Welsh Rugby : Time For One Club Two Codes?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now as I often do when chatting about rugby on this blog I will first need to say that I'm not the world's expert. Not my favourite sports (I'll explain the use of the plural later) but I do like it and am bothered by the decline in the club game here.

I'm also going to say that what follows is a top of the head thought. Not backed by any insight or indeed thought. Just something that emerged whilst reading a book...which is what books do, Just not I suspect the tangents that enter my head.

The book is David Storey's 1960 novel about a professional (though there are caveats to that word at that time) rugby league player This Sporting Life. I'll chat about it properly when I've finished.

Now reading this novel reminded me of the time this summer watching a Welsh Rugby League game which I posted on this blog. The response to this post was quite surprising. Especially when I was
offered to visit the Valley Cougars by the coach. Unfortunately as it happens work commitments meant I couldn't make it. Though I definitely would have taken up on his kind offer otherwise.

But the thought that occurred to me was this. What if one Welsh club played both codes of rugby? League and union?

After all the old animosity between the codes seems to have gone now. The home team in the match I saw (Rhondda Outlaws) played in Sardis Road which is the home of Pontypridd RFC. If they joined together then the sponsors could be happy because they would be wearing the same shirt. Their seasons don't clash and having the name changed to from the outlaws to Pontypridd RFC would bring in some more Ponty supporters during the summer months.

And it would only take this to happen once and I would suspect others would quickly follow suit.

Rugby in Wales is changing and is getting harder. Perhaps thinking the unthinkable might help both sports in the long term.

Until the next time.


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