It may just be an excess of Yuletide sherry, but I swear I can feel the ground shifting beneath my feet.
And make no mistake, booze or no booze, the rugby landscape is set to change utterly during 2014 – although the exact nature of the terrain remains uncertain.
This brave new world will emerge as rugby union continues – almost two decades after it went professional – to try and put itself on a truly professional footing.
As the year is about to turn, there are huge question marks over the future shape of domestic rugby and European rugby in 2014-15. International rugby will be affected too.
With the Welsh regions at permanent loggerheads with the Welsh Rugby Union, we could well see the 2014-15 season herald a new Anglo-Welsh Aviva Premiership featuring the four Welsh regions. The Welsh regions are reportedly being offered £4 million each by Premiership Rugby Ltd and broadcaster BT to sign up to this new proposition.
Such a breakaway wouldn’t be good news for the WRU, but what a cracking innovation it would be for the Premiership.
Watching Bath take on Cardiff Blues in a league match at The Rec, or Leicester clash with the Ospreys, would certainly add some additional spice to Premiership proceedings.
But will it happen? So many things are up in the air at the moment it’s hard to predict just how professional rugby will look come September.
The Pro12 Celtic/Italian league appears to be on a weak footing with limited commercial interest, while European club rugby remains in a long-running and well-documented impasse.
Arguably, what happens between the rugby ‘suits’ in Wales over the coming days and weeks could determine the shape of club rugby across Europe.
If the Welsh regions do breakaway from their Union, then they would be liberated to sign up to the competitions of their choice. In Europe, the Welsh clubs’ preference appears to be for the new Euro Rugby breakaway proposed by English clubs, and with the Welsh on board the French – who initially co-proposed the breakaway – could swing behind the proposal with fresh gusto.
All these ifs and buts on the club level will have repercussions for international rugby. The release of players for international duty outside of the International Rugby Board’s Test window is already a contentious issue as the George North Northampton/Wales saga proved earlier this season, and such issues could become even murkier if the Welsh union – and potentially others – become more isolated.
In short, all bets are off in terms of just how far the ripples from the current Welsh dispute could extend.
I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve heard it said that Bath were the most professional club of the amateur era but have been one of the most amateurish of the professional era.
Under Bruce Craig’s dedicated and hard-headed ownership that statement is now patently false.
The fact, however, is that it’s rugby as a whole that’s still groping its way towards a sustainable, professional footing.
Article source: http://www.thescore.ie/5-irish-rugby-stars-2014-1237111-Jan2014/
TOM BRADSHAW: Rugby union braced for brave new world in 2014
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