THE Premier Welsh rugby clubs will have their funding slashed if they reject the WRU's plan for five teams from next season.

The nine leading clubs were given until 5pm today to respond to the five-team plan put to the WRU by group chief executive David Moffett (pictured) and agreed by the board on Wednesday.

The clubs were meeting at Bridgend this morning amid early indications they will reject the deal, as revealed by Ebbw Vale director Paul Russell in yesterday's Argus.

The financial offer to the five teams is for £7.5m, but the clubs insist they need £8m to run the five regions, though the letter from Moffett says the WRU offer is a guaranteed sum.

But the figure is less than the £8.1m the nine Premier clubs receive now, though amounts differ on a meritocracy basis.

The clubs have been informed that if they do not accept the offer on the table Moffett will drastically cut their funding.

He will announce that the status quo of nine clubs will remain and that their funding will be slashed from around the £800,000 a club they receive now to a figure of about £500,000, or a total of £4.62m.

Moffett will do that by referring to the loyalty agreements under which some clubs like Llanelli have threatened to take the WRU to court.

Moffett claims the WRU have been paying clubs more than they have needed to under the terms of the agreements.

He plans to rein that money in if there is no agreement on the five-team structure.

The clubs finally received their letters from Moffett late yesterday informing them of the details of the five-team structure passed on Wednesday. That informed them of the £7.5m funding available.

The clubs could at the 11th hour decide to accept the guaranteed sum or throw the deal out.

Another meeting between the clubs and Moffett has been arranged for Monday.

And with the European deadline set for next Wednesday the heat is really on.