Regional A teams not way forward, insists Sir Stanley
MERTHYR’S multi-millionaire backer Sir Stanley Thomas insists that creating regional A teams is not the way forward for Welsh rugby.
Instead, he wants to see the Principality Premiership staying at 16 clubs, but with a fully-blown home and away format.
He is also advocating each team having to field a minimum of five players under 23 in order to help bring young talent through.
And he’s calling for Union funding of the Premiership to be increased to at least £2m to enable the recruitment of better coaches.
Thomas believes the current stop-start nature of the league season, with two regional sections, is ridiculous.
The WRU are currently debating what to do about the game below PRO14 level, with a decision to be made in the coming weeks.
One option would be the introduction of regional A teams, while another would involve reducing the number of clubs in the Premiership, maybe down to as few as eight.
But Thomas – the money man behind reigning league champions Merthyr – rejects both of these ideas.
“I don’t see regional A teams as the way forward,” he said.
“People will just not be interested. And who would these sides play against?
“If you have 19 to 23-year-olds just playing other 19 to 23-yearolds, it won’t give them the experience of facing older, seasoned players.
“People don’t want to watch regional A games.
“They want to see derby matches like Newport v Cardiff, Pontypridd v Merthyr and Ebbw Vale v Cross Keys.”
Thomas also strongly rejects the idea of a streamlined Premiership.
“If you reduce it to 12 teams, for example, you are not going to have enough games in the season,” he said.
“Clubs depend on people coming through the gates and spending money in the clubhouse.”
At present, the 16 clubs are split into east and west sections for the first half of the season and then brought together for the second half, with breaks at various points in the campaign.
“The way they’ve had it the last two seasons with two or three times a year where you are without games for two or three weeks is ridiculous,” said Thomas.
“Clubs are struggling.
“We have got no league games now for the next three weeks.
“That means nobody in our bars. People just don’t come to the rugby club when there aren’t games on.”
With this in mind, Thomas is proposing a different format for next season.
“My opinion is we should remain at 16 clubs, but I would have at it as one league with home and away games,” he said.
“That would give you 30 matches, plus cup ties.
“It’s not too many games. When I go back to the days when I played at Cardiff, we used to have 42 to 46 games a season.
“However, I do see that the Premiership is not supporting regional rugby or Wales to the degree it should be.
“So I would like to see a minimum of five players aged between 19 and 23 included in every single Premiership side.
“That way youngsters would get more senior rugby and we can push them through to regional level.
“We also need better coaches in these Premiership sides and we need money for that.
“The WRU should consider giving at least £2m a year to the 16 clubs.”
At present, the Premiership clubs receive around £1.7m from the Union.
Meanwhile, Thomas is set to call an EGM at Merthyr for next month to address constitutional, corporate and administrative issues at the club.
“There have got to be certain changes if they want me to continue as an investor,” he said.
Merthyr will go to Cardiff in the second round of the WRU National Cup. Draw: Bargoed v Rhydyfelin, Cross Keys v Bedlinog, Newport v Aberavon, Bridgend v Ebbw Vale, Cardiff v Merthyr, Pontypool v Carm Quins, Llandovery v Llanelli, Beddau v Bedwas. Games to be played the weekend of January 27.