Thursday 28 August 2014

Roger Lewis Q&A: "The ultimate winner is Welsh rugby and now we have to draw ...




Video: Roger Lewis on the new Rugby Services Agreement


It’s been a long time coming, so what is your view of this deal?


Roger Lewis: The ultimate winner is Welsh rugby because together we’ve reached an agreement that meets the financial ambitions of the regions and achieves the rugby objectives of the Welsh Rugby Union.


This is about putting Welsh players first and that has been a position we have wanted for many years.


I have been here eight years and I feel we have needed a much closer relationship with elite players in Wales, not only to develop and nurture them but to retain as many of them as possible in Wales.


At the heart of the agreement are national contracts and those players awarded those will be chosen by Warren Gatland and we’ll work with the regions and players to retain them in Wales.


This deal has long-term security, it’s six years, and that’s quite ground-breaking in professional sport. It guarantees money to the regions and gives them that financial certainty for the future.


Within the money that we are giving to the regions there is a guarantee that all the monies will be given to either Welsh national players or Welsh qualified players.


Pictures: A timeline of controversy




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How many players are you looking to give dual contracts and who decides which region they will play for and what they earn?


We have to have fair play, with the players, the regions and with the Welsh Rugby Union.


We have to respect and honour the pathways that have been created throughout Wales and so we have to work with the players and regions to encourage players to play for their region of origin. That is our shared ambition. But the player has to agree to it.


We have to play fair by all four regions.


In terms of the financial packages, they have to be fair and equitable and represent the market value of those players. We will work together to decide what is right. We have to be realistic, open and transparent. If we are, I think we can achieve this.


We achieved it with Sam Warburton and he stayed in Wales. We will extend that model to all nationally contracted players.


The full details of the deal


Huw Evans Picture Agency

Sam Warburton


 


There are a number of players outside of Wales at the moment who everyone would want to see back, but to reach agreement on them coming back would be a three-way process between the region, the WRU and the player.


The final decision on which players go on national contracts will be Warren Gatland’s. It has to be with the head coach.


You say players playing outside Wales will not be selected for the national team, subject to exceptions. Can you expand on this?


Again, there has to be fairness which respects the unique position Wales occupies in rugby and in the economies of the world game. We will have to be pragmatic and work with the players.


But I emphasise that Welsh players will be put first. We have to have common sense.


Those players who have already left Wales for whatever reason…it would be unfair to disadvantage them within this.


It would also be unfair to expect a region to pay the huge amounts that have been offered in exceptional circumstances in France.


There will be a judgement from Warren in conjunction with the regions’ head coaches, looking at rugby priorities and the financial world we live in.


The best example is the way the New Zealand RFU approaches this, they create the best environment for their players to play.


We are doing the same and hope it will keep players in Wales. It is not only based on financial reward but looks at how many games they play a season, how they are looked after in terms of strength and conditioning and medical needs.


Dan Carter recently took a six month sabbatical


 


We will look at the pragmatic approach New Zealand adopted, for example giving Dan Carter a sabbatical that wraps him in cotton wool, helps him to go towards the World Cup but also gives him financial security. We cannot foresee every set of circumstances that arise, there will be unknown situations, for example players who emerge quickly who command large sums of money.


What we have done is identify those players on a detailed succession plan who will take us through to 2019. Those players are the ones we need to retain.


When can these contracts be signed?


We will start work on this immediately, but we have to work with the players.


The best example of playing fair by a player is Sam Warburton. His huge leap of faith (in signing a central contract) has been proven to be correct.


We were always confident that Sam would be playing for Wales and in Wales.


How many players at any given time can be on a dual contract?


Like everything it is defined by how much we can afford, together, the regions and the WRU. It is about how much we can afford to invest. That is why we have agreed the money will be spent only on Welsh players and that is why there is a limit on foreign players.


We will have to come up with a formula and a model that everyone thinks is right.


Xavier Rush
Xavier Rush was one of the most successful imports Welsh rugby has seen


 


This has been a long, drawn out and acrimonious process. How do you reflect on that and what, genuinely, is your relationship like with the four regions?


Throughout all these negotiations the WRU has not commented. There was a request from Sir Wyn Williams, who mediated throughout all the negotiations, that we should not comment publicly.


We honoured that agreement and throughout all the events of the last seven months our stance was to retain our dignity and not get embroiled in anything we felt was inappropriate.


But I have met with Nigel Short, chairman of Regional Rugby Wales, somewhere in the region of 40 occasions since January.


On not one occasion in those discussions did we have a cross word. All discussions were conducted in a professional and business-like manner. The noise outside the room did not reflect what happened within the room.


There have been peace deals in the past only for fresh battles to break out. What makes you confident you can make it to 2020 without any more flare-ups?


At the heart of this is meeting the regions’ commercial and financial ambitions. The regions have now achieved this for six years. In return the WRU has achieved its rugby objectives.


On that basis, we have to be confident about the future because the onus is upon the WRU to deliver the monies within the agreement.


Rugby exists in Wales through a winning Wales filling the Millennium Stadium and the monies generated from the national team are re-invested in the game at all levels.


The model is there it has been debated, negotiated and agreed and signed.


Action Images

“A successful Welsh team generates money that will be re-invested at all levels” – Lewis


 


What’s your response to the accusation that the WRU doesn’t want the regions to succeed?


Throughout every comment I’ve made, on or off the record, we have been unequivocal in our support for the four regions. That is why I signed the last agreement in 2009 and that’s why I’ve signed this agreement now.


I have never viewed this as winners and losers, it’s about what is right for the game.


The WRU, as the governing body, has borne the brunt of criticism in this process. Has that been fair and how have you dealt with it?


Five years ago we had a similar process of negotiation, it took well over a year to agree and we didn’t sign the 2009 agreement until September.


The difference between now and then, unfortunately, is that so much of this has been played out in the public domain.


But as I’ve said, we made a decision not to engage in a war of words from the start.


The ill-informed comment, the speculation, the mischief-making…we decided to rise above it.


What took place in the negotiating room bears no resemblance to what actually went on.


Nigel Short behaved with dignity and in a statesman-like way. It was others, not part of negotiations, who were hellbent on making mischief.


But our attitude has always been that this is about doing the right thing, looking forward, not back. And that’s what we are doing now.


What was the impact of the EGM and David Moffett on this process?



Huw Evans Agency, Cardiff

David Moffett arrives for the Extraordinary General Meeting


 


The most important aspect of the EGM was to respect the membership of the Welsh Rugby Union. Those 320 clubs wanted to enter into that debate with us and we had to respect it. I’ve no issue with the EGM being called because it is the clubs’ right.


But the outcome was encouraging. It was not centred at all on the negotiations with the regions but issues regarding the leagues and a range of other grassroots rugby issues.


We saw it as our duty to approach the EGM in a detailed and methodical way to give the clubs the respect they deserve.


Do you accept there is a job for Welsh rugby to do to win back a disillusioned public fed up with the politics?


We have to draw a very clear and firm line under this now, get back on track and focus on why we are involved in rugby, which is to look after the game.


This agreement is about rugby backed up by the financial confidence that gives the regions the ability to compete on the field and sustain themselves.


But first and foremost it is about rugby, it is about players, pathways and academies. That is the message we have to give to the fans – it’s all about the game from now on.


Huw Evans Agency

Rhys Patchell is a product of the Cardiff Blues academy


 


How significant is the return of the A team?


The A team is there for rugby reasons, we need one to help players develop and be exposed to a different sort of rugby. That fixture will take place ahead of the Six Nations and we will work as quickly as possible to get a fixture in place ahead of the 2015 Six Nations.


What’s the thinking behind limiting foreign players to six per region, plus two so-called time-servers?


A carefully selected, judicious mix of overseas players is, without question, good for the game in Wales and Warren Gatland recognises that.


Warren, in discussion with the regional head coaches, needs to decide what is that right mix.


We know down the years the likes of Percy Montgomery, Xavier Rush, Justin Marshall and Regan King have been great for each of the regions.


Players of the calibre are good for the game in Wales and provide support for the regions during international fixtures.


How important has Warren Gatland been in all of this?



Warren Gatland


My mantra has always been long-term planning and long-term decision-making, which is one of the reasons why Warren is with us until 2019. Warren has been at the heart of this, in fact, not just him but the rest of the management team.


Warren played a key role, working with the rugby people at the regions.


I would also highlight the role of our operational head Julie Patterson, whose woman’s voice in a man’s world has greatly facilitated negotiations. The WRU head of legal affairs Rhodri Lewis and finance director Steve Phillips have also played crucial roles in bringing this deal over the line.



Roger Lewis Q&A: "The ultimate winner is Welsh rugby and now we have to draw ...

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