Regional game on the up in Wales, insists Davies

WRU chairman Gareth Davies says the record crowd for Judgement Day IV is proof that the “much maligned” regional game in Wales is on the up.

Close on 65,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s regional double header at the Principality Stadium when Cardiff Blues take on the Ospreys and the Dragons face the Scarlets.

That will be a Pro12 record, comfortably surpassing the 52,762 attendance for last year’s event, which in itself was a competition best.

“I think regional rugby is on the way up in terms of the attendances in the last few months and there’s generally a positive psyche,” said former Wales outside-half Davies. “We said wouldn’t it be great to fill the stadium for this year. We are not quite there, but we are up past 63,500, with about 700-800 a day going. It would be great to have a final push to try and get to that sell out situation.

“It is good news. It shows that in this very often much maligned Pro12 competition and the domestic game, you are looking at 70,000 plus in all likelihood coming together on Saturday.

“There are a number of reasons for that. You are seeing Wales’ top stars play in an event that is seen as growing and we are thankful to the Blues for making it spicier than we all thought it was going to be.

“I am looking forward to it and I am sure 70,000 odd people are as well.

“I am just delighted by the progress made by our regions. We all appreciate our individual positions and we are all striving toward similar goals.

“I went out to Montpellier for the Dragons game at the weekend and their budget is 24 million Euros.

“There were 7,400 people there for a European Cup semi-final with their squad. I sometimes think we get too easily knocked in Wales.”

Pro Rugby Wales chief executive Mark Davies added: “I genuinely believe the regional game is going forward. The coaching groups are getting more effective and the recruitment is becoming more intelligent. You have some really thought-through recruitment across the regions and they will have stronger squads.

“But the thing is about professional sport, and especially one that is evolving quickly now, is that other people are moving as fast.

“We don’t have the same level of financial resource. So we can’t do it that way, which means we have to be more clever and more joined up.

“My own belief is that if you take each of the regions from within and ask whether it’s developing coaching structures, academy structures and its recruitment of players, the answer would be ‘yes’. But the whole thing is moving fast as well.”