WELSH Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies believes the coronavirus crisis should lead to a streamlining of the sport's calendar.

The WRU cancelled all of its competitions last month because of the pandemic, which has led to all nations bracing for a huge financial hit.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said that the crisis had highlighted "fault lines" in the sport and predicted it would lead to action on the much talked about schedule.

With rugby in lockdown and needing solutions, Davies has urged nations to grasp the opportunity to finally address their issues.

"As Welsh rugby rallies round, the world game has also been galvanised by the current health crisis," wrote Davies, a member of the World Rugby Council, in the WRU's weekly update to clubs.

"We are all acutely aware that, from present adversity new opportunity could, and very much should, be born.

"Streamlining our playing calendar and balancing up the need for revenue generation while focusing on player welfare, has long been an issue facing our sport.

"It's a conundrum we must resolve and we need each other now more than ever in order to do so.

"All rugby playing nations should now realise the full extent to which we are interdependent.

"We will strive to work together through this crisis and the end result should be a truly global international calendar, which filters down through our respective national domestic leagues."

South Wales Argus:

The WRU's competitions for 2019/20 have been cancelled while the Guinness PRO14 is suspended indefinitely and the knockout stages of European tournaments have been postponed.

"There has been much speculation about where the game will go next, when it will start again and what state it will be in when it does. We are planning for every scenario and we will be ready," wrote Davies.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that, when we get to the other side of the current hiatus, the world game rises fitter, stronger and more united than it has ever been.

"Our source of strength will be our clubs and our community game and we will beat this thing together."

The WRU have prioritised flood funding for 20 clubs who were badly affected by Storm Dennis with £51,000 of the £100,000 allocated.