A Brief History of Regional Rugby and the PA

Past; Present; Future?
By Andrew Collins
December 12 2013

No WRU negotiation; 3 new regions; Sam and Leigh to leave. Even by Welsh rugby’s standards, last night’s ‘showdown meeting’ was farcical.

Reaction to last night’s meeting has been explosive on social media, with the #UniteAndFight regional support message dominating posts all day. Never before has the WRU been called into question like this in the public gaze. For years, they have fought an aggressive PR battle with the four Welsh regions, and won hands down, but as murky details emerge about the obsessive and ruthless union, Wales is finally seeing the truth.

As this story continues to grow and develop, and speculation mounts as to whether there even is a future in Welsh rugby, here is a brief history as to how this mess came to be.

When the 5 new regional teams in Wales were announced over a decade ago, the aim was a clear one which represented the shared needs of the whole game in the country; to make Wales a successful rugby nation at both club and international level. It was rushed, poorly managed, unimaginative and extremely unclear, but at very least there was a genuine desire for all parties to pull together towards this shared goal.

Shortly after, they shocked Northern Hemisphere rugby winning their first recent Grand Slam in 2005, it looked as though a shiny new era was on the horizon. But somewhere along the way, international rugby became the focus, egos replaced ambitions and success was redefined.

No one can question the triumph of the Welsh national team since the formation of regional rugby. Four 6 Nations crowns, three Grand Slams, a Rugby World Cup Semi-Final and consistently matching the Southern Hemisphere’s big 3. Off the pitch there’s been massive success too, with income from tickets and merchandise at an all-time high – the WRU have been able to reinvest millions to redecorate their corporate facilities, while still paying off the historical Millennium Stadium debt ahead of schedule.

But all of this has come at a significant cost to club rugby.

The Celtic League has failed to inspire the vast majority of fans to attend on a regular basis, with qualification to European rugby all-too-easy, no threat of relegation, too many televised matches, inconsistent kick off times and, most significantly, an apathy which existed in both the fans and players as stars are rested weeks ahead of ‘Team Wales’ matches.

The regions have been forced into a position where they can’t make any more revenue, as the competition they play in isn’t attractive to fans, sponsors or lucrative TV deals.

Then there’s the Participation Agreement.

When the PA was signed between the WRU and the 4 regions five years ago, it seemed a fair way to compensate teams for losing their best players during the Celtic League season. The regions were starting to pay big bucks to keep their new Welsh stars, following their international success, and the WRU were helping to support them. Like the formation of the regions, it was messy and poorly done, but it felt as though all parties were doing so for the right reasons.

Yet since then, all the regions have done is compromise. The Union have insisted on longer preparation time with the players ahead of Wales matches, extra rest time following international competitions, less risk when players are carrying injuries and even scheduling players’ operations and surgeries around their fixture list. They have wrestled control of the players away from their actual employers, citing ‘the greater good’ as their reason for doing so.

The current PA contract is up at the end of this season, and it seems only fair that the WRU addresses the imbalances. One of the biggest issues is how much money the WRU should pay to gain almost unlimited access to players at the Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. During the past 5 years, player contracts in Wales rose immensely as Welsh stars become sought after all over the world, yet despite these rising costs, the WRU didn’t increase their contributions to match the rate of inflation.

And now, as the WRU attempt to ‘negotiate’ the regions into re-signing the PA, all they’re offering is exactly the same funding as was in place 5 years ago, meaning the WRU’s compensation package to the regions will not have increased in real terms in 10 years.

Many people are incorrectly seeing this as a war between two selfish entities unwilling to compromise, but that simply isn’t true. The problem lies with the WRU and their ruthless pursuit to gain absolute control of Welsh rugby. Following years of being chocked and strangled into the financial mess we find ourselves in today, the regions’ united defiance is an inspiring breath of fresh air.

So as the regions attempt to join the Aviva and the WRU claim they will create 3 new clubs, be sure that the blame here lies squarely at the feet of the Union. They have forgotten that the core values of a successful Welsh national squad are underpinned by a harmonious and fruitful club game. If the WRU suffocate the regions to death this year, it will be the end of professional club rugby in Wales forever.

A Brief History of Regional Rugby and the PA

Posted by: theArmsPark.co.uk (IP Logged)

Date: 12/12/2013 17:21

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