A CUTTING EDGE?
What does the future hold for Welsh club rugby amid talk of change?
THE future of the Welsh Premiership is very much back on the agenda amid talk of an enhanced role for the competition and a possible reduction in the number of clubs.
After a deeply disappointing season on the international front, both for Wayne Pivac’s senior side and the age-grade teams, there has been a lot of scrutiny on the development pathway.
There’s a recognition from the powers-that-be that it needs to be improved and it looks as though the semi-pro Premiership is going to play a key part in that.
The WRU’S performance director Nigel Walker hinted as much last week when he said the league could offer the solution in providing more game-time for talented young players, such as those in the Wales U20s squad.
It seems we are heading for something of a step-shift.
Back in 2018 the Premiership was effectively downgraded in terms of its status. Following a review commissioned by the WRU, big changes were introduced. Regional A sides were set up, based on a view there was too big a gulf between the Premiership and the old PRO14.
These new A teams were to be the key developmental stepping stone, playing in a Celtic Cup against Irish provincial A sides, with the Premiership having less of a role in the pathway.
Tied in with that, funding to the Welsh semi-pro clubs was to be reduced from £92,000 per team to £50,000 over a four-year period.
But now the pendulum is swinging back again. The Celtic Cup went into hibernation during Covid and it doesn’t look as though it’s going to re-emerge.
The financial restrictions the regions are working under means it’s virtually impossible for them to have the squad depth required to run A teams for any sustained period during the season.
So the focus is now turning back to the Premiership as the development tier.
Cardiff Rugby have already moved in the direction of establishing their table-topping semi-pro side as their effective second team and it’s clear the league has an important part to play in the Union’s plans for addressing the pathway issues.
But now comes the tricky part. If it is to take on that enhanced role and provide the cream of our young talent with much-needed game-time, then there’s a school of thought that standards need to raised and the competition made more elite.
With that in mind, rumours have been circulating that the WRU are looking to cut the number of clubs from 12 to nine for the season after next, with two from each region, plus a North Wales side.
But that’s easier said than done and is certain to provoke opposition in some quarters.
For one thing, it would mean fewer fixtures, which would have a knockon effect in terms of money through the gates. Plus how would you decide on the nine?
If you look at the capital region, for example, you’ve got Cardiff, Pontypridd and Merthyr. Who would miss out there?
In West Wales, you’ve got Carmarthen Quins, Llandovery and bottom-of-the-table Llanelli, while in Ospreylia, there’s Aberavon, Swansea and Bridgend.
There’s also the question of promotion and relegation. Would the new league be a closed shop, in an echo of the recent three-year ringfencing? Or would there be an entry point via the Championship?
So plenty to be considered and lots of big, bold decisions to be made, with something of a battle no doubt lying ahead and no certainty that any proposed changes would actually be voted through.
What, then, of the interested parties?
We have sought the views of a variety of people in Welsh rugby on just what the future of the Premiership should be.
Gareth Davies was chairman of the WRU when the number of Premiership clubs was cut from 16 to 12 in 2019. But he would like to see a further radical streamlining.
He said: “I always believed that six to eight Premiership clubs would be an appropriate number to invest properly into so that a pathway vehicle would be possible, together with enough competitive tension to create local interest.
“We just don’t have the number of players to justify any more clubs at that level.”
THE PREMIERSHIP COACH
Dale Mcintosh knows the Premiership inside out, having had lengthy coaching spells with both Pontypridd and Merthyr.
He said: “It’s got a huge role to play. They have just got to put more resource into it. I would like the WRU to say there have to be at least five regional Academy players in each Premiership 23. If we do that, then these kids are getting game time in a competition that is meaningful. That way they are going to be able to step up.
“Let’s give these kids the right pathway, the right vessel. They have got to play week in, week out. There is no substitute. The WRU have got to be strong with the regions and say ‘Come on, let’s do this’.
“The Union can format a way so that these young kids have an honest pathway, but to do that we’ve got to strengthen the Premiership by making it a more meaningful competition, making sure there’s a better quality of player and that you have Level 4 coaches.”
THE PLAYER
New Wales flanker Jac Morgan made 20-plus appearances for Aberavon before breaking through with the Scarlets and then going on to join the Ospreys and become a full international.
He said: “I learned a massive amount in the Premiership. I don’t think I’d be where I am now if I hadn’t played in it for Aberavon.
“The learnings I had and the experience of playing the game against men when I was just coming through at 18 or 19, that was a hell of an experience.
“You just learn a lot and it was a good environment. The level of rugby is quite high. I think it’s a great platform for rugby and people coming through.”