LOOMING UNLESS NOW – WALKER
Those concerns are part of the reason former Olympic athlete Walker has returned to the game.
He has not been hands on in Welsh rugby since he was player development manager under Graham Henry, a job he left in 2001 to become Head of Sport at BBC Wales.
For the past 11 years, he has been national director of the English Institute of Sport, which provides support to the GB Olympic and Paralympic teams.
He will continue in that role, while also contributing at the Arms Park, where he made such an impact as an electrifying winger.
“Cardiff asked me to come on board to advise them on performance, because they recognise I know a little bit about performance,” he said.
“Because of the pandemic, I am no longer travelling 35,000 miles a year, so I have got a bit more time.
“People will work very differently from now on and I will be one of them. I won’t be travelling up and down the country five days a week as I have done for the last 11 years. “So the timing was perfect. “I came back because I really care about Welsh rugby and I could give it the time it needs. I don’t do things by halves.
“I am passionate about Cardiff, I am passionate about Wales and I just want both elements of the Welsh game to be successful.
“I am doing it because I genuinely believe Cardiff can be a powerhouse in Europe again.
“To do that, we need more than we’ve currently got. We need to be adequately funded.
“If you could get to £7.5m, we could be competitive in Europe. If you could get to £8.5m, crikey Moses.”
Walker, who was also on the UK Sport board for four years, clearly has a desire to make a difference.
“I was involved as a track and field athlete, I was involved as a rugby player, I know what it takes and the commitment required for the individual or the team to be successful,” he said.
“Over the last 15 years or so, I have experienced how a nation which had struggled to meet the demands of Olympic or Paralympic sport not only met those demands but became a real powerhouse.
“I think I can bring some of those elements to the Welsh game.
“There are some pieces which I believe are missing.
“It’s about collaboration and the stakeholders wanting to achieve the same thing.
“There needs to be strategy which allows both the regions and Wales to be successful.”