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ladram View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ladram Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 6:32am
i see that some of the bigger clubs in football are breaking away from eufa and forming a european super league which is rattling eufa's cage,i know we can't form a league but some action needs to be taken in some form ,we need to act now because we won't be here in 5 years in current form if we don't.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote turkishrebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 10:18am
its absolutely shambolic what the WRU are doing to welsh rugby, its not just the pro teams and lack of funding. they seem to think that hotels and roof climbing will bring in money to keep the union going, putting more games on the fixture list but no care about players and regions.
if there are no players coming through the pro teams and the academies we may as well shut up shop now.
it is a matter of time before there is no professional rugby left in wales. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dyniol53 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 2:54pm
The moment was squandered when Wales were playing poorly in 2016/17 and we started doing well, 2017-18.

That was the only time regional rugby showed it could get bums on seats and eyes on TVs. 

Once we started going downhill and Wales performed well in 2019 the WRU didn’t have to face any tough questions or make any tough decisions.

For years people have warned things like the 4th Autumn test were devaluing the regional game (and cheapening the International game). Yes it brought in revenue but it was in-effect a marshmallow test for the WRU. 

The international game is the premium product which needs to be scarce. 

The regional game is the bread and butter product which needs support. 

WRU patched over that by playing as many Wales games as possible so that the average rugby fan only had to follow team Wales. 

Then they blame the regions for not having enough support but they were constantly taking the marshmellow. 

Our success in 2017/18 was the chance to rectify that but it’s gone now. 

(Investments in a hotel is not a bad thing in my opinion - but it certainly shows you’re not confident in your own business/product! A bit like a government buying Bitcoin!)

Fundamentally rugby is a top-down sport in Wales now. Like any top down system it is great if it goes well but if those at the top start making consecutive bad decisions it leaves the whole structure vulnerable to collapse.


Edited by dyniol53 - 19 April 2021 at 2:56pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dyniol53 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 3:05pm
Originally posted by ladram ladram wrote:

i see that some of the bigger clubs in football are breaking away from eufa and forming a european super league which is rattling eufa's cage,i know we can't form a league but some action needs to be taken in some form ,we need to act now because we won't be here in 5 years in current form if we don't.

Surely the only sensible “break away” League would be a British & Irish league, or at least the 4 welsh clubs joining the English structure. 

The Irish gain the most from the existing Pro14 league and the Welsh miss out the most. 

Playing Bristol, Gloucester, Bath, Worcester every few weeks would be an extra 500 bums on seats and a better atmosphere at regional level.

After all, the reason Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport were accepted to play in the English leagues was because they had massive fan bases filling terraces!

Without fans your club is nothing. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ladram Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 3:13pm
Originally posted by dyniol53 dyniol53 wrote:

Originally posted by ladram ladram wrote:

i see that some of the bigger clubs in football are breaking away from eufa and forming a european super league which is rattling eufa's cage,i know we can't form a league but some action needs to be taken in some form ,we need to act now because we won't be here in 5 years in current form if we don't.

Surely the only sensible “break away” League would be a British & Irish league, or at least the 4 welsh clubs joining the English structure. 

The Irish gain the most from the existing Pro14 league and the Welsh miss out the most. 

Playing Bristol, Gloucester, Bath, Worcester every few weeks would be an extra 500 bums on seats and a better atmosphere at regional level.

After all, the reason Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport were accepted to play in the English leagues was because they had massive fan bases filling terraces!

Without fans your club is nothing. 
agree totally but that isn't going to happen,i'm talking about withholding our welsh players from the 4 regions or something similar until they play ball because as it is we will be down to east and west so that the union can keep having big bucks and all the perks that go with it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dyniol53 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 3:38pm
Mmm yeah. 

I’d return to the point earlier posters were making about Leinster. Leinster’s ability to hold onto top quality Internationals is aided by the Irish governments “sportsperson relief” which means the top rate tax is lower for players who play 10 years in Ireland.

If Wales had something like this it would mean the 4 pro clubs could keep the players like “Sheedy, Lloyd, LRZ, Reffell, Nott, Dan Thomas, Faletau, Young, Biggar, Aled etc the list goes on.”

Ireland have only really “lost” Zebo, Ryan and Sexton to France for a couple of years (Bierne was basically a Leinster reject when he came here) because of that tax. All the other investments they get to make in academies and coaches are because they can pay their players really competitively because of a tax loophole.

The 60 cap rule does a pretty good job at keeping some players in Wales. But clearly not as good a job as basically paying 20% tax on your 300k per year.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dyniol53 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 April 2021 at 3:42pm
Originally posted by ladram ladram wrote:

Originally posted by dyniol53 dyniol53 wrote:

Originally posted by ladram ladram wrote:

i see that some of the bigger clubs in football are breaking away from eufa and forming a european super league which is rattling eufa's cage,i know we can't form a league but some action needs to be taken in some form ,we need to act now because we won't be here in 5 years in current form if we don't.

Surely the only sensible “break away” League would be a British & Irish league, or at least the 4 welsh clubs joining the English structure. 

The Irish gain the most from the existing Pro14 league and the Welsh miss out the most. 

Playing Bristol, Gloucester, Bath, Worcester every few weeks would be an extra 500 bums on seats and a better atmosphere at regional level.

After all, the reason Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport were accepted to play in the English leagues was because they had massive fan bases filling terraces!

Without fans your club is nothing. 
agree totally but that isn't going to happen,i'm talking about withholding our welsh players from the 4 regions or something similar until they play ball because as it is we will be down to east and west so that the union can keep having big bucks and all the perks that go with it.

I share your attitude, but realistically to 90% of the rugby public something like this would look like us / the regions biting the hand that feeds them. 

Outside Ken and AWJ most of the players wouldn’t do it either. Ken 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hoppy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 8:04pm

More Anglo-Welsh matches, a professional team in north Wales, an end to the 60 cap rule and a change in WRU financial policy.

These are just some of the calls to emerge from the findings of our Big Welsh Rugby Survey.

We posed a series of questions about the state of the domestic game in Wales and now readers have had their say.

Some 1,780 people responded to the WalesOnline survey and the results are intriguing.

One of the most overwhelming outcomes was that fans want to see more Anglo-Welsh matches, with 87 per cent in favour.

Tied in with that, a British & Irish League has come out on top as the preferred tournament for Welsh pro teams to compete in.

The jury remains out on the four South Africa Super sides joining an expanded PRO16, with that vote split pretty much down the middle.

As for the thorny question of WRU financial strategy, the views of the public are pretty clear.

Some 84 per cent feel the WRU should repay the £20m bank loan they took out to keep the pro game afloat amid the Covid pandemic, rather than the regions, who are actually having to pay it back.

There is also a strong majority (74 per cent) calling for payments from the WRU to the pro teams to be increased from normal levels.

For context, the original plan was for the regions to receive £26m this season. That was cut to £3m due to the pandemic.

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This article was first published in Simon Thomas' newsletter briefing, sent straight to our rugby newsletter subscribers every Wednesday.

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As for the £51m of CVC Six Nations money, only three per cent support the WRU’s policy of spending all of it on capital projects, such as property development, a stadium roof walk or a venture into the brewing market.

There are also interesting findings on the structure of the game in Wales.

Opinion is divided and the margins are close, but the preferences that come out on top are sticking at four pro teams and for them to take the form of clubs.

But there is also a strong call for the re-drawing of the regional map (69 per cent) and a majority (57 per cent) in favour of establishing a professional team in north Wales.

There is a clear winner in terms of what the stepping stone to the pro game should be, with the Welsh Premiership (58 per cent) getting the nod ahead of either Regional A or U23 teams.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote turkishrebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 8:13pm
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wru-chief-steve-phillips-hits-20487666.amp?__twitter_impression=true

Very worrying for the regions. Totally wrong person in charge of wru. For the regions/clubs.



Edited by turkishrebel - 28 April 2021 at 8:14pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PenScarlet44 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 8:19pm
Originally posted by turkishrebel turkishrebel wrote:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wru-chief-steve-phillips-hits-20487666.amp?__twitter_impression=true

Very worrying for the regions. Totally wrong person in charge of wru. For the regions/clubs.

Wow he comes across as a right arse
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote turkishrebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 8:26pm
Seriously worried how the regions/clubs are going to survive. Rather put the cvc money into the hotel.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ladram Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 8:38pm
the brewing bit might be helpful as they could practise organising a piss up there.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ladram Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 8:40pm
Originally posted by turkishrebel turkishrebel wrote:

Seriously worried how the regions/clubs are going to survive. Rather put the cvc money into the hotel.

the regions have to get together and Strike even if it means a season playing against each other,we cannot continue as it is,Angry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote turkishrebel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 9:06pm
Agree Nige, can't see what else the teams can do.
He doesn't want to help the clubs, just want to get funds in for their great committees. 
All I can see is near civil war in Welsh Rugby. Just very sad it's an Amman valley person in charge. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jones2004 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 9:26pm
He came across awfully in that interview. Clearly has no interest in making the regions successful. As I’ve said before in this topic I’ve no problem with them investing in capital projects if it will increase future income, but if it’s sound business and they want to do that they should borrow the money themselves and pay for it that way. If the business plan adds up it should be no problem; the projects should not be taking rugby money away from the regions. Although I have no confidence in him let’s hope that they can refinance this loan, or it will be a hard 5 years trying to repay the debt for all the regions and will cause Welsh rugby - including the national team - immense damage.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dyniol53 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 April 2021 at 9:46pm
Without improvement in the regions, welsh rugby is only ever two bad 6 nations finishes from collapse. A really fragile ecosystem. 
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