two clubs affiliated to the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Cardiff RFC and Swansea RFC, refused to play in the WRU-sanctioned Welsh Premier Division that season and instead opted to play friendly matches against clubs from the English Premiership. The two clubs' position came about after the WRU rejected requests by the club to pursue changes to the league structure in Welsh club rugby and in particular to set up a cross-border league involving other clubs in Britain, and the two clubs refused to sign up to a loyalty agreement with the WRU committing them to the current league setup.
The two clubs were removed from Wales' entry into the 1998–99 Heineken Cup and would later be fined £150,000 each by the WRU for three breaches of their regulations. The English Rugby Football Union (RFU) didn't sanction the rebel games, but were accused by rugby union's world governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), of not doing enough to prevent the fixtures taking place and had £60,000 of IRB funding withdrawn.
At the end of the season, an agreement was reached between the two clubs and the Welsh Rugby Union that allowed for their return to the Welsh Premier Division, with clauses that would allow them to leave the Welsh league and join the English Premiership in the event a cross-border British league was not set-up by the 2000–01 season. Despite this league not coming to fruition, the two clubs did not exercise their right to leave and remained in the Welsh structure.
Background
Cardiff RFC and Swansea RFC had both been members of the Welsh Premier Division since the formation of the league system in Wales in September 1990. Informal talks had taken place around an Anglo-Welsh league, containing Cardiff, Swansea, Neath and Llanelli, as early as 1993, with the public support of then-Wales coach Alan Davies. In August 1995, rugby union became a professional game, which allowed payment or benefits to be made to players. Following the change to professionalism, several of the clubs playing in the Premier Division began experiencing financial difficulties. Llanelli RFC sold their ground, Stradey Park, to the WRU in 1997 to raise money, Neath RFC were taken over by a WRU-owned subsidiary Gower Park Ltd. in May 1998. Pontypridd RFC and Bridgend RFC were also in financial difficulties.
Against this backdrop, the WRU wished to have clubs in the Premier Division sign 10-year loyalty agreements. These four page agreements would see the clubs assured of their places in the top-flight of the league system for the duration of the agreement, in exchange for their commitment to remain playing in the league system. However, both Swansea and Cardiff saw insufficient returns available from the Welsh league, and refused to sign up to the loyalty agreements, instead suggesting the setup of a British league involving four clubs from Wales, the clubs that comprised the top division in England and two Scottish regional sides; Edinburgh and Glasgow. This proposal was supported by both the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the clubs that comprised the top two divisions in England, but was rejected by the WRU, owing to ongoing legal action between the RFU and English clubs over commercial rights, and the ongoing legal action taken by Cardiff. The WRU reiterated their requirement that Cardiff and Swansea sign up to the loyalty agreement in order to continue participating in the Premier Division and the European Cup.
Confirmation of Breakaway
Eight days before the 1998–99 Premier Division was due to start, Swansea and Cardiff released a statement that confirmed their position that they would play friendly matches against English clubs rather than participate in the Welsh Premier Division. The two clubs had organised to play each of the 14 teams of the English Premiership on a home and away basis, with the matches scheduled alongside the Premiership so that each weekend of the season, 12 of the English clubs played league matches while two clubs would have a free weekend in the league to allow them to play the two Welsh clubs. The two clubs sold the television coverage rights to the matches themselves, with the BBC acquiring the rights. By contrast, the rights to cover the Premier Division fixtures were held by HTV and S4C.