It has been another tough old season for Welsh rugby's four professional outfits. They all languish in the bottom half of the United Rugby Championship and there is very little still to play.
Sure, the Welsh Shield is up for grabs and with it comes a spot in next season's Champions Cup - the Ospreys and Scarlets are scrapping it out for that - and that isn't to be sniffed at. But, in truth, there has been little to shout about and attentions for some time have likely turned towards building for next season.
Acknowledging the myriad of off-field issues that need to be addressed within Welsh rugby, the four regions will desperately need to find a way of being competitive on it, with the standard of the URC likely to raise now that the South Africans have got their feet under the table.
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Up until recently, bosses of the professional teams have been bemoaning the fact that they didn't know their playing budgets for next season, which makes planning and recruitment very difficult. But there has still been some business done.
Here's who is coming in next season...
Cardiff Rugby
Director of Rugby Dai Young has made no secret of the difficulties he has faced in putting together the squad he wants for next season. He recently revealed that players were offered an extra year on their contracts to smooth over the pay cuts that had to be endured during the Covid-19 pandemic. That has made things difficult.
However, Cardiff have been active and have picked up some big-name players that will be in Wayne Pivac's elite 38 group of players, meaning the WRU will be paying 80% of their wages. They include Liam Williams , who signs from the Scarlets, and Taulupe Faletau , who comes across from Bath.
Meanwhile, Young's son Thomas is also arriving back at the Arms Park from Wasps, with age-grade hooker Efan Daniel having been promoted from the academy.
Dragons
The Rodney Parade outfit have been the busiest so far, bringing in seven players in total. Director of Rugby Dean Ryan has not been shy in complaining about the lower level of funding that the Dragons have to operate with, but he has also not been shy in bringing new players in.
There are suggestions that the Dragons will have to trim their squad over the summer to account for the number of new players on the way, so we could see them operating with a slimmer player base next season. Either way, their moves have been intriguing.
They always seemed the likely destination for Wales-capped Ulster hooker Bradley Roberts , whose contract at the Kingspan is up this summer. In order to further his Wales ambitions, he had to join a Welsh region and the Dragons seemed a natural fit given how the other teams are stocked.
Fly-half JJ Hanrahan is an interesting signing. Sam Davies has had to shoulder so much in recent seasons with very little by way of a deputy. Hanrahan's arrival from Clermont will take the weight off a little bit and, at 29, he still has plenty of time on his side to be an effective signing.
Wales prop Rhodri Jones looks to be a shrewd bit of work by the region. You can never have enough depth in the tight five positions and the Dragons need reinforcements in that area. Jones joins from the Ospreys.
Welsh-qualified duo Sean Lonsdale , the Exeter forward, and Bath centre Max Clark were both heavily trailed before their signings were officially confirmed. Clark in particular should be known to fans in this part of the world as he turned down Warren Gatland's advances a few years ago.
This week has seen the announcements of London Irish second row George Nott and Highlanders back Sio Tomkinson , which looks to be a superb bit of business.
Ospreys
The Swansea-based region have not announced any new incoming players for next season. It has all been very quite on that front down at the Liberty Stadium. However, they have been busy on the re-signing front and Toby Booth seems relatively comfortable with what he has at his disposal.
They have been hampered by some big-name injuries this year and the likes of Dan Lydiate - who returned earlier this year - Alun Wyn Jones, George North and eventually Justin Tipuric coming back will feel like new signings as they have missed so much of this season.
"Every coach in any environment will say they always want more players," Booth said at a recent Q&A with supporters. "More players, more consistency, more competition in training. We have to invest in the fundamentals of the game. We contribute a hell of a lot of forwards to the international programme and we need to cover that first and foremost.
"I see these two (George North and Alex Cuthbert) as new signings if I'm honest, because we haven't had them for such a long time. They're very eager to come and do what they need to do.
He added: "Where we are from a contractual cycle and what we inherited, we've had no choice but to develop our own. Personally, I think that's the right way anyway for the long term. I'm sure you all enjoy supporting a local youngster. Those things are really important to us, the emotional attachment to our region.
"There's lots of benefit but the trade-off is creating enough quality to be consistently competitive now. That's always the ying and the yang. Last year we had greater capacity for change, this year we haven't."
Scarlets
The Scarlets have only made one signing so far but it turned heads in a big way. They've secured the services of Vaea Fifita , who joins from Wasps this summer. The 29-year-old All Black appears to be a real coup for the west Walians and Wasps did not want to let him go but say they could not afford to keep hold of him.
He has been one of the standout performers for the club when he's taken the field and is highly tough of by the fanbase.
Dwayne Peel will be hoping he has a big impact when he arrives later this year.
