The Welsh Rugby Union have admitted they have not done enough to support the age-grade programme in recent times and spelled out what is being done to rectify that.
In recent months, fears have been raised that the country has not produced enough talent to take over the mantle from a golden generation of players at senior level that are approaching the final knockings of their Test careers. Compounding worries is the fact that the under-20s side have not enjoyed any notable success since a talented crop stormed the Six Nations in 2016.
Among a myriad of issues currently facing the game in Wales, the development pathway, which produces the talent to keep the professional game alive, is perhaps one of the most pressing. The pandemic has impacted on young, talented rugby players significantly as games were held on ice while the elite game slowly restarted. There were fears that the growth of some had been stunted, exacerbating problems.
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Things came to a head during the Six Nations when Welsh rugby legend Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies accused the WRU of ‘failing youngsters coming through’ and said there had been a ‘lack of leadership’ in a live TV tirade.
With the game in Wales seemingly at a crossroads amid attempts to align the game throughout the pro and semi-pro levels, now is the time to find the perfect system to ensure that teenage prospects fulfil their potential.
This is something the WRU’s performance director Nigel Walker, who was appointed last July, has spoken passionately about.
It was put to him that ‘things were not great’ at age grade level and that players were spending ‘too much time in academies and not enough time playing’. Walker bristled at the suggestion, replying: “If I may be so bold, that’s a bit of a lazy characterisation of where it is. Our under-20s season was disappointing, nobody is going to say anything less.
“You’ve got 36 players who were in the under-20s – what are you going to do with them now? Previously, not a lot is the answer. What we’re going to do now – and the Premiership may be part of this answer – is you’ve got those 36 players, you give them individual player plans and you track them over the next 12 to 24 months. They play the right number of games at the right level and that is how you develop people.
“If you leave it to chance, you’re going to get poor results. I can’t tell the regions who they can’t play but I would think that with a bit of collaboration and sitting down to talk about it, then we might get somewhere. In what we call the ‘Pipeline Group’ – we meet numerous times – the academy managers are there and we’re talking about what is required. We’re developing a framework and I would expect all regions to follow it.”
He added: “Sorry I talk so passionately about this but to come to conclusions when you haven’t asked the right questions, to spout off on certain programmes and all the rest of it and say ‘this is happening’ or ‘this is not happening’ when you haven’t asked the right question is lazy.
“Come and ask me, and I’ll tell you what’s happening. Then if you want to disagree with that, then I’m cool about it. But I know quite a bit about performance – I’m not some guru but I know quite a bit. If people want to ask me what we’re doing, then I’ll tell them what we’re doing.
“Then if they want to say: ‘That’s rubbish!’ Then I’ll ask why. Sorry I feel so passionately about it but I’ve read so much and it couldn’t be further from the truth. It really does bug me from people who should know better.”
When asked why the under-20s have performed so poorly in recent times, Walker conceded: “Because we, as a Union, haven’t done enough with our under-20s last year.”
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Walker – who played 17 times for Wales after competing as a hurdler at the 1984 Olympic Games – seems to have a plan that hits the right notes, but it hinges on the regions and the Union singing from the same hymn sheet, which has not always been the case.
The 58-year-old was then quizzed on how much control the WRU would have over a player’s development when they are at their region. WRU CEO Steve Phillips interjected at this point, saying: “I would just get away from the obsession with control. It’s not about that, it’s about coming to a collective decision.
“I can stamp my feet and say: ‘We want to have this!’ But it’s not going to work unless we align. It’s alignment more than control.”
Walker continued: “I had breakfast a number of weeks ago with my opposite number over in Ireland. We talked about the position in Ireland and the position in Wales. I said that their setup and governance structure is slightly different. He said that it wasn’t about a governance structure, it’s about everybody understanding what you’re trying to achieve and everyone buying into that.
“If we passionately believe that the Wales senior men’s team need to be at a certain level, we then look at the contribution the regions need to make to it and then we look at what the national team will give back to the regions. If you reach an agreement on that, then it’s not that difficult. We’ve got to want the same things.”
It was then pointed out that the regions have their own ambitions that will involve challenge for league titles and European honours. Sometimes, balancing their responsibility to develop players with the very urgent need to win matches now is not always easy.
Is it part of the WRU’s strategic plan to have a region winning in Europe, rather than simply being used as a vehicle to develop players for the national side?
“Absolutely,” agreed Walker. “But it’s not beyond the wit of man to come up with a strategy which embraces both.”
Quite often, conflict can occur when a player is part of the Wales under-20s side. Issues can arise when regional squads, already depleted by Test call-ups, will look to use their talented youngsters to fill out squads for domestic fixtures, in turn, that weakens Wales’ under-20s side. It’s a difficult balancing act but Walker had a view.
“Age grade rugby is very important and I don’t know any individual where age grade rugby hasn’t been an important part of their development,” he said. “I would need a really convincing argument to change my mind.”
A key appointment was made recently with John Alder coming in as the new Head of Player Development. Alder, who has held a number of performance pathway roles at organisations like UK Sport and New Zealand Rugby League, worked with Walker during their time at the English Institute of Sport, though the latter insists this is not a case of ‘jobs for the boys’.
Alder will focus on players coming through the system aged between 16 and 20, with Walker adding: “He’ll be working with the regions and the academies to develop that framework to make sure that if you have the potential to be a world beater there’s a good chance you will become a world beater.”
