WELSH rugby's First Division clubs will be furious when they study the long-awaited Sir Tasker Watkins' report on the future of the game.

It is being circulated among all the WRU clubs in the next 48 hours and will be discussed by the WRU general committee tonight. But it is believed one of the proposals is to cut funding to the First Division clubs, which include Pontypool, Newbridge, Cross Keys, Blackwood and Bedwas, from £97,000 to just £9,000 a year.

Watkins' committee firmly believe that rugby under top level should revert to a near amateur status, and the only other way First Division clubs would receive financial support would be if they met strict criteria for development like under-21s and facilities. Already Aberavon, who were not promoted despite winning the First Division title at the end of last season, are taking legal action against the WRU.

And Pontypool benefactor Bob Jude is writing to the WRU this week complaining bitterly about the way they are running the game. He is particularly angry about their concentration on an elite group of clubs when they are supposed to be a union.

The Watkins report is understood to be heavily in favour of the future of the game at top level being club-based, not transferring to regions, though not coming down on a firm number of clubs.

A major part of the report will concentrate on reform of the WRU, not the first time this has been highlighted. There will be a strong recommendation that the general committee be replaced by an eight or nine-strong general council meeting every three months. The every day running of the WRU would be put in the hands of a paid executive.

That will be akin to WRU members deciding tonight to shoot themselves in the foot and worse.

But they are committed to putting the Watkins report recommendations to a special meeting of all the clubs next month for them to vote. The WRU are also sure to discuss tonight the controversial views of the six leading clubs made public this week, though they are hardly likely to agree to their plans because in their eyes it would be seen to be giving in to blackmail.

WRU chiefs will tomorrow meet with Ebbw Vale and Caerphilly to update them because they have so far been excluded from discussions by the six leading clubs, with Neath also left out because they are WRU-owned.

Caerphilly are writing to Ebbw Vale, Neath and the First Division clubs proposing they all form an ante-gang-of-six alliance.

*Newport lock Mike Voyle, who has flown back to New Zealand to be with his family at Christmas, will miss only the Boxing day Welsh/Scottish League game against Gwent rivals Ebbw Vale at Rodney Parade.

He will be back the next day and will be available for the televised Friday night league game against Pontypridd at Sardis Road. Newport's following two home games will also be on Friday nights, again televised live. They face Newcastle in their final Heineken Cup pool game on January 11 and a week later Llanelli will be at Rodney Parade for a quickfire league return. All the Friday games will kick off at 7.05pm. The Newcastle match will be refereed by Frenchman Didier Mene while Newport's Heineken Cup game at Toulouse on January 5 (kick off 5pm GMT) will be handled by Irishman Alan Lewis, but is not scheduled to be televised. Last night, Newport under-21 were beaten 29-14 by Newport Saracens.