How Green Is My Rugby Pitch Boyo

THE CULT 1970s American sit-come 'Soap' always began with a voice-over which assured us viewers: “Confused, you won't be after this week's edition.”

Rod Roddy, the off-screen voice behind that weekly assurance clearly has never had to try to follow events relating to next season's Celtic rugby programme. What we do know is:

• Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets from Wales; Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster from Ireland; and Edinburgh and Glasgow will compete in the PRO14.
  
  
• The four Welsh regions' and four Irish provinces' A-teams will, starting in season 2018-19; in fact, kicking-off in two weeks' time - compete in the Celtic Cup. We must assume this competition will continue in season 2019-20.

HOWEVER

Wayne Pivac - expects to be playing Edinburgh and Glasgow A teams next season

• At the PRO14 launch in Glasgow on Monday, speaking to Welsh journalists present, Wayne Pivac, Scarlet's Head Coach and the next Welsh coach-in-waiting said: “When the Scots jump in next season.” Which indicates - he expects Edinburgh and Glasgow to enter A-teams in season 2019-20
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• BUT, the SRU is insisting, the competition they will be involved in in season 2019-20 will be between the six semi-professional “Super-6” franchise teams and the top six clubs in the Welsh semi-professional “Premiership”.
  
  
• The Welsh Premiership clubs are a bit confused. While the WRU has told them the SRU want to be involved in this competition, discussions are still at a very-early stage already however, some leading Welsh clubs have said: “We're not interested.”

I actually (Shockeroony warning) have some symathy for The Fat Controller and the Murrayfield Minions in this one.

• The Murrayfield Brains Trust has obviously decided – the semi-professional 'Super-6' is, for Scottish rugby, the most cost-effective way of nurturing the next wave of full-time professionals for their two PRO14 teams.
  
  
• The WRU and the IRFU feel it is better if their next wave of talent is nurtured in the fully-professional environment of their four PRO14 teams.
  
  
  Whose plan will work better? Only time will tell

Timing – where in the season we fit-in these cross-border competitions – is another issue:

• The Celtic Cup kicks-off on 7 September this year, and is due to be completed by the end of October.
  
  
• The SRU apparently wish to play the cross-border games with the Welsh Premiership clubs in the Spring – April and May. However, the current consensus among the Welsh Premiership clubs (as far as ad hoc approaches teach us) is – this timing does not suit us.

Seeking clarity is not aided by the fact, the on-going battle for the “soul” of Welsh rugby is continuing, with some of the Premeirship's bigger guns crying “foul” at the regional take-over of young player development. Merthyr CEO and former Wales coach Nigel Davies has been very clear in his argument – the next generation will learn more facing battle-hardened Welsh Premeirship players at places such as the Gnoll at Neath, Sardis Road, Pontypridd or Eugene Cross Park, Ebbw Vale, than they will facing their Irish contemporaries, is his argument.

Regional coaches such as Pivac disagree, wishing to implement a structured season of intense competitive action, followed by training blocks concentrating on strength and conditioning, skills and team-work. They accept, there might be some benefit in releasing some of the youngsters to play in the Premiership, but, the bulk of the development work will be done at a regional level.

The Pontypool Front Row prepare for action: if the Cross-Border Sixes happen, their old club is unlikely to be involved in the first season

The WRU is also cutting the Premiership from 16 clubs to 12, and cutting their annual grant aid to these clubs. There are fears that these cuts may lead to the demise of some once-great names – already alarm bells are riging in Pontypool, where a combination of not being in the Premiership and concerns over the future of Pontypool Park has them facing a bigger battle than the legendary “Viet Gwent” Pontypool Front Row of Charlie Faulkener, Bobby Windsor and Graham Price ever fought.

The problems the Welsh are facing make our own little local difficulties seem trivial. Down there, it appears as if the corporate “suits” of the Cardiff “Taffia”have not quite managed to kill-off or emasculate the Valleys “Blazeratti” to the same degree as the Murrayfield “Scotia Nostra” had done this up here.

The Fat Controller might have “Finlay” and “Crawford” doing his bidding when he whistles, but, he should be aware, when a member of the self-appointed “Master Race” becomes too-masterful, Finlay, Crawford, Hamish & Co have a long history of cutting the legs from under him.

I just feel sometimes, being from the Mancunian arm of the Master Race, perhaps The Fat Controller hasn't made the strategic alliances he should have with Cardiff and Dublin, and this failing will someday be his undoing.

I accept the case for a bridging layer between the top of the club game and the professional arm of Scottish rugby;

• Had TFC gone about setting this up properly, firstly by making it clear – the franchises are part of the Performance Arm rather than the Domestic Club one – he would have had more support.
  
  
• The way the Celtic Cup has been set-up – played at the start of the season in an intense and clearly definied window – makes it ideal for the entry of Scottish District sides.
  
  
• Had Murrayfield stuck with the original concept of no more than two franchises in any one region it had a chance of working-out well for us.
  
  
• Such a system would have allowed us to better-manage our player resources: the fringe full-time professionals, plus the best of the semi-pro Premiership (come-on our Premiership has been semi-pro at least since it went to the present ten-club format), coming together at the start of the season for four Celtic Cup sides, before the pros go back to the PRO14 and the semi-pros to the Premiership. That would work.
  
  
• What will not work is six artificial clubs, playing each other in an incestuous and repetitive competition, prior to the remote possibility of an end-of-season competition involving lengthy and boring trips up and down the M74/M6/M5/M50, with a pitched battle, on a bad pitch, at the end.