Shelve the axes, players have a right to choose
THE NATIONAL dual contract system isn’t perfect, but without it Welsh rugby would be signficantly worse off than it is now. I was interested to read Danny Wilson’s comments on that subject this week. I like Danny, I rate him as a coach, and I think he will go far. But I disagree with his view that the awarding of dual contracts is unfair in that it makes some of the regions stronger and others weaker.
At the moment there is certainly a line down the middle between the four regions. The Scarlets and the Ospreys are leading the way and Cardiff Blues and the Dragons are playing catch up.
That’s the reality of the situation, but I don’t think the allocation of dual deals has impacted on that or even caused it in the first place. That has been the status quo for a while now, even before the Welsh Rugby Union started helping out with contracts.
It’s easy for us to criticise anything the Union does, but without their help I’m fairly sure we wouldn’t have Sam Warburton, Alun-Wyn Jones and Dan Biggar still playing in Wales. It would also have been very difficult for Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies to return home from France without the aid of the governing body. Having those guys playing regional rugby is a massive boost for the game in Wales and it’s a reality for the regions to consider that most of them are at the Ospreys and Scarlets. That’s a fact I don’t think you can argue with.
I can appreciate Danny’s point to a degree and I can see why he’s frustrated to have missed out on signing Leigh. When this system was introduced, the idea was that any player who came back to Wales from abroad should join their ‘home’ region or the one they left previously.
That’s a nice idea, but totally unworkable in reality. The same goes for a draft system, which I’ve seen some people suggest as a possible way of making sure there’s a fair share of contracts around all four Welsh sides. What planet are these people on? Rugby just doesn’t work like that.
Let’s take the example of Leigh because his decision to join the Scarlets and not the Blues is where this debate started. Some people will think the player shouldn’t hold all the power in contract negotiations, but the reality is Leigh – or anyone else for that matter – should be free to choose whichever side they want to go to. It’s 2017 and you can’t force anyone into playing for a specifc team just to make sure the overall game in Wales is on a more level playing field.
Rugby is not the NFL, so drafting players to certain regions just won’t work. When Leigh knew he was coming back to Wales, he would have wanted to join a team that gives him the best chance of success and helps him improve as a player. The Scarlets tick both those boxes, so how can you argue with his decision?
While the Blues and Dragons are lagging behind at the moment, rugby is an ever changing beast and rather than moaning about dual deals, I’d like to see them put their efforts into bringing through new talent who will be deserving of such a contract in the future.
There’s a lot of talent coming through at the Arms Park and I’d imagine in the next few years guys like Ellis Jenkins or Dillon Lewis will be offered dual deals to stay in Wales. There are swings and roundabouts in rugby and the game is ever changing. The deal for Leigh has been done, so ditch the complaining and look to the future. That would be my message to those with any axe to grind.
“Rugby is not NFL so drafting players to certain regions just won’t work”