The Way Ahead For Wales Has Lessons For Murrayfield

HAVE A LOOK AT THIS BOYO

THE above was the gist of an email I received from my spy in Cardiff this morning. So, I had a look, and thought – there are lessons here for Murrayfield.

Geraint John with Warren Gatland

The piece in question is an interview which Simon Thomas of the Western Mail did for Wales Online with Welsh Rugby Union Head of Rugby Performance Geraint John (their equivalent of Scott Johnston – except, Geraint has a bit of street cred). The whole article can be seen on Wales Online at:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/inside-story-behind-welsh-rugbys-14462517

Background:

Like the SRU, the WRU were concerned at the perceived gap between their Premiership and the four Regional teams – Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets, who compete against Edinburgh and Glasgow in the PRO14. However, whereas Murrayfield simply said: “The Premiership is not fit for purpose,” and decided to introduce Stupid 6, the Welsh went about solving the problem in a sensible and methodical way.

As Geraint John explained: “We appointed consultants and gave them a couple of aims.

We wanted a vibrant, sustainable club rugby model and we wanted the level below the regions to support the player development pathway to make Wales successful at the 2023 and 2027 World Cups.

Those were the two key objectives - Wales to be successful, but also a vibrant club system.”

They set about things thoroughly: “We did workshops with the Premiership and Championship clubs and with the regions. There were online surveys of clubs, supporters and players, with the media being asked for their views as well.

The consultants spoke to other countries to find out what was going on around the rugby world and they looked at other sports,” John revealed.

The consultants came back with their key findings and those went to a steering group that had two representatives from the Premiership, two from the Regions, two from the executive board, two board members, two independents.

An internal WRU steering group produced a model – in reality a case of fine tuning the consultants report. The findings were – Wales needed a performance model and a club model. The question was whether the club model could fit the performance model. That was probably the major discussion.

Wales's way ahead:

Following the consultation period, it was decided the best way forward was to establish four Regional Under-23 teams, a new level between the Premiership and the Regional sides (who will be responsible for the new sided), while there will also be a cut in the number of Premiership clubs, from 16 to 12.

Geraint John explained the thinking: “The feedback from the surveys and the consultants report was - there was a massive gap between Premiership and pro rugby. We tracked training sessions and games and the performance model wasn’t right below regional rugby to support player and coaching development.

Nothing against the club model. That’s week-in, week-out rugby and that’s what the club people wanted. They didn’t want the gaps in the season or the conferences that have been there.

“Performance models are different. You need a competitive period and you need performance blocks, where they train and do the physical and skill preparation.

“The club model of two nights a week does not satisfy a performance model. We haven’t got the facilities, the staff, the infrastructure in the clubs to support a full performance model.

So it had to go into the regions, which is why the consultants went with the U23 model.”

In addition to seeing their Premiership reduced in size, the Welsh Premiership clubs will lose the Performance element of their annual central funding from the WRU, this money will be retained to help pay for the Under-23 teams.

The SRU do not allocate a similar sum to our Premiership clubs for their use of drafted professionals and Academy players, it should be noted. The new plans in Wales will also see WRU cash allocated to their Championship teams – the Welsh equivalent of our National 1, to help close the gap on the top clubs.

There is also confirmation of ongoing talks with the SRU and the IRFU to instigate a sort of Celtic Cup, for Premiership clubs, to replace the British & Irish Cup.

The Wales Online piece makes interesting reading. It demonstrates that Scotland is not alone in having concerns about the gap between club rugby and the full-time professional game, and how to best bridge that gap.

The Welsh model may not be perfect, but, to me it certainly makes far more sense than this half-baked, hare-brained Stupid 6 nonsense which the Murrayfield Ayatollahs are trying to foist upon us.

And, significantly, the Welsh took the trouble to consult the clubs, to get specialist consultants in, and to think the thing through logically.

I urge you to log onto Wales Online and read the Thomas piece. There is much for the SRU and Scottish rugby in general to learn there.

The key changes announced today by the WRU

* Regional U23 teams to be introduced from next season;

* Around 10-12 matches to be played in two blocks in September/October and April, with inter-regional fixtures, plus a cross-border competition against Irish and Scottish sides;

* U23 teams to have squads of around 35 predominantly Welsh-qualified players, with scope for some overage players to be involved;

* Teams to have dedicated coaching and conditioning staff from within the regions;

* From November to March, U23 players to stay in the regions, play for Wales U20s, Wales 7s or Premiership clubs

* Selected players to have a four-week development block in December;

* Anglo-Welsh Cup likely to be scrapped;

* Welsh Premiership to be reduced from 16 to 12 teams from 2019-20, with a straight home and away format followed by end of season play-offs for the top four;

* Four clubs to be relegated from the Premiership at the end of next season, with Clubs from the top two flights to vote on whether the Championship table-toppers should be promoted automatically or whether there should be a play-off with the 12th-placed Premiership team.

* Ring-fencing to be removed, with promotion and relegation between the Premiership and Championship to be reintroduced from 2019-20;

* Relegation based purely on league position, with no guarantee that each region will have a club from its catchment area in the Premiership;

* Four teams to drop down from the Championship into the WRU national leagues as part of the reorganisation;

* U23 teams to be financed out of money currently spent by the WRU on Premiership and Championship clubs;

* Funding to Premiership clubs to be cut over a four year period from £90,000 to around £50,000 from 2019;

* Precise funding to be based on specific criteria, such as coaching and facilities, with the current A licence being revised;

* Parachute payments to clubs relegated from the Premiership;

* Funding to Championship clubs to go up from £4,000 to £15,000 over a period of time;

* Alternative game times, such as Thursday or Friday evenings, to be considered for Premiership matches for broadcasting opportunities and to avoid clashes with the regions and Wales;

* Plans for a cross-border competition to be set up for Premiership clubs;

* The WRU National Cup, involving Premiership and Championship clubs, to be retained;

* A Commercial Manager to be appointed to service the Premiership/Championship and source sponsorship and broadcasting opportunities;

* North Walian side RGC to continue to compete at club level, with insufficient depth at present for them to enter into the U23 competition.