Wales fans don’t care about clubs
At last the Welsh regions are starting to speak out about the shambolic situation they are facing. Dai Young of Cardiff Rugby, and Dean Ryan of the Dragons, have broken their silence as they come to terms with yet another set of desperately poor European results.
To date the four regions have recorded one draw and one win – both were in games that weren’t actually played because of Covid – yet Wales are some people’s favourites as we head into the Six Nations!
What every country should surely be looking for is a model where the national side can prosper, but where the next tier down, be it clubs, regions, provinces, or whatever, are developing players, and are competitive in the league in which they compete.
The English succeed in doing it one way, where the RFU ‘rent’ players from the clubs, and the Irish succeed with an altogether different approach where they have central contracts and generously fund their provinces.
I prefer the English model, but they both work in their different ways. The Welsh, however, have managed to create a set-up where the national side prospers but the regions fail.
Young said, ‘… from week one since I walked in the door, every question you get asked is about Wales. Is so and so going to be fit for Wales? Do you think he should be in the Welsh squad?’ That sums up the problem in a nutshell – a lack of interest in the regions and the URC. Over the coming weeks Wales’ home games will be sell-outs, but where will those fans be once the league restarts?
The issue Young highlights is prevalent elsewhere too. In England, it infuriates club fans when one of their star players takes a knock, and immediately they’re told what bad news it is for Eddie Jones! Generally, because of the strength in depth of the English game, it isn’t actually much of a problem for Jones, but if a club loses a star player it can mess up their whole season.
Let’s show a bit more respect for the leagues, as without them there wouldn’t be the flow of players coming through to feed into the national sides.
Next weekend sees the start of the Six Nations with all of the hype that brings. At one time the tournament was rightly seen as the pinnacle of the season, but things have moved on.
First the organisers devalued it when they brought Italy in, partly because it led to mismatches, but also because it damaged the integrity of the competition – when some teams have three home games, while others have only two, the cards are stacked even before the first game kicks off, and if one of your away games is in Rome, then you’re quids in!
It’s argued that the tournament being on terrestrial television is a great opportunity to showcase rugby to a wider audience, but does that actually deliver benefits for the game?
Do people, having watched the Six Nations then decide to trot along to watch games in the leagues? We know that in Wales it doesn’t happen, and I don’t see much evidence of the supposed benefits being delivered anywhere.
The reality is that the tournament is more about nationalism than it is about rugby. Go to a Six Nations game and then compare it to the atmosphere at a Premiership, URC or Top 14 game – it will be very different. I don’t have a problem with that, as long as it doesn’t tip over into drunkenness or violence but I very much doubt those fans, there for a good day out, will become converts and start watching elite rugby.
So, let’s keep a sense of perspective during this Six Nations – if it’s a great game then let’s praise it to the rooftops, but if it’s a dog, or worse than that, just plain boring, let’s say so.
That way the organisers will be forced to tackle the issue.
“Six Nations is more about nationalism than it is about rugby”