I'll kick off the conversation with my utopia for the way forward:

Disband the WRU control of the Regions - we are 4 businesses in our own right and need financial control of our own futures. 5 representatives on a joint committee, 1 from each region and a players representative too. Negotiate their own funding from URC, TV and WRU for player release and then split the pot equally 4 ways! Each business can increase funding by their own marketing, sponsorship deals etc etc

Full transparency on the financial position of each entity (as England have done since the demise of Worcester and Wasps) this will allow players and fans a level of trust and security.

Regions to gain WAG from schools initiatives to engage with the next generation of players who may be leaning towards football or other sports - Before regional rugby I was fortunate enough to have SQ, Finau, Easterby and Vernon Cooper all attend various training sessions for the school team. Engaging with club training is preaching to the converted, if kids are playing for a club then they are already engaged in the game, enticing children from schools allows us to expand the player base.

Basically its a 3 fold approach - independence and control - financial security - develop and invest in the next generation

The sting in the tail is - sack the dead weight, jobs for the boys, gravy train brigade. If you want business professionals then recruit on merit and a robust CV, not on mates or playing successes from a bygone era 

Is that wales in general or just the Scarlets

You’d like for the club you support to drop out of top level rugby in favour of a newly created team? I can’t get my head around that. 

Your better than this SA14......

Absolutely.....no bloody way.

Dissolve the union, create 2 new entities, one pro and one amateur. 

No but if it came down to it I'd follow the team. 

I wouldn't. 

We have to get this right , and we all need to let go of the past , huge mistakes have been made , money we don't have has been spent and our governing body is being investigated for sexual threats or even worse ....we can't afford to have the idiots remain in charge , but I am not optimistic 

I feel that 

1 The same idiots will remain in charge 

2 The result of the sexual enquiry will be buried and people bought off

3 The blazers at junior club level will still want their free bees 

4 The regions will lose players 

5 Our best players will have success only at french Japan level 

6 We will needlessly spend money on really poor coaches at youth and amateur levels 

7 Future top level coaches will still take contracts with us but deep down they will know that winning anything will be next to non existant and any up and coming player will sign for a big overseas club 

8 Wales could be successful if a top coch can pull together the players from around the world 

And that last point is really the only one that most of the Welsh population care about ...The I'm Welsh for 90 minutes every six nations Saturday ...I will spend my money , I will wear a stupid daffodil and I will mumble my way through the national anthem ...but I have no idea who those 25 players are and I have no idea what club they play for ....

https://twitter.com/Richard99366022/status/1627674487574474752?t=Zy_BE84ekcPaahhAT3ba8g&s=19" rel="nofollow - https://twitter.com/Richard99366022/status/1627674487574474752?t=Zy_BE84ekcPaahhAT3ba8g&s=19

  Dragons and  Ospreys get 4k at nearly every home game .

The Irish Rugby Union has a turnover similar to the WRU, but they invest 80% of their earnings into the professional game in Ireland and they are very successful at both Provincial and National level.

The WRU is claiming they cannot afford to invest any more than 20% of their earnings into the professional game in Wales, something is not right with that statement surely?

Agreed there is something askew here .

Can we get the other SA14 back....dregs are you real.....

Deal by feb could be a full on strike including regional games

You have to fight for the right thing sometimes my friend...whatever the cost.

Years of neglect of the players is not on...it ain't on. Ever.

Most have an image of pampered over payed players.....its not ...im thinking of Joe average from , Dafen, Felinfoel, Hendy, Tumble who at 18 dream of making a career of playing for my home town....for me this is what's it all about.

Are we serious about looking after Welsh players and do an Irish culture for the glory for Ireland or are we going to listen to well educated toffs who know far better than me thick Stebo boy cos they went to a more privileged education and therefore deserve the right to say what that future holds for that Dafen, Felinfoel, Hendy, Tumble.

Screw the WRU

Sums up my worst fears quite nicely Oracle. The fat lady ain't just on the stage she is on the final verse. 

Yes we need to do better to attract more investment and we need to do better to attract more fans, winning helps, but we are now being asked to do it with both hands and feet tied behind our backs.

How about inviting Sir Jim Ratcliffe down to the Brive game and show him what the Scarlets are all about. He’s got a few spare quid and is looking to invest in sport. 

Just think if we had an investor so that we could be independent of  the WRU. 

Pretend economists can look at the wider region incorporating Swansea and say it's silly to have two such regions - but those are paper economics that overlook some very obvious facts.

Simon Muderack on the latest Scrum V podcast episode is very impressive as ever. It made me proud - they really get the connection they embody to west Wales and to the town. This is about identity and the "social" dimension, as he put it.

He said we are fortunate enough to have a pool of around 10 benefactors who are thankfully prepared to put their hands in their pockets.

PRB wants the regions to simply do better at commercial, at revenue-making. I think they need investment in commercial strategy and talent to make that happen, they need help getting into the kinds of networks and rolling out the kinds of ideas that may make a difference.

I fear the rather facile idea of "there's not enough money to go around" (despite the WRU having up to £41m from CVC that it is apparently duty-bound to invest in anything other than rugby) is gaining negative traction at this juncture. Cutting a region is not something that could be walked back from.

Fingers-crossed, I'm hopeful Simon and the team will continue making the best case for west Wales and Llanelli.

If players don't have to play for a region to qualify for wales there's gonna be an exodus. The whole reason this is occurring is players want financial stability. Something they'll get in spades playing in England or France. 

The 60 cap rule is dead in the water. The attraction of Welsh caps & France 2023 can surely be judged by Hawkins signing for Exeter. We all need to brace ourselves for more bad news with guys like Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake etc out of contract. I listened to Simon Muderack's video chat & he confirmed that it has been 5 weeks since the heads of agreement was signed & remarkably the full contract he is yet to see. The reality is we are very unlikely to see any concrete offers to players before April at best. By then the exodus trickle could well have become a torrent. 

Zero incentive to play in wales now. 

Fair point but on the flip side sometimes an organisation can see potentials in players. We've signed players that we've thought who the heck are they and have excelled. Tadgh a prime example. 

Some valid points there to be fair.

What an effing mess. We're the laughing stock of world rugby. We go from highs to the lowest of the low. 

Agreed its the WRU and their appalling idiots that run and ruin the game....let's all concentrate on getting rid of the flaccid dicks.

And get some shares in Pfizer 

Just seen it myself....ouch ...hopefully they are and make a stand....Rorke's drift, the Battle of Tuthill, of Bryn Glas, Battle of Badon, Battle of Orewin Bridge, Battle of Chester, Hatfield Chase, Battle of St Fagans, fighting the bloody Saxons, Romans, bloody Normans....

Stand together like St David who told his soldiers to wear leaks on their helmets so they could spot each other in Battle, Gwenllian the Welsh warrior Princess and of course Owan Glyndwr....we have always fought for our existence and its in us....to do the right thing.

Shove the Lords and idiots that ruin one of the greatest experiences in rugby, Welsh rugby....hope they make a stand.

That's all i have to say.

I think Gats was always doing a press conference at 12:30.

Don't spoil the anticipation Fscarlet mun. 

Its an utterly crazy statement. The ONLY thing that should need investment IS the Pro game, what on earth are they proposing spending the other 80% on? (hotels etc I guess). Its like a shop only spending 20% of money on stock and expecting to be successful.

Agreed

So what's going on ?

So what's happening then font of all knowledge 

Pretty much covered it all there Lofty. 

I think I might have added the Battle of Bolgoed Gate in the Bont along with all the other Rebecca Riots and maybe thrown in the Chartist riots for good measure.

Thankyou Sir.

Reading from a script

Thankyou for this totally agree.

Whats of more concern is Gatland saying no Welsh squad training this afternoon or tomorrow. The selected team will just have a Captains run (unless they strike) on Friday. Hardly good preparation for playing England!

Ominous tbh .

Wayne Pivac was on a http://www.ruck.co.uk/list-5-highest-paid-head-coaches-in-world-rugby/" rel="nofollow - reported £450,000pa.

Tell me about wage inflation again.

They can’t afford it because they have wasted £39 million on a vanity project in West gate Street.  They have shown where their priorities lie and unfortunately it’s not rugby or the pro game in Wales.

WRU 100 mill business, invested in a hotel and not the grassroots.

Ireland invested in the grass roots and actual people with business credentials in the board room.

They can afford to bring gatland back for 2 mill mind.

Gatland shouldn’t be involved in regional stuff. 

Even if the players don't strike, I just can't see them giving all on Saturday......and why would they.

Anyone know how much was invested in the Parkgate Hotel? 

According to the audited accounts £45M of funding has been secured from Legal and General, although it also looks like a further £5M was also borrowed. This sum now represents the majority of WRU current debt. I read in a recent article that the cost of servicing this debt is just under £5M per annum, which coincidently is pretty much the same sum that the WRU want to reduce regional support by.

The obvious solution would be to admit they have made a mistake investing in this hotel in the current challenging market and sell it to repay as much as possible of the debt.

Bloody hell, that's nuts 

The World is absolutely bonkers.....it truly is.

Agree about Gatland he's washed out mun. His best years have gone. 

We don't believe in fresh young minds.

Excellent post.

I may be wrong and stand to be corrected by those with better knowledge than myself.

Over the hillThe finances are a mess, players are going to leave in droves, sxism and a toxic culture in wru and now possibly a strike . He expected a challenge and to me he is past his best but this entire shambles seems to have gathered speed at an incredible rate. Have we got a break clause post world cup?

Yep I agree.

He was the headmaster who wanted to control the class and the school.....

If I'm being honest, he knew exactly what was going on. This has been going on long enough and during his Reign too, not have any idea as to what is going on. 

From my point of view, the WRU have quickly enjoyed, revelled, soaked up, lathered themselves and absorbed the success of the Welsh team on the pitch. Not thinking twice about the long term future of the entire structure of the Welsh game, and have decided to invest those rewards in the wrong areas (the 'Hotel'....I mean, WT actual F) and in areas that are now coming back to bite them on the arse.

The WRU reappointed Gats as they stupidly thought that the Gats factor would get us an instant result on the pitch to once again paper over the cracks that have only got bigger.......it failed spectacularly.......an absolute hammering. Next up, Scotland........it failed again spectacularly, an absolute hammering 

England next, at home, players have had enough. Even if we do play, I expect another..........hammering 🤦‍♂️

Welsh International Rugby everyone, is well and truly back in the 80's.........enjoy, its going to be a long hard slog this one, and I don't think we have the right resources to get out of it this time 

Absolutely, 100% correct 

As he would have been totally aware at least 75% of them would have signed/about to sign in previous years. If that wasn't a huge clue I don't know what is. 

 If the clubs need to make more money themselves  How about starting by getting all clubs (not just the regions) access to some experts in how to market themselves and generate more money themselves? 

Now I see the Ealing Ospreyfinders might be a thing soon, whatever issues they have with the RFU survey the WRU can’t be a better option ? 

Burn it all to the ground I say, then let’s gather up a group of SF members to run a new Union. That totally won’t have a west bias wink wink 

The Scarlets strategy was to build up a large number of smaller local sponsors, whereas Cardiff & Ospreys favoured a smaller number with greater reliance on one or two major backers (eg - Land Rover at CAP). This led to our playing shirts becoming a patchwork of sponsors' logos, something which I had no problem with - it was less efficient, having to service a much greater number of smaller sponsors, but it was true to Scarlets' role as a community club, with many successful local businesses wanting to contribute to and be a part of.

The key point, when I delved into the club's marketing operations and budgets, was that any additional £30k in the business was, it was believed, better invested into an extra Academy player than being allocated to market the club or the upcoming games or non-rugby events at Parc y Scarlets. This was a huge shock to our previous CEO who was used to being smart with lower Marketing budgets (albeit higher R&D investment, a bit of a parallel) than his competitors, but then had pennies to work with in Llanelli. 

The situation is tougher still now, with much-reduced post-pandemic commercial & marketing resource trying to deliver on social media & marketing goals on half a shoestring. The fact is that sustained success is the driver to filling the Parc and getting sponsors to swell the coffers, and that requires long-term certainty and a competitive budget, both of which are things we can only currently dream about.

It's a fair point to challenge all clubs - pro & am - to generate more of their own revenue in more imaginative ways, but you first have to have clarity on the shortfall you're trying to fill, and that comes back to the absence of a player supply model from the Union for the immediate future. 

Welsh Rugby to be consigned to the history books !

Sheriff and Nigel Walker discussing if England game will go ahead.

This will happen within 3 or 4 seasons. It's the only way forward. 

What is the Mission Statement of the WRU ? What is their long term goal for the international side?  for example, top four in the world, finish in the top two in six nations? Win the Grand Slam again. Semi finals of World Cup?

If they have a Mission  Statement and long term goals  do they have a feasible plan to achieve it? How do they develop the game and bring young players through?  Do they have the right structure and people in place to achieve it.?  Are they able to wrest control away from the member clubs?

Answers on a postcard.......

Mission Statement WRU .

1) Let's get pissed and have the best of everything cos we are the bosses.

2) Employ Ladies to be ethically correct but chase them everywhere around the ground and have a squeeze with a gin

3) Let the regions do all the hard work and the pay them pittance for their privilege to serve us.

4) Promise to invest all the money the dumb Welsh public pay to come to our hallowed plastic turf on pallets on ridiculous prices.

5) Promise to care about all rugby supporters and grass roots and plough zero into it.

6) Pay the CEO a fortune for doing zilch but looking good wearing a tie and pulling faces and women.

7) Go everywhere on global missions to develop the Welsh game but its all freebies and piss ups and the occasional escort thrown in

8) On H & S we will stop all alcohol drinks after half time as the piss head public can't hold it, but we will carry on cos it's free.

http://crys16.cymru/2022/02/13/my-goal-is-to-have-a-goal/" rel="nofollow - http://crys16.cymru/2022/02/13/my-goal-is-to-have-a-goal/

Thanks for that, quite useful. So in conclusion, the WRU's stated aims are vague and their own measures of progress, wholly lacking ... in short the WRU would fail an ESTYN inspection