The future of the Welsh Premiership is very much back on the agenda, amid talk of an enhanced role for the competition and a possible reduction in the number of clubs. After a deeply disappointing season on the international front, both for Wayne Pivac’s senior side and the age-grade teams, there has been a lot of scrutiny on the development pathway.
There’s a recognition from the powers-that-be that it needs to be improved and it looks as though the semi-pro Premiership is going to play a key part in that. The WRU’s Performance Director Nigel Walker hinted as much last week when he said the league could offer the solution in providing more game-time for talented young players, such as those in the Wales U20s squad. You can read the full interview with Walker here.
It seems we are heading for something of a step-shift. Back in 2018, the Premiership was effectively downgraded in terms of its status. Following a review commissioned by the WRU, big changes were introduced. Regional A sides were set up, based on a view there was too big a gulf between the Premiership and the old PRO14.
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These new A teams were to be the key developmental stepping stone, playing in a Celtic Cup against Irish provincial A sides, with the Premiership having less of a role in the pathway. Tied in with that, funding to the Welsh semi-pro clubs was to be reduced from £92,000 per team to £50,000 over a four-year period.
But now the pendulum is swinging back again. The Celtic Cup went into hibernation during Covid and it doesn’t look as though it’s going to re-emerge. The financial restrictions the regions are working under means it’s virtually impossible for them to have the squad depth required to run A teams for any sustained period during the season.
So the focus is now turning back to the Premiership as the development tier. Cardiff Rugby have already moved in the direction of establishing their table-topping semi-pro side as their effective second team and it’s clear the league has an important part to play in the Union’s plans for addressing the pathway issues.
But now comes the tricky part. If it is to take on that enhanced role and provide the cream of our young talent with much-needed game-time, then there’s a school of thought that standards need to raised and the competition made more elite. With that in mind, rumours have been circulating that the WRU are looking to cut the number of clubs from 12 to nine for the season after next, with two from each region, plus a north Wales side.
But that’s easier said than done and is certain to provoke opposition in some quarters. For one thing, it would mean fewer fixtures, which would have a knock-on effect in terms of money through the gates. Plus how would you decide on the nine?
If you look at the capital region, for example, you’ve got Cardiff, Pontypridd and Merthyr. Who would miss out there? Down in west Wales, you’ve got Carmarthen, Llandovery and bottom-of-the-table Llanelli, while in Ospreylia, there’s Aberavon, Swansea and Bridgend.
There’s also the question of promotion and relegation. Would the new league be a closed shop, in an echo of the recent three-year ring-fencing? Or would there be an entry point via the Championship? So plenty to be considered and lots of big, bold decisions to be made, with something of a battle no doubt lying ahead and no certainty that any proposed changes would actually be voted through.
What then of the interested parties? We have sought the views of a wide variety of people in Welsh rugby on just what the future of the Premiership should be.
The Former WRU Boss
Gareth Davies was chairman of the WRU when the number of Premiership clubs was cut from 16 to 12 in 2019. But he would like to see a further radical streamlining.
“I always believed that 6-8 Premiership clubs would be an appropriate number to invest properly into, so that a pathway vehicle would be possible, together with enough competitive tension to create local interest. We just don’t have the number of players to justify any more clubs at that level,” said the former Wales and Lions fly-half.
The Premiership Chairman
Jonathan Jones, of Ebbw Vale, is the man who speaks on behalf of the 12 Premiership clubs and he doesn’t pull any punches when giving their views on the way the league has been treated in recent times.
“Our position is quite clear. We extremely strongly disagreed with Martyn Phillips and Gareth Davies that we were no longer part of the pathway. We thought that was a nonsense. Plainly, what they put in place with the regional A teams was never going to work because they couldn’t adequately resource it,” he said.
“Our stance is we have to be part of the player pathway, as the final stepping stone to the professional game. I think us playing on live TV for a couple of years squashed a lot of the narrative that it was a poor standard, that it was awful and no regional or Academy players played in it. That was disproved by the evidence in front of your eyes.”
On the future make-up of the Premiership, Jones said: “We still believe 12 clubs is the right number. We are unconvinced that cutting numbers is the right thing to do. Very few things flourish by being cut. We think 12 clubs gives the right number of games and provides more opportunities for the youngsters who need to play rugby in a competitive environment.
“There is 100 per cent agreement the standard needs to be improved and we will work with the Union to get that improvement. We strongly believe that process would be best served by staying with 12 clubs. We have seen nothing that tells us 8, 9, 10 is the right number.
"Back when Joe Lydon was with the WRU a decade or so ago, eight was his magic number. It has kind of gone in cycles. We have had a myriad of changes over the years. If you list them out, it’s unbelievable.
“There is a lot of talk, discussion, negotiation and compromise to come in order to reach agreement on the changes that are necessary. None of us are sitting here and saying it’s the right standard, we all want to improve the standard.”
He added: “We know that next season will be 12 clubs, there will be no change before that. What that looks like in terms of promotion and relegation will completely depend on what number we end up with after that. That would be my personal take. Discussions are ongoing and we, as a group, would like to finalise things in an orderly fashion so we all go into next season knowing where we stand.”
Giving his thoughts on the pathway problems, Jones said: “The U20s wasn’t pretty, nor was the U18s, conceding 60 odd points against France, so there are obviously some issues. There is a lot of work to do to get Welsh rugby back to where it needs to be. That’s the whole situation, right the way down from the professional game to the six-year-olds starting rugby on a parks pitch. It’s a food chain and everyone has a part to play. The dialogue is ongoing with the Union and we are getting closer together in what we all think needs to happen.”
The Premiership Coach
Dale "The Chief" McIntosh knows the Premiership inside out, having had lengthy coaching spells with both Pontypridd and Merthyr, winning numerous trophies along the way and he has strong views on what the way ahead should be for the competition.
“It’s got a huge role to play. They have just got to put more resource into it. I would like the WRU to say there have to be at least five regional Academy players in each Premiership 23. If we do that, then these kids are getting game time in a competition that is meaningful. That way they are going to be able to step up.
"Let’s give these kids the right pathway, the right vessel. They have got to play week-in, week-out. There is no substitute. It’s not rocket science. The WRU have got to be strong with the regions and say ‘Come on, let’s do this’.
“The Union can format a way that these young kids have an honest pathway, but to do that we’ve got to strengthen the Premiership by making it a more meaningful competition, making sure there’s a better quality of player and that you have Level 4 coaches.”
You can read more about The Chief's thoughts on Welsh rugby in this interview.
The Regional Coaches
Ospreys boss Toby Booth believes there are various ways of developing young talent.
“Whether it’s in the Premiership or across the bridge, players need to play. I don’t think there is a single way. I’ve got players in our setup, for example, who I believe would be much better served going on loan out of this country, abroad for 12 months. There are some I think playing a Premiership season week-in, week-out and getting roughed up a little bit suits them. Certain leagues and competitions lend themselves to certain things. So that’s why I think adding that flexibility is a good thing.
“You have to spend time working out the best plan for each individual because we want to get people through and competing at first team level for us and then obviously on for Wales as soon as possible. I don’t think there is just one fit. You need all of those mechanisms open to you. The stronger the Premiership, the stronger the development structures, the quicker talent comes through.”
Dragons Director of Rugby Dean Ryan has two Premiership clubs in his region - high-flying Newport and Ebbw Vale.
“I know there are conversations ongoing that supports more developing players featuring in the competition. Our relationship with our Premiership clubs has been outstanding. Our young players, after not having a huge amount of rugby over the last couple of years, have really benefited from those relationships and Newport would be the most prominent.
"It would be very difficult, at the moment, to support a Celtic Cup sort of situation with our squad. We would struggle for numbers.”
The Player
New Wales flanker Jac Morgan made some 20-plus appearances for Aberavon before really breaking through with the Scarlets and then going on to join the Ospreys and become a full international.
“I learned a massive amount in the Premiership. I don’t think I’d be where I am now if I hadn’t played in it for Aberavon. The learnings I had and the experience of playing the game against men when I was just coming through at 18 or 19, that was a hell of an experience. You just learn a lot and it was a good environment to be around. The level of rugby is quite high. I think it’s a great platform for rugby and people coming through.”
The WRU
So, this is what Performance Director Nigel Walker has to say on the subject.
“You’ve got 36 players who were in the Wales U20s. 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.”
As ever, deciding what that right level should look like is the big challenge and that is going to mean a lot of focus on the future of the Premiership and much negotiation behind the scenes over the coming weeks and months. Watch this space!
