DRAGONS stalwart Lewis Evans has pleaded for an end to the “ambiguity” over the future of the regions after being part of a delegation of players that met with Welsh Rugby Union chiefs.

The 31-year-old forward, the Rodney Parade region’s record appearance holder with 225 games, was part of talks between the with the governing body and the Welsh Rugby Players' Association.

The meeting took place amid unrest over the amount of time it has taken for a new deal between the WRU and regions, 'Project Reset', to be thrashed out.

The Union’s chief executive Martyn Phillips has admitted that “nothing is off the table” and one proposal is for one of the current quartet to be culled to form a new professional side in the north.

The Dragons, Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Scarlets will remain as they are for next season but the future is uncertain beyond that.

South Wales Argus: LEADING FIGURE: Ken Owens (right) was one of the Wales stars at the meeting with WRU chiefLEADING FIGURE: Ken Owens (right) was one of the Wales stars at the meeting with WRU chief

“The key thing is that is has been dragging on, that’s the most frustrating element of the past few months,” said Argus columnist Evans.

“The WRPA had a meeting, Tyler (Morgan) and me went to that and they (the WRU) put forward certain strategies. As players we just want to know where we are.

“The ambiguity can unsettle some people. Moving forward, there is nothing we can do about it, we’ve just got to go on the field and perform as players. The better we do as a region puts us in better stead.”

“It was a very strong panel with Ken Owens, Ellis Jenkins, Dan Lydiate, Alun Wyn Jones – these are big, powerful players,” continued Evans.

“The WRU heard our perspective and we just have to get something sorted as soon as possible so that we can all move on.”

READ MORE: WRU and regions ready to make tough calls over new deal - Phillips

A raft of Dragons players are out of contract this summer.

The back row forward admits that the situation has made life tough for the squad and hopes that the uncertainty will soon end.

“The whole process has been tough because you have to keep a lot of parties happy,” said Evans.

“The WRU have their own angle, there’s the players with their interests, agents have got involved, so there are a lot of parties that will be affected.

“There are going to have to be some adjustments but as players we just have to back the WRPA and hopefully something can be resolved soon.

“It’s just the time (that it’s taking). There are boys out of contract and they have mortgages to pay. The uncertainty has unsettled a few people and if it gets resolved sooner rather than later we can crack on.

“It has been a delicate process and when there are so many people involved it can be difficult, but as players we have to stick together.”

South Wales Argus: FOCUSED ON ULSTER: Dragons boss Ceri JonesFOCUSED ON ULSTER: Dragons boss Ceri Jones

Dragons host Ulster on Sunday when they will look to respond to a 57-7 humiliation at the hands of Benetton.

Caretaker head coach Ceri Jones insists the off-field uncertainty is no excuse for the horror show in Treviso.

“There has been a lot of noise and it has been going on for quite a while now,” said Jones, who replaced sacked Bernard Jackman in December. “We are just focusing on what we can fix on the field.

“I don’t want to use it as an excuse (for last week), we just weren’t good enough on the day. Benetton were a lot better than us and we have to put that right.

“We can only control what we can control, and that is our performance on the field.”