THE Welsh Rugby Union have no intention of selling the Millennium Stadium to help ease their crippling £70m debt.

In fact, the WRU are believed to be on the verge of knocking £20m off their debt in one go if they bring off an audacious financial coup this year.

It is understood they are in talks with both Barclays Bank and BT about the naming rights for the stadium.

The stadium could be renamed the Barclays Bank-BT Stadium by the end of the year, just as major grounds in Australia are called Telstra after their tele-communications giants.

A multi-million pound sponsorship deal is on the cards and naming rights to the Millennium Stadium could be worth around £20m.

That would not only wipe out a major part of the Union's debt, but would also more than offset the loss of the FA Cup final returning to the new Wembley Stadium.

WRU group chief executive David Moffett has again repeated that the union have no intention of selling the stadium, which many people have called for.

A consortium led by former Wales wing JJ Williams are believed to be mounting a bid worth around £100m to buy the stadium which would not only wipe out the WRU's debut, but leave them with a surplus to help run the entire game in Wales.

But Moffett insists the union are not interested in selling. Instead they are pressing ahead with major sponsorship deals, having already secured a new jersey backer.

After staging a major pop concert this summer, there are now plans to cordon off sections of the stadium to cater for more major events, but with a smaller capacity.

One idea which is proceeding is to cordon off sections of the ground with a huge curtain which would enable an event with perhaps a 40,000 capacity to go ahead rather than the full 70,000.

* Jonathan Davies, the former Wales rugby union and rugby league star, has backed the Newport Gwent Dragons appointment of former Australia league coach Chris Anderson as their new coach, which is still subject to a work permit being granted.

Davies played under Anderson for Sydney-based Canterbury Bulldogs and he said, "He is one of the best coaches I've played under in both codes, if not the very best."