Welsh regional rugby player Josh Lewis has called out the ‘disgusting’ treatment of players in Wales and the ‘bulls**t’ that has been going on.
May was a brutal month in Welsh rugby, with over 40 players leaving their respective regions amid uncertain finances and vociferous discourse over the future of the game. It also emerged that proposals to axe a team were being discussed by the Professional Rugby Board, though they have since been dismissed. It was an uncomfortable environment in which players were asked to perform.
Not for the first time, players were being ‘strung along’ with contract renewals being left far too late in the season. Pre-Covid, these would usually be tied up before Christmas but even now, with business heading back to somewhere close to normal, players are being kept in the dark as the conclusion of the season approached.
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Those at the top of the regions would point to their WRU payments for next season being unclear. Either way, it’s the players who were suffering and some Dragons players, including fan-favourite Adam Warren, found out two days before the final game that they would not be getting a new deal. Their chances of finding a new club are slim to none.
Seeing the way things were going, Lewis, who represented the Scarlets and Bath earlier in his career, decided to retire after four seasons at the Dragons, bringing his 10-year career to a close.
“I really enjoyed my time at the Dragons and made a lot of friends there but I made my decision halfway through the season.” he told WalesOnline. “Obviously I was out of contract and they normally get sorted around Christmas time but nothing was coming back.
“Then I was being told it was going to be the end of January before I’d get an answer. So I had a good chat with my wife and we came to the decision to hang the boots up.
“Excuse my language but I just couldn’t be bothered with the s**t anymore. There was so much bulls**t going on in Welsh rugby and I just couldn’t be bothered with it. What they’re doing to these players is disgusting.
“It all made my decision quite easy, to be honest.
“I feel like the situation in Welsh rugby is only going to get worse and I didn’t really want someone to dictate my future to me. I’m not old in rugby terms but I’ve been about and I understand what goes on. I’ve got a little daughter, I’m married, I’ve got a mortgage to pay.
“To find out two days before we finished the season that there was no new contract, like some of the boys did – I just couldn’t put myself in that position. I needed security. We’ve all got bills to pay, I’ve got to put food on the table for my daughter.”
As the worst-performing region, and being owned by the WRU, the Dragons were thrust into the spotlight as one of the leading contenders to get the chop if there was a reduction in teams.
Lewis adds: “The chairman [David Buttress] came in and tried to assure us we weren’t going to go down to three regions but if the WRU wants to pull the plug on something, they’ll pull the plug.
“Boys were asking if they had a job next year and he [Buttress] said he couldn’t see it going down to three regions but he didn’t give us a definite answer.
“I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better. It’s dreadful in Welsh rugby at the moment. We’re not competing in the league, we’re not competing in Europe.
“I hope things get sorted out because there are a lot of good people in Welsh rugby. I don’t like seeing people get s**t on.
“There’s a lot of talent amongst those squad players outside the international players. For them, I hope it all gets sorted because it’s not very nice.
“Every two years boys are worrying about their contract, whether clubs are going to merge – who knows what might happen next?”
The Dragons endured a tough season, winning just two of their matches, and Lewis believes that the off-field fiasco that was unfolding had an impact on the players’ ability to perform.
He also points out that Director of Rugby Dean Ryan was apologetic, even though players were not getting the answers they needed.
Lewis continued: “In the end, Dean came out and said he was really sorry about what was going on and that it was out of his control. But, come on, he’s Director of Rugby at the club and he’s making other signings, do you know what I mean?
“It wasn’t great really.
“Dean was saying to the boys to give it another week, give it another month for a decision but nothing came. Boys were in limbo, and didn't know whether they were coming or going.
“On the Tuesday before we finished, they said it was still undecided whether players were staying or going. I thought: ‘That’s pretty s**t. Give the boys a yes or no, people have to sort themselves out for the future’.
“We were off Wednesday, went back in on Thursday and that’s when Dean pulled a few of the boys into the office and told them whether it was yes or no. Two days before the last game they got told.
“Boys should know by the end of January at the absolute latest. From that point on, boys were concerned. How can players be at the best of their ability when they’re not getting an answer. We only won two games but I think that was the biggest factor, nobody was getting a straight answer.
“It’s in the back of your head when you’re playing. Am I playing well enough? Am I doing the right things?
“I was leaving, so I had peace of mind. But how can the other boys play with that going on?”
Lewis is lucky in the sense that he was prepared for life after rugby. He was trained up in the family’s masonry business before signing his first contract with the Scarlets. His father encouraged him to pursue a career in rugby, knowing that the business would always be there for him.
He played fly-half, full-back and centre during his rugby career, but Lewis is now returning to ‘Monumental Masons’, which specialises in the design and installation of gravestones, having taken control of his own destiny. He will also play semi-pro rugby for Merthyr RFC.
“I’m 30 now but I really wasn’t bothered if I got another year or two year contract,” he insists. “My father has a successful business that has been going for 38 years now. I was part of the company before I joined rugby.
“So my wife said: ‘Just finish rugby and go and enjoy yourself at work, set up the next chapter for the future’.
“I went into training one day, went to Dean’s office and told him what I was going to do. He said he was shocked but I was thinking: ‘How can you be shocked? You’re leading boys on’.
“I’m lucky in the sense that I don’t need rugby and I told him I had this business to go into. He wished me good luck for the future and we finished on good terms.
“I’m not going into something new to me, the business is successful and I know there’s going to be something coming in.
“My father is 55 now and he always said he wanted to retire about now, so it’s good timing for me to hang my boots up and my father can go and enjoy himself now.”
