Posted by There may eventually come a time in Welsh rugby when there’s not constant off-field wranglings, arguments, threats and general chaos, and what will we do with ourselves… it won’t be in my lifetime anyway.
I’m not actually sure how I’d feel if Cardiff Rugby were just plodding along inside a system that largely functioned to benefit the clubs and national team in Wales. One where we were competitive and as financially stable as professional sport allows, and where the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) was competently governed for the benefit of all within the game.
You’d hope there’d be a level of contentment but after the last 30 years, and specifically the last six years, and even more specifically the last six months, there’s a very real concern that an emptiness would take over. Are we simply addicted to being completely shambolic and embarrassed on the international stage? This summer has certainly been a constant flow of that drug.
In the capital the latest round of uncertainty and unrest began with the collapse of Helford Capital’s bubble back at the start of April. This was followed by the WRU stepping in to save us in order to avoid major financial penalties for not fielding four teams in the United Rugby Championship and European competition, before the rest of the game was engulfed by news of professional teams being cut.
What followed was the unveiling of a number of possible solutions; four unequally funded teams, three equally funded teams, three unequally funded teams and two equally funded teams, the latter of which was described by new WRU Director of Rugby Dave Reddin as the “optimal solution”. This formed the basis for a consultation period during which players, clubs, supporters and other stakeholders were all canvassed.
The culmination of that came on Friday last week when, in a long and convoluted way at a press conference, Reddin, along with WRU Chair Richard Collier-Keywood, announced the Board had unanimously backed a plan to go to three clubs as soon as practical; one in the East, one in the capital and one in the West.
Before taking a look at what this means for Cardiff Rugby, I feel it’s worth making two points. Firstly, this is awful for the two current clubs in the West as the likelihood is that one of Ospreys and Scarlets will be cut to get to three. The loss of jobs and the loss of a club for the community of supporters is difficult to stomach no matter how much the need for change lingers.
Although there’s no absolute certainty of Cardiff Rugby remaining as we are – which I’ll get into shortly – it’s a big step ahead of looking down the barrel of not having a club at all. The uncertainty and anxiety caused by that is totally unpleasant and I hope some solution is found that at the very least avoids heavy job losses.
Secondly, the behaviour of the WRU over the course of the consultation and the announcement last week has been cringeworthy at best, and insulting at worst. In a press conference during which Collier-Keywood effectively announced that numerous jobs are likely to go and supporters will lose a club entirely, to then say “I have fun in this job every day” is so tone deaf it’s difficult to fathom.
Getting Sian Lloyd in to do back slapping interviews alongside a self-congratulatory weekly consultation update is so far removed from what should be a sombre exercise where the Union repeatedly apologise for getting the game in this mess and acknowledge it is going to be very painful to get out of it, whether it is the current regime’s fault or not.
Having got that off my chest though it’s time to look forwards beyond last week’s announcement, while acknowledging that this may be a pointless exercise when the WRU changes tack again in a matter of months having been faced with legal challenges, rejection by the URC and/or having magically found a few million quid down the back of a sofa.
For Cardiff as a city, professional rugby is secure. Collier-Keywood confirmed that the dropping to three clubs leads to the Union’s plan for “licences being issued with one in the capital, one in the West and one in the East.” Yet crucially WalesOnline reported that the new teams “may not share the same branding as the current teams”.
It is known, as has been confirmed by the man himself, that Dave Reddin is not wedded to the heritage or branding of the current teams in any way, shape or form. He specifically said during the press conference that he “doesn’t care who beat the All Blacks 40 years ago”. This is the worry when it comes to whether Cardiff Rugby actually survive.
Reddin is clearly an impressive operator when it comes solely to high performance sports. He was a part of England winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup, he played a role in the success of Team GB at London 2012 and a fairly major role in England’s football team making it to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, as well as helping CD Castellon out of Spanish football’s third tier after an American takeover.
And his work stands the test of time as after leaving those respective teams and organisations they continued to achieve success; England made it back to the Final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Team GB have continued to win a lot of medals at subsequent Olympics, England football made it to the Final of back-to-ack European Championships and Castellon have consolidated in La Liga 2.
This won’t necessarily be a popular paragraph in this blog, but there is a good amount of his work around player development and high performance focus that would make a real difference to Welsh rugby. A proper focus on resource around coaching and facilities, driving up standards in the SRC, and furthering professionalism in the women’s game.
However, it is all let down by the plan as a whole lacking any real feel for the game in Wales. Yes, we’re tribal to a fault. At it’s extreme it is a weakness, but retaining a good portion of that is undeniably a strength. It’s what retains that hardcore support when times are tough or the URC fixtures a Saturday 7.45pm home game against a full strength Sharks the week before the Six Nations starts.
Supporters don’t turn up to watch individual players, they don’t turn up to watch games against teams from thousands of miles away, and winning comes around so rarely – which won’t be fixed by budgets going up to £6.4m – that success is certainly not the driver. It’s devotion to the club that is central to everything and this can’t just be lifted to a new entity or switched to the SRC on a whim.
The club in the capital must be Cardiff Rugby. It can’t be the Central Wales Capitals, it can’t be Gwalia Lightning, it can’t be the Cardiff Ospreys. None of these will garner the hardcore support required to get it up and running, or the strength of feeling to create a winning culture among players, coaches, staff and supporters.
It also won’t have a home ground to play at. No team will survive in the capital as a tenant at Cardiff City Stadium lacking access to regular non-rugby income and having to pay rent, and this is where as supporters we can have a real hand to play in proceedings by becoming members of the Cardiff Athletic Club rugby section.
The current WRU-owned Cardiff Rugby is, as far as I’m aware, playing under a special license granted to the new company after the Helford collapse in April. Whoever takes the club back into private ownership will need the approval of CAC even though there’s no longer any heritage shares in play, because if they don’t have that approval then there is no lease to play at the Arms Park.
This leads on to the other point about Reddin lacking feel for Welsh rugby – nobody wants the Union retaining total control over professional rugby in Wales.
As part of the plans the WRU is essentially seeking for the private owners of the clubs to control the commercial side of the business; carrying all of the risk and covering all of the losses, while Reddin along with Steve Tandy oversee the rugby departments with a tick required from Westgate Street to appoint new coaches, sign players, offer contracts and, presumably, when it comes to the selection of national team players in the league or Europe.
At no point since the game turned professional have the Union displayed any qualities that would make supporters believe they can successfully run a bath, let along an entire professional rugby system. Everything would be set up to create a victorious national team, rather than a strong eco-system, and even that would unlikely lead to a victorious national team.
So should any prospective owner be looking to buy Cardiff on the basis of going along with that model of commercial risk and no control over the rugby then we as supporters and CAC rugby section members should be making it clear than no lease will follow for the Arms Park and force the WRU into working with an owner or consortium who has the best interests of the Blue & Blacks as their priority.
It’s a worrying time across Welsh rugby; players, coaches and staff worried for their jobs, supporters worried for their clubs, and the WRU worried about their bank balance, all exacerbated by the confusion, poor messaging and flip flopping originating from the executive of the Union. And there’s no sign of it coming to a head yet.
At Cardiff though we as supporters retain an element of power through CAC and the ownership of the ground. If you’re not a rugby section member for whatever reason the time is fast approaching to put any previous issue with the Athletic Club or ambivalence towards off-field politics aside and sign up in order to strengthen the representation of the rugby section and the voice of fans.
We’re very close to a now or never moment as the Blue & Blacks look ahead towards a return to private ownership. Get this right and there may just be a slim chance for Cardiff Rugby to return to the top table of European rugby once again, but get it wrong and the decline could be desperately quick and very messy.
Cardiff Rugby Life 