HAVING the services of a world class player for a few more games isn't a bad consolation prize but there are no winners in the Taulupe Faletau transfer saga.

On Tuesday the Welsh Rugby Union wrote to Newport Gwent Dragons denying them the chance to sell their star number eight to Bath now rather than seeing him leave for nothing in the summer.

So the Rodney Parade region lose out financially and Faletau is temporarily denied the chance for a fresh start, chasing silverware in a terrific league.

It's the 'temporarily' part that really grates, it will be a real shock if he doesn't end up at the Rec next season and both he and the Dragons miss out.

The region are not allowed to flog him for a six-figure sum and I'd urge them to flog him physically to get value for money over the remaining seven months of his contract, a period that includes the Six Nations.

I have no doubt that Faletau will be a true pro despite his disappointment. There is no danger of him doing a Pierre van Hooijdonk, the Dutch striker who went on strike after becoming disillusioned with Nottingham Forest's transfer activity and their refusal to sell him.

Taulupe has always been willing to play for the Dragons fresh from Test commitments and has turned out 71 times over the past four seasons. He won't invent injuries to avoid playing for his club while staying fresh for the Six Nations.

However, it would be a surprise if he makes more than 15 appearances this season, a tally that will probably cost his home region around £20,000 per game taking into account lost transfer fee and wages.

There is, of course, the perennial question about the ambition of the Dragons board and the money recouped from the sale would have had to be ploughed back into the squad rather than simply disappearing under sundries.

The Dragons are well-stocked in back row with both experienced and burgeoning talent and if they could re-jig things to bring in, for example, another fly-half to aid in the development of Jack Dixon, Tyler Morgan and Hallam Amos then everyone would be a winner.

Instead a reported £150,000 has gone down the drain because a business has been unable to be in control of its own financial destiny.

The Dragons didn't come to the decision to accept Bath's offer lightly, they weighed it all up and decided it was economically prudent to give the go-ahead.

The WRU promptly put the kibosh on that and the board at Rodney Parade, after fighting hard to get the green light, had no desire to push things further and risk sanctions.

Along with the financial element of a move being for best is the human aspect – Faletau has been a terrific servant to the Dragons (and Welsh rugby) and a move to Bath is a good fit for a good bloke.

At times the back rower is perceived to be like a shopping trolley that won't function beyond a short radius of home. That's a tad harsh but the proximity of Bath to Pontypool undoubtedly suits the 24-year-old, who has shown signs of coming out of his shell recently.

His motivation for moving isn't money, he wants to develop his game and going to Bath, playing Champions Cup rugby and pushing for the English title, will see him flourish if he can wrestle the jersey off Leroy Houston.

Yet that can all wait another eight months or so.

It will be nice to give Faletau a good Rodney Parade send-off and hopefully enjoy some more magical moments, yet it's a ludicrous situation to have a player playing for a club who'd rather he was elsewhere at the behest of another organisation.