Just getting rid of one seems like a temporary solution to a systemic problem.
Big rethink needed IMHO.
Wales online love peddling the ‘let’s turn the Welsh fans against each other’ rhetoric, cut the CEOs wages and the boards’ wages and you can fund another 10 regions..
Ideally none of them should be cut. The IRFU were looking at cutting off Connacht over a decade ago but after a review realised it was idiotic to get rid of a quarter of your talent pathways and country’s professional playing slots.
All 4 cover different areas that wouldn’t move to a new merged team if they lost their club.
[deleted]
The regions were the right approach but it was implemented badly as they were largely superimposed on existing clubs and we’re a tribal lot. South Wales geography doesn’t really lend itself to the Irish provincial approach either. Could have tried to align with historic counties but then a Glamorgan team would cover both Cardiff, Swansea and everywhere in between? And anything else feels convoluted and arbitrary.
I think you’ve gotta stick with what you’ve got and work out how to fund them. Going down to three is unlikely to solve anything, just like going down to four failed to solve anything 20 years ago.
There are broader funding issues in the game however. It’s not just a Wales problem. Every sport nowadays looks at the Premier League or NFL in terms money and thinks it can get a slice of that action. But the only thing that generates any real income is the international game and French club money men. At some point rugby union needs to realise it isn’t box office and cut it’s cloth accordingly.
The Ospreys are due to start renovating St Helen’s in Swansea. I’m not saying that it’s a good reason to drop them, but I can see that some people would think so.
Can we just blend with the Premiership?
My bet is The Scarlets. Way out west but close to Swansea, tiny town,loads of debt.
Given the WRU needs the money it makes sense to focus on Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, that’s were the biggest markets are.
Most likely I assume is to go 1+2+1 of Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets, Dragons in terms of funding or 2+2 of Cardiff and Scarlets and Ospreys and Dragons. Best case would be a 3+1 leaving just Dragons as a development team.
If they were to gut a team most likely one of Ospreys or Scarlets and brand it as a merger of the two, with the new team either playing in black at St Helens or scarlet at Parc Y Scarlet.
Cutting a team just is far more negative than other options as it would mean less money overall from URC TV money due to having a lower proportion of teams as well as removing player development pathways
The scarlets are welsh rugby ffs.you can’t get rid of them. The dragons gotta go…. They’ve been terrible since we went to regional rugby.. it’ll be one of scarlets or the ospreys though.. the idea of them getting rid of the blues is laughable…. We all know all roads lead to Cardiff….
The Scarlets have always been the heart of the Llanelli. Hardly anyone in Cardiff cares how the Blues are doing. But then what do any of us know.
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Just getting rid of one seems like a temporary solution to a systemic problem.
Big rethink needed IMHO.
Wales online love peddling the ‘let’s turn the Welsh fans against each other’ rhetoric, cut the CEOs wages and the boards’ wages and you can fund another 10 regions..
Ideally none of them should be cut. The IRFU were looking at cutting off Connacht over a decade ago but after a review realised it was idiotic to get rid of a quarter of your talent pathways and country’s professional playing slots.
All 4 cover different areas that wouldn’t move to a new merged team if they lost their club.
[deleted]
The regions were the right approach but it was implemented badly as they were largely superimposed on existing clubs and we’re a tribal lot. South Wales geography doesn’t really lend itself to the Irish provincial approach either. Could have tried to align with historic counties but then a Glamorgan team would cover both Cardiff, Swansea and everywhere in between? And anything else feels convoluted and arbitrary.
I think you’ve gotta stick with what you’ve got and work out how to fund them. Going down to three is unlikely to solve anything, just like going down to four failed to solve anything 20 years ago.
There are broader funding issues in the game however. It’s not just a Wales problem. Every sport nowadays looks at the Premier League or NFL in terms money and thinks it can get a slice of that action. But the only thing that generates any real income is the international game and French club money men. At some point rugby union needs to realise it isn’t box office and cut it’s cloth accordingly.
The Ospreys are due to start renovating St Helen’s in Swansea. I’m not saying that it’s a good reason to drop them, but I can see that some people would think so.
Can we just blend with the Premiership?
My bet is The Scarlets. Way out west but close to Swansea, tiny town,loads of debt.
Given the WRU needs the money it makes sense to focus on Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, that’s were the biggest markets are.
Most likely I assume is to go 1+2+1 of Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets, Dragons in terms of funding or 2+2 of Cardiff and Scarlets and Ospreys and Dragons. Best case would be a 3+1 leaving just Dragons as a development team.
If they were to gut a team most likely one of Ospreys or Scarlets and brand it as a merger of the two, with the new team either playing in black at St Helens or scarlet at Parc Y Scarlet.
Cutting a team just is far more negative than other options as it would mean less money overall from URC TV money due to having a lower proportion of teams as well as removing player development pathways
The scarlets are welsh rugby ffs.you can’t get rid of them. The dragons gotta go…. They’ve been terrible since we went to regional rugby.. it’ll be one of scarlets or the ospreys though.. the idea of them getting rid of the blues is laughable…. We all know all roads lead to Cardiff….
The Scarlets have always been the heart of the Llanelli. Hardly anyone in Cardiff cares how the Blues are doing. But then what do any of us know.
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