The Argument Around Professional Player Development Is A Developing Story

LAST season was one of change for the professional game, with the PRO12 becoming the PRO14, through the introduction of the two South African teams. It will retain its two conference, 14 club format for this season, although there is some talk of further expansion, perhaps as early as 2019-20.

This season's big change in the professional game will be the introduction of the Celtic Cup, which will pit Under-23/A teams from the four Welsh regions and the four Irish provinces head-to-head, with the Scots in the SRU's seemingly preferred role of onlookers.

Opinion as to how the new Celtic Cup might help or hinder the professional game vary, even between Ireland and Wales. It will be really intersting to see which of the two countries has got it right.

 David Nucifora of the IRFU

In explaining why Dublin had backed this new venture, the IRFU’s Performance Director, Australian David Nucifora, said:

“The Celtic Cup will bring significant value to the development of our emerging professional players, referees, coaches and support staff. It will challenge them to perform and manage themselves within a professional competition structure throughout a week-to-week campaign similar to the Guinness Pro14.

“The Celtic Cup is also a fantastic vehicle for the development of our next tier of coaches who will have to take the learnings from games each week to drive performance across the competition.

“The IRFU are cognisant of the important role that our domestic club competitions play in the development of young players. The scheduling of the Celtic Cup is intended to be complementary to the club game and create a supportive season structure into the future.”

The Welsh view, as expressed by WRU Performance Director Geraint John was similar to the Irish one. Cardiff – unlike Murrayfield – did not just say: “Our Premiership is not fit for purpose.” They employed consultants, who actually consulted; they held workshops, the clubs had their say, as did the WRU Performance Department, so, in the end, John was able to say:

Geraint John, with Warren Gatland

“Essentially, everyone agreed there were two models. 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.

"So a week-in, week-out club model doesn’t actually support a performance model.

"That’s why we had to separate everything out. We have to make sure our young professionals are fully supported in terms of coaching, medical, conditioning, nutrition, analysis. Then when it comes to competition, you need the best playing alongside each other, on the best surfaces.

"We need to monitor training, the distance they are running, high speed meters. We need to get into the scientific part of playing the game. Some will call that a load of codswallop, but it’s reality now. That’s the world we live in.

"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.”

As everyone in rugby knows, the Welsh could give even the Borders clubs lessons in tribalism and how to conduct local disagreements over several generations or centuries. So, naturally, Geraint John's enthusiasm for the new methodology of managing player development is not universally accepted.

Nigel Davies

Nigel Davies, former Wales coach, now CEO of Welsh Premiership Champions Merthyr Tydfil has emerged as a vociferous critic of the new set-up, saying:

“I think we’ve got to look at the positive side of the Premiership. There are a lot of people who comment on it who don’t know the facts.

“Every Welsh player who has been based in Wales who has gone on to play regional and international rugby has come through the Premiership. They use it as a stepping stone.

“On average each Wales player has played at least 30 Premiership games. The only exception to that is George North who played regional rugby at 17.

“Having coached at regional level I know how valuable the Premiership can be in the development of players. It’s been a great stepping stone to professional rugby.

“In the Premiership there are also a lot of players who are good enough for professional rugby, but don’t want to play it. They still have a lot of experience so when aspiring young players play with or against them, it is very beneficial.

“It may not be at the pace and intensity of the professional game, but the facts are quite clear and they say the Premiership has played a fantastic role 

in developing Wales internationals.”

Nigel Davies then continued:

“Have we got enough players in Wales to automatically fill Under-23 sides? I doubt it.

“A lot of these players have played against each other throughout the age grade system, so Under-23 sides would be very incestuous. They wouldn’t be learning anything or working with more experienced players.

“When I played I learnt my trade not from the coaches, but from the senior players around me. That’s where I learnt to play rugby.

“The Under-23 players aren’t going to be playing against players with that experience and that’s where you learn. For example props learn by scrummaging against gnarled experienced props.

“Those props may not be the fittest, but they can scrummage as well as anyone in the Welsh game. There are senior players in the Premiership who see the game as well if not better than a lot of players in the professional game.

“There’s a huge amount of experience in the Premiership which you aren’t necessarily going to get in a younger age group of players. Morally, I’m not sure if what the WRU is doing is right. The regions are carrying big squads now to cater for the Under-23 sides.

“A lot of players think they will be good enough to play professional rugby, but realistically they never will be.”

It would appear therefore, the SRU has – in pushing Super-6 - gone for something between the Irish and Welsh models. It might work, but, a lot of us have our doubts. These are based mainly on our opposition to the way it has been imposed on the game: little or no consultation; no KPIs (key performance indicators) referred to or used – typical Murrayfield control freakery.

Then there is the final absurdity – S6 is being introduced, just as the Celtic Cup is in Ireland and Wales, to assist in developing PROFESSIONAL rugby. But, the SRU is labelling it as part of DOMESTIC rugby. This is an absolute nonsense.

Maybe if Murrayfield came clean on this issue, they might be able to get a bit more grass roots support for it, and peace might break out in Scottish rugby.

I will be returning to this issue later this week. Just one final thought, however - in Ireland, the IRFU's Performance Director is front and centre backing their plans, ditto in Wales. Up here, as always - our Performance Director is nowhere to be seen, he is never quoted.

What exactly does the Lesser-Spotted Johnson Do in Scottish Rugby - and, do we really need him?