People have criticised the WRU for sitting on their hands over recent years but after Nigel Walker grabbed the women's game and shook it into shape, now his interim successor Huw Bevan is looking to start a rugby revolution in this country.
The male player pathway in Wales has always been strong, but after an 18-month thorough review by Geraint John's community department, and head of player development John Alder, Bevan is confident the new 10-year development plan for players aged 14-24 is going to greatly enhance the quality of player available to both the regions and Wales.
It is the most radical shake-up of Welsh rugby since the regions were born in 2003, and probably the most important given regional playing budgets are getting significantly slashed.
The key message is to develop their own talent and Bevan's brief is to maximise the potential of one of the biggest cohorts of players in Wales - the 5,000 or more in the 14-15 category - and turn them into professional players of the future under the banner of "more players, better players".
The programme affects the Dewar Shield, the Welsh schools and colleges league, the regional age-grade programme, the national age-grade system and, critically, a second professional league to underpin the regional game.
WalesOnline sat down with Bevan himself to talk through the WRU's plans:
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Q: Can you outline the changes you are making to the pathway?
A: "There's been a recognition by everyone in the game that to be successful long-term we are going to have to look at the way we operate and be more collaborative across the board. One of those areas is the pathway and a lot of work has already gone into that. It's been going on for 18 months to two years, and we've done a complete review of our pathway.
"It's not just about the academies and the top end of our game but looking at a system that can be built up over a 10-year period. The entry point will be age 14, through to the professional game exit point of 23-24. We've been looking at what we've been doing in those periods of time that's going to enable us to be successful.
"This is not going to be a short-term fix. We are trying to find a long-term solution to this problem. It's going to take a while, and there will be no immediate fix. We can't just put sticky plasters over the issues we've got currently."
Q: What has the review been looking at?
A: "The review has been looking at what we do between ages 14 and 16 in what we call the talent discovery phase: that's going to be development-focused, although there will be a competitive element.
"This phase wont be driven by competition. We want to develop as many players as we can within that talent pool.
"From that they will feed into the 16-18 phase which we are calling the talent development phase. Here they start feeding into the junior academy system supported by the regions.
"A lot of them will be engaged in the national schools and colleges league which is being revamped. The schools and colleges league is really important to me because we need to ensure we get the right balance between rugby performance and academic achievement. Both are very important.
"From 18-24, the players will be in the senior academy getting a full service from the regions. We are looking to create opportunities for these players to be competitive at regional and international level."
Q: Are players being discarded too soon and therefore lost to the game? Surely we have to make sure there is still scope for late developers like a James Davies to come through?
A: "Yes, I agree 100%. Our new strapline is more and better players, and it's very important we retain players within the community game as well. We develop them, and create entry points for them within the pathway. At the exit point out of the performance system we support and encourage players.
"Hopefully, because of the positive experience they've had through the development period they will then be retained in the community game. We've got the highest number of registered players we've had at 13 and 14 since records began 10 years ago.
"We need to make sure we are all delivering a high-quality product. With the academies, we are looking at introducing an academy licence which is currently being driven through by the Professional Rugby Agreement that will cover staffing, quality of the programme, time requirements, the support they get, the coaching. On top of that we also need to review what we are doing to ensure that what we are delivering is up to scratch as well. There are areas of improvement which are needed but we need to lead the way.
"It's the same principle which is being applied to the schools and colleges league. We are looking at people to deliver a certain level of quality and to be accountable for the quality of the programme they deliver."
Q: What is the biggest difference between this new system and what came before?
A: "At academy level a certain amount of money will be committed to player contracts at senior academy level and a certain amount of money will need to be committed to providing the services and staffing to support the high-quality programme they will be expected to deliver.
"My approach is to be collaborative, we are all in this together and we must all do better together. Ultimately, though, there is an expectation with the funds being provided to the regions - this has been done in conjunction with the PRB - that we need to be better at maximising the resources. We need to provide a better service than we've previously been providing."
Q: For years people have been arguing the gap between the Welsh Premiership and the regional game needs to be bridged. What are the plans for this and is there any progress on this new "elite" eight-team league?
A: "We need a vehicle to develop the highest potential rugby players to bridge the gap between the academies, the regional, and international game. There's been an enormous amount of work done with regards to that. It has been another collaborative project between the WRU, the WRU's community department, the performance department, the regions, and the Premiership clubs themselves.
"We are pretty close. It's not over the line yet although we are pretty close to delivering something which will deliver what our primary purpose is, which is something where our high performance players get an opportunity to compete at an intensity that is going to prepare them for the next step. This will sit between the top end of the community game and the URC.
"Whatever the format of our new competition is, North Wales is going to be an integral part of it. This is a hotbed of rugby activity in Wales especially in the Women’s and Girls game and I can't stress enough how important the WRU's hugely positive relationship with Conwy council is."
You can read about the elite league plan in more detail here.
Q: Will there be a cross-border element to this?
A: "That would be very attractive but that's something to consider down the line. We would relish the opportunity to have that opportunity at that level. This level of competition was being discussed when I was here before working at the Dragons. At least now there is positive intent from everybody to get this over the line."
Q: With these cuts to the playing budgets, it will mean the Welsh regions will have to carry smaller squads. This has led to many fearing a young academy player could be thrown to the wolves against the likes of Leinster or the Stormers before he is ready. What do you say to this?
A: "We have to trust the people who are involved to make the right decisions for the individuals involved. Some players are ready to be involved in competitions of that intensity [URC], and some people aren't. Each individual case has to be taken on its merits."
Q: Nigel Walker recently suggested there could be a regional loan system. Can you put more meat on the bones please?
A: "That hasn't been further investigated but I wouldn't be averse to it but we'd have to discuss that with the regions because they'd have to agree. I think it would probably be a sensible thing, though, if players were available. It would be another example of working collaboratively that could be beneficial to everybody."
Q: It's all well and good wanting the regions to produce players for the national side but they surely have aspirations to be successful in their own right. What are the plans to get the regions competing for silverware in the long-run?
A: "In order to be competitive at the final stages of the URC and in Europe you have to have players who are capable of playing international rugby. The two things go hand in hand.
"The development programme needs to be at a standard where we are producing high-quality individuals that will enable both Wales and the regions to be more successful. What I can't stress enough is that this isn't going to be a quick fix. It's going to take time and we are going to have to work at it.
"The first thing we need is to have sustainable regional teams. Then we have to look at our underpinning pathways to make sure we are operating at a level that delivers what we need in terms of the quality of players. This is about growing playing numbers, and producing a better quality of player for the regions.
"Previously, there wasn't so much competition for young men in particular but now there's lots of distractions. Before you either played rugby or football, but there weren't so many other things you could do.
"The key thing is making sure the services we deliver at every step of our pathway are geared towards providing as many high-quality players to the top end as we can. It has to be systematic and we have to be organised in the way we go about it. There are challenges across the board and when you look at England they simply have more resources.
"It means there are certain characteristics that we need to use to our advantage, like the proximity of all our clubs and the geographical size of Wales. In particular our structure on the M4 corridor and how we can maximise that by working together. It's about maximising the potential of all the individuals we are working with."
Q: Years ago the regions had top-end overseas players like Jerry Collins, Regan King, Filo Tiatia and Xavier Rush who had such a big influence on developing Welsh players. Surely there needs to be room for these sort of signings?
A: "I was at the Ospreys during the Galacticos period and Filo Tiatia was a fantastic example of an overseas player who was undoubtedly beneficial to others. Gary Teichmann is another classic example and there are many others as well. However, the reality is we currently don't have the money to attract those sort of players.
"The regions can still bring in overseas players, that's a decision which is up to them and their budgets, but for this period we may need to focus more on homegrown talent and making sure those players can be the best we can make them. There is room for quality overseas players but we just need to make sure we are getting value for money."
Q: What are your thoughts on the 25-cap rule?
A: "The purpose of the policy is to make it more attractive for our best players to stay in Wales. The regions need to make sure they can capitalise on the time, effort and money they've poured into their players. It's all about allowing them to recoup their investments. It's also beneficial to Wales in terms of access to their players for those preparation periods for the November window and the Six Nations.
"There's been a lot of discussion and debate over the 25-cap law. Some people suggest it's too low, some think it should be closer to 40 so players can get the opportunity to provide a valuable service to their regions before going overseas to get a pay cheque.
"We need to find a way to make it more attractive to keep players here in Wales to play with their regions and then to be more accessible to Wales. If they want to go play overseas then that's their choice.
"We've got no plans to scrap the cap law. What I want to make sure is that we make it as attractive as we possibly can to make players stay in Wales. Part of that is ensuring the quality of the programmes we are delivering in the academies and at regional level means the players feel they are improving and becoming more competitive."
Q: How's the succession planning for the senior men's squad going? Can Wales achieve success like they have in the past 10 years any time soon?
A: "Warren [Gatland]'s track record at the World Cup speaks for itself. In the time he was here previously he was exceptional in terms of what he achieved with the players he had. You could argue he had an exceptional group of players but there is no doubt Warren is an exceptionally talented coach. His record will go up against anybody's.
"He's also got a really good track record at giving young players an opportunity when he recognises they have that ability. We've seen that with players like Mason Grady and players like him coming through. Come 2027 he's going to be a more physically mature and a more experienced international player.
"When you go to a World Cup you don't want to be going in with too many youngsters. At the same time you need to go in there with players who have had exposure at senior level. Looking down the track towards the subsequent World Cups that's where our pathway is critically important.
"Just look at the way France have built on the success of their U20s programme, that's why they are so competitive on the senior international stage now. They've invested in a systematic process to develop players from a young age and through their age-grade programme. We need to ensure our system is equal to that if not better."
Q: What does success look like for the U20s this summer and what's gone wrong with our age-grade programme?
A: "Winning isn't necessarily the only measure of a development programme. Winning can also be affected by the size of your talent pool, as you see with England, and it can be affected by the quality of the players you have at that particular age.
"You can have an exceptional group of players bring you success but if you look at it over a longer period of time, sustained success is based on the quality of the system. That's why we had to go back to examine what they are doing and ask the question 'what could we do better?'
"That's why we've come up with our new pathway programme - a discovery phase, a development phase, and a performance phase. What we have to do is ensure everything we are doing within those three phases is appropriate for the individual's needs so by the end of it we are producing better quality players."
Q: How much emphasis is on the Exiles programme?
A: "It would be foolish not to explore any opportunities from players who have the appropriate talent and eligibility. We've done this previously in terms of residency although that's now becoming more difficult with the rules going from 36 months to 60 months but I'm sure there are Welsh-qualified players out there who would relish the opportunity to play for Wales. They are also the sort of players the regions will want to attract."
Q: How important is the university system, in particular BUCS Super Rugby?
A: "We met with BUCS and we discussed with them about Super Rugby and the women's national league and asked how we can capitalise on that. It's certainly part of our consideration moving forward but it's in the early stages.
"As I said before I'm passionate about if it's appropriate for players to continue their education and develop outside of rugby. Those universities with BUCS Super Rugby would be excellent vehicles for that. We need to work more on that to create a partnership which is balanced and works for all parties. It has to fit in with the regions, our academies and our age-grade programmes.
"It's a good level of competition and an appropriate competition for certain players. We need to work out what's right for each individual. For some it's good to go to university and continue their education while for others it's not the right option.
"We also need to look at how the universities can potentially be more flexible with what they are offering but once again it's about working together to create opportunities for players which are attractive to help keep them within Wales in both the playing front and in Welsh education."
Q: When are things going to change? Will the Dewar Shield move from U15s to U16s?
A: "That is very likely to happen. If it does it means the youngsters will get 22 months of development going into that competition."
Q: What about the schools and colleges league?
A: "That is going to go to 16 teams in two tiers."
Q: When does the new licence for academies come in?
A: "That's going to be rolled out next year. One of the big things in that process has been identifying best practice, disseminating that across the regions, and then supporting them in order to deliver it."
Q: How do you view all these changes?
A: "I think they are really big steps forward and positive steps which are going to have a real impact on our performances long-term. Some people might not necessarily agree and the challenge has been to convince everybody to come with us on this journey to get this 10-year development plan in place. We need to make sure it's successful and sustainable long-term."
Q: What are your plans to improve the level of Welsh coaches? When it's time to appoint the next Wales men's coach, isn't it important we have at least three Welsh candidates?
A: "Yes, I'd agree we need Welsh candidates but we still need to ensure that the best person for the job actually gets the job. John Neill [head of coaching performance] has been employed specifically for that purpose to create a depth chart of Welsh coaches who are both male and female, and to support their development."
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