THE last-ditch plan by Wales' premier clubs to involve five and not four teams in the top flight from next season is doomed to failure, say sources close to the clubs and the Welsh Rugby Union.

The WRU last night delayed recommending four provincial sides to represent Wales in the Heineken Cup and Celtic League next season after clubs put forward their first concrete proposal for five.

The clubs and the WRU will now have further meetings to try to put flesh on the bones of the plan before another meeting of the WRU general committee next Thursday.

At that meeting a final recommendation for four or five regional sides will be made and put to the EGM of all 239 Welsh clubs on February 23.

But a leading premier club source today expressed surprise that the Union had agreed a delay. Both he and a Union insider said they believed the club plan was doomed to failure and that there would be four teams, prefered by the Union, at the top next season.

And one club, Bridgend, are already rocking the boat over their proposed combination with Pontypridd under the clubs' proposal.

Less than 24 hours after agreeing to the clubs' plan for five teams, where Bridgend would join together with Pontypridd, Brewery Field owner Leighton Samuel wants to back-track.

It is believed that millionaire businessman Samuel wants to continue with an agreement his club and Neath manufactured earlier this season to combine.

That would be fine for the Moffett plan but blow the clubs' idea out of the water as, in that proposal, Neath are due to move in with Swansea.

It all adds credibility to views made by the premier club insider that the counter proposal to Moffett's scheme is likely to fall flat.

The insider said: "I wouldn't hold your breath on the five clubs plan," said one source.

"For a start it involves sums of money which the Union have yet to come up with. It's pie in the sky.

"I believe the reason for the Union's decision to delay things a week is not so much for the clubs to flesh out their proposals but for the Union to have another week to get them to realise the four-team proposal is the one and that a five team plan won't work.

"The bottom line is the WRU know it's going to be four."

Both plans involve a combined Newport/Ebbw Vale side representing Gwent and a Union source said that was set in stone as both Newport backer Tony Brown and Ebbw Vale counterpart Marcus Russell have indicated.

Meanwhile, though the Welsh clubs are expected to support whichever plan is put forward, there appears to be a growing concern among First Division sides and others over their position next season.

Underpinning the regional (provincial) structure will be a semi-professional Premier League of between ten and 14 clubs, expected to be funded to the tune of only around £40,000.

First Division clubs and below will revert to amateur status and more are getting worried they could go the way of Oakdale, forced to disband this season when they stopped paying players who promptly left.

WRU chief executive David Moffett acknowledges it is perhaps more important to get the structure below the provincial set-up right. "This is where our future professional stars are going to come from," he said.

Moffett added: "After numerous meetings yesterday with the clubs, benefactors and the WRU general committee, we put forward a recommendation for the way forward which involved four teams, regionally based.

"As a result of subsequent meetings the benefactors had, for the very first time the clubs came back with a unanimous view which involved five teams.

"It was put to us in very broad terms just before we met with the general committee, so we were unable to have a full discussion about the option.

"The committee decided to meet again in a week's time, when we will present the two options, and on February 23 we will call the EGM. So the clock is ticking."

He added: "If we go down from nine to five or nine to four clubs that's a substantially better position than we are in today.

But he admitted he would need a lot more information about the clubs' proposal.

He said: "I have said that I believe four is the way forward from the standpoint of the amount of available talent and the finances available."

In that respect the WRU remain £59m in debt (£50m to Barclays Bank and £9m to BT) but claim they have an asset in the Millenn-ium Stadium worth £350m which they will not sell.

Moffett said: "I am confident next year's finances are going to be in good shape. Barclays Bank are impressed with what we're doing."