Decision makers must put rugby first
PICK a number, any number – 9, 14, 10, 12. This lottery of Welsh rugby self-interest is put ahead of what is going to be best for the game in Wales. The men handed the responsibility for designing the Indigo Group Premiership – the most vital bridge in the playing pathway between agegrade and regional rugby – are failing in their duty as petty politics gets in the way of advancement.
Nobody wants to vote themselves out of the top tier among the 12 clubs currently there and the WRU Council and Board members are fearful of a backlash that could turn into another nasty EGM. There is simply no direction, no proper plan and now, even worse, nobody is listening to the very men put in place to take the lead.
I can understand the fear of those clubs who don’t want to be left behind, but there are plenty of former so-called “first class” clubs who have fallen down the league system and who are still in great shape.
Cross Keys, Neath, Glamorgan Wanderers and Pontypool are all currently playing in the Championship; Newbridge are in Division 1 East, Abertillery are in Division 2 East, Penarth are in Division 3 East Central and Tredegar are down in Division 6 East.
Three other clubs who played in the old Premier Division, Dunvant, Treorchy and Caerphilly, are still very much alive and kicking. Dunvant are in Division 1 West Central, Treorchy play in Division 1 East Central and Caerphilly are in Division 2 East Central.
They all have great histories, still play at the same grounds and still represent their towns with great pride. Their status may not be the same, but they have found a sustainable level in the modern game and serve rugby well.
What Welsh rugby now needs is a tournament that can properly underpin the regional game and provide the next wave of potential international players with the best possible standard in which to hone their skills. We have seen the AngloWelsh Cup come and go, the British & Irish Cup die a death, an A team competition fall by the wayside.
Yet all the time, on our very own doorstep, we had the perfect opportunity to make the Premiership fit for purpose. It required, and still does, proper funding, promotion and administration, but what it can’t be is all things to all men and a 12 or 14 team Premiership is simply not going to be good enough on a week to week basis to give the players what they need.
The decision taken by the Community Game Board to turn their backs on the recommendation from Nigel Walker (Performance Director) and John Alder (Head of Player
“Our aspiring young internationals deserve a system that gives them a chance to develop”
Development), the professional brains at the WRU charged with creating the right playing structures for the game as a whole, to drop to 10 teams was a missed opportunity.
Their next decision, to increase the number of teams to 14 for the 2023-24 season, was nothing short of irresponsible and damaging.
Maybe Nigel and John’s plan wasn’t perfect, maybe their presentation wasn’t as good as some had hoped, but successive professional employees in their roles have been privately calling for a reduction in the number of teams in the Premiership for almost a decade.
Back in 2003 it was as plain as the nose on David Moffett’s face that Welsh rugby couldn’t continue with nine failing clubs in the old Premier Division. There simply wasn’t enough money, or quality players, to go round. We will reach the 20th anniversary of regionalisation in 2023 and we will get there with four, rather than the original five, teams.
The debate at that end of the game is whether four will be sustainable moving forward. It is exactly the same debate in the Indigo Prem. Holding onto your toptier status, which brings between £50-80,000 per season to the clubs from WRU funding, may be the goal for each of the current 12 clubs who will play this season, but that selfserving ambition doesn’t best serve the professional needs of the regional and international game.
The Community Game Board, which has the WRU Board chairman as its chair, is stuck in the dark ages. Their recent decision making has taken us back to the bad old days of back of fag packet resolutions and mediaeval thinking.
Our aspiring young internationbest als deserve better than this. They need a system that supports their aspirations and gives them the chance to develop to become the best version of themselves. There are lots of examples of future internationals cutting their teeth in the Premiership, but a better competition would be even better for their development.
The Community Game Board hasn’t closed the door on reducing the numbers in the future, but they have classically kicked the can down the road to the detriment of the game they are supposed to best serve.
The decision during Martyn Phillips’ era as chief executive to push the Premiership into the Community Game was the first abrogation of the Union’s duty and perhaps the best way forward out of this unholy mess is for Nigel and John to create a new competition in the professional section of the game and find the money to support the 10 clubs in a new format. At the moment the Premiership is suffering death by a thousand cuts and isn’t being given the chance to thrive. It is a question of rule by the lowest common denominator, rather than higher standards and ambitions being able to properly challenge its clubs, coaches and players.
The Premiership has the chance to be the tournament that is most needed in the game in Welsh rugby, the proper gateway for young players who want to become the next Alun Wyn Jones, Louis ReesZammit or Dan Biggar. It is part-serving that process at present, but simply can’t do things properly with 14 or even 12 teams.
Those Council and Board members who have made these decisions need to take a long, hard look at themselves and ask if they really believe they are doing the best for the game. In my eyes, and those of so many others, they are definitely not!