Welsh rugby club Fleur De Lys have reached the end of their tether after enduring a nightmare league campaign.
The Division 3 East B side have played just three matches since the league kicked off on November 13. It has left the club needing to play eight matches in the remaining seven weeks after the WRU adjusted the date for the end of the season, accounting for the fixture backlog that has occurred.
But there are fears it will do little to help matters amid claims that some teams have already written the end of their season off due to the absence of any sanctions for cancelling fixtures this season. Posting on social media, the club said: “Let’s call a spade a spade, p*** up and brewery come to mind. We should have started the season as normal and had penalties in place. [Then] we wouldn’t be in this mess or s*** show of a season.”
Asked whether he thought there was much chance of the club playing all their remaining fixtures, first team manager Dai Thomas told WalesOnline: “It’s not going to happen, is it?
“Two teams have already told us that their seasons are over.”
Fleur De Lys have had four matches postponed so far this season due to opponents being unable to raise a side.
In past seasons, clubs would have been deducted four points for being unable to fulfil fixtures but those sanctions were shelved by the WRU this term due to Covid-19. The feeling was that it would be unfair to punish teams that were hit by a Covid outbreak, giving them flexibility to reschedule, but it seems things are being exploited.
“Teams are using Covid as an excuse when really boys have got weddings and there are other things players are putting before rugby,” said Thomas.
“We’ve done everything right, gone through all the protocol but we’ve had teams pulling out at 12 o’clock on Saturday. The boys are already in the club gearing up to go. It’s sad.
“If clubs told us they had a problem on a Tuesday, you can prepare for that, but not two hours before kick off. If some teams can’t get a full side out, they think: ‘Oh well, [let’s say] one of the boys have Covid and phone the club’.
“We’ve got to take that and with no points deductions, they’re not bothered about it. We’ve made a few phone calls [to rearrange fixtures] but teams are refusing to play us, they’re saying: ‘Our season is done now’.”
The club has been impacted in a number of ways. They have lost players, who are keen for regular rugby, due having as many nine weeks without a game on one occasion. Of the four matches that need to be rescheduled, three are home games, which impacts the revenue the club generates behind the bar. Not to mention that they have a slim chance of challenging for the league title if they were able to fulfil all their remaining matches.
Thomas feels a contributing factor to their current predicament is the decision to play a cup competition at the start of the season, rather than simply beginning the league campaign in August. The WRU took the step to limit travel in light of the Covid-19 pandemic but in Fleur De Lys’ case it did the opposite.
“I didn’t agree with having the cup at the start of the season. All of our league opponents are local anyway,” said Thomas. “If we could have cracked on with the league as we should have, it would have been brilliant for us.
“We travelled further in the cup than we would have in the league. It didn’t really make sense to us, particularly with our league. It’s the same for other sides as well, it’s not just us. Other teams are struggling. We just can’t finish our fixtures.”
In a letter sent to clubs this week, the WRU Community Competition’s and Regulatory manager Adam Taylor said: “Following a recent meeting of the Union’s Competitions Management Committee whereby the discussion focused on the final date in which fixtures had to be played, it has been agreed that all National League games are to be played on or before Saturday 14 May.
“I am aware that there will be District Competitions scheduled after that date, which is not an issue as the aforementioned date is for National League games only. Please can I respectfully ask that all clubs make every effort to rearrange and fulfil any outstanding league games before the end of the season.
“It has also been decided by the Competition Committee that the end of season playoffs discussed for League winners will now no longer take place. Whilst frustrating, it was felt that the number of outstanding games to be completed across all Leagues meant that the playoffs would not likely begin until the latter end of May, therefore leading to potential issues in arrangements with neutral venues etc.”
