Kristian Dacey thought he had seen it all during his playing career, but nothing had quite prepared him for the events of the past few months.
Here’s a man who was a member of Warren Gatland’s controversial Geography Six on the 2017 Lions tour of New Zealand, a hooker with eight Wales caps to his name and close on 200 appearances for Cardiff, someone who has witnessed all the political machinations in Welsh rugby over the past 15 years.
Yet this has been different, this has been something else in terms of the scale and seriousness of the situation.
Dacey is one of a host of out-of-contract Cardiff players facing uncertain futures amid major cost-cutting across the board in the regional game. He hopes to stay at the Arms Park, but is unsure whether the money will be available to offer him a new deal.
With his children in Welsh-medium education in the Merthyr area, moving to another country raises significant issues.
So, at present, he doesn’t know whether he will have a job in rugby after May and his focus may switch more fully to the painting and decorating business he has set up.
Now 33, he feels fortunate to have had the career he has in the game, but he feels for those younger players who could soon find themselves out of work and says some of his fellow pros are struggling mentally.
Summing up the feelings of players in Wales, he said: “It’s frustration, disappointment, anger. All the above, to be honest.
“I have been around, I have seen it all really. We have had Project Reset, as much of a shambles as that was. I have been through a lot, like a few of us have. I have seen it all and I have always said to the boys it will sort itself out.
“But we are in March now and the season finishes in May. Your last pay-cheque is the end of May. As a player, these are things you want sorted before Christmas. There are boys with young families and decisions are yet to be made.
“Boys are anxious. It can be depressing at times. It’s not fair really, that’s the be-all and end-all.
“You are putting boys through a lot and asking them to do a lot. At the moment, there are boys who I know are struggling mentally with the situation.
“Your last pay-cheque is coming in three months. You have got young families. How are you going to provide for that family? Boys have got houses they need to pay for. The cost of living is obviously on the way up. Everything weighs on their mind at the moment.”
Dacey continued: “It’s hard. Day to day, there are meetings and day to day boys are talking about it in the changing room. It’s not something we can hide away from.
“You don’t forget about it. You go home and you talk to your partners and your parents and everyone wants to know what’s happening.
“I am towards the end of my career. I am 33 now, I have had a very good career and really enjoyed it. I feel sorry for the boys who are just starting off their careers. Like, what is rugby going to look like in the next two or three years?
“I am sympathetic with the youngsters because some of them will have what should have been a long career cut short due to the ongoing situation.”
Cardiff’s playing budget is being cut to £5.2m next season, down some £2m on the current figure, which has seen some out-of-contract players facing drastically reduced offers. Across the board, all four regions are facing belt tightening, which will see squad numbers going down from around 46 to about 38.
“As players, we understand the financial situation of rugby at the moment,” said Dacey.
“That being said, I think some of the stuff that has flown round isn’t acceptable, to be honest.
“We all understand budgets need to come down, but it’s no secret some of the contract offers that have been thrown around for some of your most talented players.
“I know the budgets need to come down, but I don’t think it should be a case of just cutting it straight away as dramatically as they have. I think it should have been phased.
“It’s not nice to see the situation we are in. You have got boys who have always dreamt of playing professional rugby. Did they expect this was what it was going to be like? I don’t think anyone saw us being in this kind of situation.
“I think everyone is wondering how it has happened given the success of Wales over the last ten years. You would think financially we should be one of the strongest, but then you go through the accounts and it’s just not there.
“It shouldn’t have got to this, but it has. We have got to hope the powers-that-be sort it out sooner rather than later. But, as players, it’s a difficult situation really.
“We have just got to crack on, do as best we can and really just be there for each other, that’s the biggest thing. At times like this, you have got to put an arm round each other.
“We have just got to hope that some sense prevails. It has to sort itself out, otherwise Welsh rugby is at risk.”
In terms of his own future, Dacey admits: “I don’t know where I am going to be playing my rugby next season.
“I feel like I am playing better rugby now than I have for a long time. So it’s really frustrating on that side. I am hoping it will sort itself out in the next few weeks.
“I have been here 12 years now. This is the club I have always wanted to play for. I do really want to stay here, but that decision is out of my hands. It’s a case of just wait and see what happens.”
As for whether he would consider moving outside of Wales to earn a living in rugby if nothing materialises here, he says: “If something comes, it’s a conversation between myself and my wife.
“We have got a young family, we have got two kids who are mad about rugby, so I am sure they would want me to still play. I want to still play, whether it’s here or elsewhere.
“It’s tough for families. My oldest boy is in a Welsh school, my youngest has just started at one. For me then to up and go to England or France, they lose that Welsh-medium education which is something that’s big to myself and my wife.
“But if the right offer came, it’s not a case of saying no. It’s just seeing what comes really.
“We know England is not necessarily a place we can go currently with everything that has happened there. Worcester and Wasps has opened everyone’s eyes.
“It’s just a case of waiting to see what happens. I have obviously spoken to my agent about it and it’s a difficult world now. Rugby, the way it is currently, I think it’s struggling personally. Something has to happen and you hope it would get sorted soon.”
Given the current climate, Dacey feels it’s all the more important he has something to fall back on outside of the game.
“Over the last few years, I have tried to sort myself out knowing I am coming towards the end of my career,” he explains.
“I have got a painting and decorating company that has been going a year and a half now.”
Whether Dacey will be spending increasing time on that business remains to be seen, as he finds himself amid a host of Welsh players unclear over just what the future holds.
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