Yesterday, in a statement by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), a number of changes were announced to the structure of the game here in Wales. The announcement itself was the culmination of a number of weeks work, the details of which have caused something of a stir. That’s the way of the world in Wales unfortunately, change is BAD! There’s always someone who thinks they are getting a raw deal.
To summarise the main changes are as follows:
- An increase to the number of teams in the Principality Premiership; where the semi-professional teams ply their trade, from 12 up to 16.
- Welsh Involvement in the B&I Cup will now involve what are being termed at present as, Premiership Select Sides named Ospreys Premiership Select, Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select, Cardiff Blues Premiership Select and Scarlets Premiership Select.
- The LV=Cup, which is taking a break for World Cup year, is still a competition the WRU wish to remain involved in. They will be meeting with the RFU following the World Cup to ensure the competition resumes.
- A new Premiership Challenge Cup is to be introduced from next season, primarily for player development purposes.
- A new player identification program will be introduced to ensure a real flow of school, college and youth players to the Premiership competition structure.
By my reckoning, in the press release itself, the concept of “development” is alluded to nine times. Why do I draw attention to that? Well professional rugby in Wales is all about the “Development Pathway”, a structure that allows young players to progress through the ranks from junior rugby, through too club rugby, too academy (or variations of that last one), too the pro rugby sides and finally too Wales. The changes that are being made to the game here are designed to accentuate that pathway, at the potential detriment of local club rugby.
Vested Interest?
The current system allows one team from each Pro side’s area – last year it was Pontypridd, Cross Keys, Camarthen Quins and Aberavon – the opportunity to enter into the B&I Cup, after qualifying rounds. Some clubs feel that by taking away that opportunity, they are being denied a chance for further glory. The opportunity to enter this “extra” competition is being seen as the death knell for club rugby in Wales.
The problem Welsh Rugby is facing right now is that the semi-pro clubs are not consistently producing the players of sufficient quality to make the jump to next. In reality, the cream of the crop undergo much of their development in pro academies, although of course many do start out playing for their local clubs.
All of this was first discussed back in March, when the Competition Pathway Working Group, consisting of representatives from the WRU Board, WRU Executive, Principality Premiership and the Welsh Professional sides, first met. In fact, it was an email from Cardiff Blues CEO Richard Holland to Pontypridd RFC’s Hon. CEO Steve Reardon confirming the change resulted in outcry.
There was a palpable frustration felt at the time, caused by the unnecessary public disquiet, which was fueled; rather bluntly, by Gareth Davies (WRU Chairman) who said “The only reason the Premiership exists is to produce players for the Regions and for Wales. It’s quite simple I think. That is why we fund it. We don’t fund it for any of the clubs to win the League year after year.”
The Way Forward
Anyone who is aware of the recent troubles with the WRU will know the clubs have a poor relationship with their Union. However, there is evidence that this is a new era for Welsh Rugby. The necessity to repay the Millennium Stadium debt is not the priority now; so if Gareth Davies is to be believed, and I think he can be, his emphasis is now on rugby, not finance.
The extra teams in the Premiership will result in extra games, and therefore extra revenue for these sides. If the desire to keep the LV= Cup is successful, there will be something approaching a meaningful fixture list as well. Indeed, there are moves afoot to create an A team League, involving sides of this nature, especially in England.
There are stumbling blocks of course. The purpose of these sides is to identify those players who should be capable of playing at Professional level. It will take time for fans to take to the idea – though that isn’t a necessity in some ways. After all, having a group of players in the same team desperate to get to the next level can only be a good thing surely?
In short, we are entering another phase in the progression of professional rugby here. PRW, who have professed their intention to keep improving and producing top class players for Wales, are not in the business of destroying their roots long term in the hope of growing a few inches closer to the sun tomorrow. They would far rather be moving forward together; maintaining the health of the overall structure. The search for excellence often causes upheaval. It’s now a question of whether all parties involved want to move forward together, or whether the fighting continues.
*The full WRU statement can be found here
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