Welsh rugby chiefs make impassioned plea for financial help
WALES rugby chiefs have made an impassioned plea to the Welsh Government for financial support warning of “devastating” repercussions for the game in this country.
English rugby is receiving £135m from the UK government as part of a £300m aid package to help sports that are suffering the biggest reductions in revenue due to the absence of fans through the coronavirus pandemic.
But there is to be no such cashaid for Welsh rugby from Westminster.
The UK government argues the devolved governments have already received extra money in this year’s block grant settlement to deal with the consequences of coronavirus.
That leaves Welsh rugby in a precarious position.
The WRU have already taken out a £20m loan from NatWest to keep the professional game afloat, with that money having to be repaid by the regions over the next five years.
Now they are facing a huge shortfall as a result of no paying spectators being able to attend Wales’ autumn internationals and real doubt over whether fans will be allowed in for the Six Nations matches in the new year.
If the home games against England and Ireland have to be played behind closed doors in February, it will mean Welsh rugby missing out on a further £13.5m.
It’s against this background that WRU chief executive Steve Phillips has made his appeal to the Welsh government for financial assistance.
He stresses that external help is no longer a want, but a requirement and that the Union is looking for parity, on a proportionate basis, with what has been provided to English rugby.
Phillips says positive discussions are ongoing with the Welsh Government, but the stark nature of his comments are there for all to see.
His statement reads: “There is no denying that when Sports Minister Nigel Huddlestone announced a package of rescue funding measures over a week ago, he very much recognised the importance of rugby to society in England which left English rugby in a significantly better state than it had been moments before.
“We have impressed upon our First Minister the importance of Welsh rugby to our nation and have been explicit about the potentially devastating repercussion a continued shortfall in funding for our game will create.
“I’ve highlighted that rugby in Wales plays a bigger role in Welsh society than it does in England; it is the heartbeat of our communities.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant measures to control it have hit Welsh rugby hard. “That is
not only measured financially, but more importantly on a societal basis where we are social animals within rugby and very much enjoy each other’s company; there are also endless well-being concerns including mental health to consider.
“We have looked to ourselves and done all that we can to ensure the survival of our member clubs and our professional game to date, but we have reached the point where external help is no longer a want, but a requirement.
“We are looking for parity, on a fair and proportionate basis, with what has been provided to English rugby.
“Our clubs, our national teams, our regions, our community programmes – are all part of our DNA and all aspects of the game are under enormous stress.
“Sport is about parity, starting on a level playing field, therefore we don’t believe Welsh rugby should be disadvantaged compared to our near neighbours.”
Phillips continues: “We are happy with negotiations so far and we are confident our voice is being heard and that our call for help, on behalf of the whole of Welsh rugby will be heard in earnest.
“We have endeavoured, in all that we have done during this pandemic, to take responsibility and help shoulder the burden for fighting it wherever possible; whether that be making our collective facilities available to our NHS to local club players delivering food parcels within their communities.
“We understand and empathise with the challenges faced by Welsh Government, who have many hungry mouths to feed as they guide us all to safety and, hopefully, a return to some semblance of normality once a vaccine arrives.
“But we have not let this stop us from making the case for Welsh rugby to Welsh Government as we strive to ensure we are able to count as many clubs out of this pandemic as we were able to boast at the start and that our professional game survives intact in a competitive fashion, ready to rise again once this is all over.
“Not to act now would be unforgivable and unthinkable for anyone Welsh.”