Welsh rugby faces D-day as regions meet WRU to thrash out future
Welsh rugby reaches D-Day today with former Wales captain Ryan Jones calling on the sport’s rulers to stop the domestic game being ripped apart.
Jones spoke out – saying players were “tired†of the constant in-fighting and warning of a Doomsday scenario with no genuine domestic competition impacting on the Wales national team – ahead of showdown talks today in a desperate last-ditch bid to solve the latest crisis engulfing the game.
The
Welsh Rugby Union and four regions will meet amid the wreckage of the Heineken Cup saga and in the wake of yet more Wales internationals agreeing deals elsewhere.
the Wales captain has said he will seek his future elsewhere.
“Let’s cut to the nuts and bolts of it,†said Jones, who has won 75 caps and led Wales a record 33 times.
“As
players it is hugely frustrating. We have a relatively small player base in Wales and collectively we need to be pulling in the same direction.
“I am tired of it and I know the other players are tired of it – and so are the Welsh public.
“The
sooner it is resolved the better, but my worry is that it is going to put a scar on the domestic game that will take a while to heal.
“The
clock is ticking and my fear is we won’t have a genuine competitive domestic competition with competitive regions which would possibly mean we don’t have a competitive national team.â€
The
WRU have given the regions until the end of 2013 to sign a new participation agreement with the current deal expiring at the end of this season.
regions had pledged their support for the proposed Rugby Champions Cup but the WRU has steadfastly backed the continuation of the ERC-run Heineken Cup. That means the Welsh sides must continue to play in that competition and the RaboDirect Pro 12 unless they take the risk of breaking away from Union control.
With
the Rugby Champions Cup now dead, but English clubs confirming they will play no part in the Heineken Cup, the possibility of the Welsh regions being invited to join the Aviva Premiership is one option on the
table.
Wales’ four franchises have shown significant interest in this idea – but the Rugby Football Union is confident European competition can be salvaged for next season with chief executive Ian Ritchie warning the alternative would be vastly inferior.
Ritchie
is optimistic the obstacles preventing an agreement on a new tournament
involving all six competing nations – framework, voting on commercial rights and broadcasting rights – can be overcome.
“We must understand the consequences of failure – they are not a good thing,†Ritchie said.
“We are in a better place if we have a proper pan-European club competition.
“The alternatives are lesser to the ones we believe we should be working towards.
All of us have an obligation to bust a gut to reach an agreement.
“We need to get in a room as a matter of urgency and get proper, focused discussions to agree on the outstanding matters.â€
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