... it’s a case of spot the prepares for new season
European Challenge Cup.
That has now changed, whether those at Rodney Parade agree or not. Nobody is expecting an open-top bus parade in Newport next May, but results simply have to show significant improvement.
New chairman David Buttress spoke about winning six games next season as something to aim at. With respect, they need far more.
With Ross Moriarty, Richard Hibbard, Ryan Bevington, Jordan Williams, Rhodri Williams and others on board, it’s time they became more than the PRO14 whipping boys.
It’s a huge year for coach Bernard Jackman who as yet has convinced nobody. In fact it’s a make-or-break year for the Irishman.
WELSH PREMIERSHIP JEOPARDY
Four clubs are certain to be relegated at the end of this season, potentially five depending on the outcome of a play-off with the winners of the Championship.
There are already warnings that some of the biggest traditional names in the Welsh game could become extinct if they drop down and are forced to take the resulting major decrease in funding from the WRU.
The union have clearly abandoned the Premiership as a development pathway to the regional game, much to the annoyance of Merthyr chief executive Nigel Davies, so the idea is that it is treated on its own merits as an out-and-out battle for silverware.
The difference this season is that the implications for success and failure are more serious than ever. This could be one hell of a rocky ride.
THE UNDER-23 COMPETITION
Closely linked to the above is the establishment of a new under-23 competition, the Celtic Cup, which will see the introduction of four Welsh regional sides made up of mainly under-23 players.
The idea is that the best young players in Wales take on the four Irish provinces over seven weeks during September and October, and the WRU believe the new tier will bridge the gap to the professional game, providing a better springboard for players, coaches and referees.
We can only speculate about what the true value of this will be, and Nigel Davies has already argued that the Welsh Premiership WAS already developing players for the elite game.
But the WRU say they have done their homework.
The other interesting thing will be whether the U23 matches catch the public’s imagination. How competitive and full-blooded will the games be, and will more than one and his dog turn up to watch?
The bottom line is that a new competition is only as good as the competing teams make it.
SCOTLAND IN CARDIFF IN NOVEMBER
Now this is a new one.
It will be the first time top-tier northern hemisphere nations have met in an autumn series and the prize will be the Doddie Weir Cup, in honour of the former Scottish second row who is now battling motor neurone disease.
The question, though, is whether the all-or-nothing nature of a Six Nations clash between these two foes can be replicated in this environment.
Critics will complain about the WRU shoe-horning four fixtures into this period and the union will counter that the Welsh game needs the revenue.
Perhaps the attendance will speak volumes. Fixtures against Australia, Tonga and South Africa follow this one, in that order.
The annual quest for ‘southern hemisphere scalps’ may take precedence in the eyes of Joe Public.
FRESH SLATES AT THE BLUES AND OSPREYS
Australian John Mulvihill begins life as the Blues’ head coach and Allen Clarke enters his first full season in charge of the Ospreys after signing a three year deal in April.
Mulvihill’s made all the right noises thus far and his task is not only to build on the achievements of predecessor Danny Wilson but also to last longer than the previous southern hemisphere appointment Mark Hammett, who was gone within six months amid dressing room unrest.
As for Clarke, he has to find a way of reinvigorating a region where last season the mood was as black as the team jerseys. New recruits like Scott Williams and George North will help him, but make no mistake it’s a tough gig for the Ulsterman.
There’s been a pall of negativity surrounding the Liberty Stadium. Questions have even been asked - and robustly answered by the hierarchy it should be said - about the future viability of the region.
How a few positive results early on would help create a different outlook.
END OF AN ERA AT THE ARMS PARK
Peter Thomas undoubtedly did a huge amount for the Blues, but his decision to stand down as chairman at the end of last season felt overdue.
Without his financial backing down the years, there probably wouldn’t be any Cardiff Blues - and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
But his watch was not without turbulence. There was the failed move to Cardiff City Stadium and some ill-advised coaching appointments after Dai Young left for Wasps.
There was also the sense that Thomas’ mood was changeable. One minute he appeared ready to make the Blues the Real Madrid of European rugby, the next he was insisting that cuts to the playing budget had to be made. He will remain an influence in the boardroom, but not having him at the helm as chairman marks the end of an era.
Will someone else now emerge as the real Arms Park powerbroker?
AU REVOIR RHYS
With injury having ruled him out of the Six Nations, we’ve at least had time to get used to the self-inflicted loss of a player who would probably have been Warren Gatland’s main World Cup game-breaker.
But when Rhys Webb is shining in the Top 14 for Toulon in the coming months, as inevitably he will, his absence will be keenly felt once more - and of course the Ospreys will miss him as well.
Even now you find yourself hoping some announcement will be made that allows Webb a route back to the Test game. Don’t hold your breath. When they brought it in a year ago, WRU powerbrokers saw value in their new international player policy claiming an immediate high-profile victim.
That kind of says it all.