With the recent retirements of Rhys Webb, Justin Tipuric and Alun Wyn Jones, questions are still being asked of the governing body for Welsh rugby.
Career security has been a troubling prospect for these 3 Welsh rugby stars should they choose to stay in Wales. The nature of their retirement before a world cup also indicates some other disagreements going on behind closed doors. In turn, they are now respectively looking to play rugby overseas to secure more lucrative contracts, because seemingly the ones offered by the WRU simply were not satisfactory. And who can blame them? Professional rugby is a taxing sport, where injuries are commonplace and careers are short. The WRU, which has been haemorrhaging money since COVID, simply cannot offer the same contracts that clubs in France, England and Japan are offering. Worse yet, with the 60-cap rule having been reduced to a 25-cap rule, there is more incentive for players to leave Wales for greener pastures.
Unfortunately, I suspect this will become a vicious cycle. At this very moment, the Welsh regions have experienced budget cuts due to unfavourable revenue in the past couple of years. Their performances on the pitch also leave a lot to be desired for fans, leading to the lowest attendances for regional games from seasons before. The Irish regional system is working exponentially better than Wales', mostly due to the fact that the IRFU has invested smartly into community structures and pathways, whereas the WRU has heavily relied on the national team in the Principality to bolster revenue for the 4 regions. Simply put, in Ireland it's bottom heavy, and in Wales it's top heavy. So, when the national teams' stars are leaving the regions, resulting in worse results for them, lowering their revenue further, it's almost impossible to see any good coming out of it.
Now, remember when I mentioned that something else is occuring in the meetings between players and coaching staff 'behind closed doors'? Take a look at this screenshot posted by the WRU on Twitter regarding Rhys Carré's departure from the World Cup squad.
Surely Rhys Carré not meeting his targets should be something kept away from the public domain so to not publicy shun him? Carré, who is only 25, and has been playing well for Cardiff rugby as of late, should be protected by the WRU by not shaming him publicly, whether he's reached these targets or not. You do really have to question the motivation of an organisation that is willing to oust a young, promising player like this seemingly for no good reason. With the turbulent contractual talks ongoing between players and the WRU currently, their development should be front and centre of the focus for Gatland and his team during a rough period for Welsh rugby. Things like this do not help.
The Welsh national team has consistently punched above its weight for many years, and credit goes to the WRU for this. The regions, however, have not. The foundations for a successful system have begun to crumble, and in a period where the sport of rugby as a whole is experiencing huge issues with finances, continued incompetence could spell disaster for the WRU. The whole structure, from grassroots level to the professional game, is begging for the reset which was voted for by an overwhelming majority (97.2%) by the clubs which make up the WRU. I, as well as many other Welsh rugby fans, are hoping that the WRU can see it through investment into the pathway, further backing of the regions, and better management of the national team. This will take time, and the World Cup will be a indication of where we're currently at. For now, a radical plan needs to be put in place for the short term so that rugby in Wales falls to a point where it can not recover from...
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