NEVER has there been so much uncertainty in rugby since the game went professional in 1995.

Players, administrative staff and supporters are all waiting for answers about their future.

In the case of players and staff, it is jobs which are on the line, while the people who help pay their wages by buying season tickets or turning up to watch want to know what they'll be watching next season.

They will all have to wait weeks for answers, until at least February 23 when an extraordinary meeting of all 239 WRU clubs votes on the radical plans put forward by new group chief executive David Moffett (pictured).

Top players like Shane Howarth, Simon Raiwalui and Rod Snow are anxiously waiting to know if they have any future in Wales, while Welsh players want to know if they will earn a contract for a provincial side if the Moffett plan is accepted.

The idea is for a small number of overseas players to be retained, perhaps three per side, but for a player like Raiwalui, who is out of contract, there may not be a future here.

All he, and others like Howarth and Snow who have a year to run on their contracts, can do is wait.

But if a player out of contract is able to get fixed up with a decent contract in another country, then no one can blame him for moving on.

Coaches and staff face a similar wait until they learn whether they will still be able to pay the mortgage next year. Some have contracts which will be honoured, but others face the dole.

Similarly, there will be room under the Moffett plan for only one chief executive and one team manager. Some are going to be unlucky.

Moffett is this week drawing up the criteria for the franchise bid, with all the smaller clubs waiting to see what role they have to play.

So the likes of Pontypool, Newbridge, Cross Keys and Blackwood, as well as the Abercarns, Crumlins, Chepstows and Talywains, are all waiting to learn of their role in the Gwent provincial side.

And the fans are in the same boat.

They want answers: What top class rugby can I watch next season?

Will there be a Newport or Ebbw Vale at the top level?

Where will a Gwent team play if it is to be provincial?

What will the team be called?

What colours will they wear?

The whole of Welsh rugby is waiting for answers.