Welsh Rugby Union And The Ospreys. From Bad To Worse.

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Timing as they say is key. For the Welsh Rugby Union to announce proposed changes to the regional rugby structure is bad enough. To announce them just before an important six nations match is even worse, some Welsh fans might argue treasonable.

But here I am, chatting about it again. Why? Well the details have come out. The Ospreys are set to merge not with the Cardiff Blues but with the Scarlets. Possibly even from next season. It's described as a merger. But until I'm proved otherwise it's really hard not to judge it as a Scarlet takeover. There are many people at this moment, not just the players but the office staff etc as well who are wondering for their future and that of their families.

The proposal has already caused the current chairman of the Ospreys to quit and his successor to imply he's looking into legal action over the decision.

Those birds are fighting this folks.

I read on the BBC Sports website someone on the WRU stating that "bold decisions need to be taken". Well the charge of Light Brigade was a bold decision. Doesn't make it the right one though

So Welsh club rugby is now in a greater mess than it was a week back. I won't go through the reasons again why choosing the Ospreys to be the sacrificial club is a bad in itself. Except perhaps one. Why is a successful team being sacrificed for the creation of a regional side in the non-traditional rugby area that is North Wales?

The biggest argument supporters of regional rugby use is that it helps the national team. And it's certainly true that there has been an improvement (although I'd argue that the sacrifice to the club game has been too far - but that's for another day).

But even supporters of regional rugby have acknowledged to me that at least for the short term this argument doesn't really apply to the proposed North Wales team. A new team in an area not known for it's rugby. Even if successful it will take time to grow. At time of writing there appears to be no obvious evidence that it will be a success. Especially when looking at the current Welsh Regional teams and their sparse crowds.

Also North Wales did not save the Celtic Crusaders when it moved up from the South to play rugby league.

The Welsh mathematical formula I drew up before? "The success of the national side is in direct proportion to the mess in the club game"

Well Wales are really going to win the rugby World Cup now.

And you know what the really stunning thing is? The Welsh Rugby Union destroy the traditions of Welsh club rugby. Obviously not successful otherwise "Project Reset" wouldn't have happened. They want to create a new club in a non traditional rugby area and they want public money to help them do it...what?

In an age of foodbanks and rising despair to give the WRU public finance in this would be a disgrace. There is as much logic for public money being involved as there was for the proposed Grand Prix track in Ebbw Vale.

At the very least then a creation of a North Walian club is a gamble. At worse a disaster that will affect the club structure for decades to come. I'm not actually saying that doing it is wrong. Just that the Ospreys are not the club that should be sacrified for it and that the business case for it's creation has not been made.

What regional rugby did for Wales was this. For many people going to a club rugby game was the option on a Saturday. Now it's become an option.

And if these proposals come into effect. People might not consider it at all.

Until the next time.

The Ospreys : The Threatened Factory Closure Of Sport?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have recently chatted about the threat to disband the Ospreys and instead create a regional rugby franchise in North Wales. Now whatever your views on Welsh regonal rugby (and I've made my position clear on this) I think nobody can deny that if we assume that the rumours are true they have been treated shabbily by the WRU given that 1) They are the best performing of the current four Welsh regional clubs 2) There seems to be an obvious candidate for the chop in the financially problematic Dragons and 3) There is no guarantee a Welsh regional rugby club in North Wales would be successful, especially if you consider that the clubs in South and West Wales haven't been in the traditional heartlands of the sport

Well yesterday they played and lost to Connacht 46 -5. I haven't seen the game (I was going to watch a recording out of curiosity but now I'm not going to bother given I know the result). It was also their sixth straight defeat.

Now Twitter seemed to have taken two views on this. One is basically that the off the field headlines have permeated to the team's performance and that in essence the WRU are responsible and should guarantee it's future as soon as possible.

The other view basically was that as their future is secured for at least one more season (as the Ospreys have confirmed) they are professional players and should not have been slaughtered by the Irish club.

I think you can work out where I stand on this.

But as the title of the post implies almost uniquely what the Ospreys I would argue have become is the threatened factory closure of sport. You get situations in factories where the head office (somewhere else, swanky and far away) says that there are contracts for a year but there are no guantees beyond that. Thus the future of the factory is called into question. This uncertainty seeps across the factory. Morale lowers which consequently lowers productivity. With this threat to the factory's future no one wants applies for a job there. Inevitable decline.

The Ospreys long term future is under threat. They have a disasterous run of losses. The players, professionals don't forget with wives and families, will unless the WRU commits to the team's future want to get out as soon as possible. There would probably be an exodus as and when contracts come up for renewal. And who can blame them? Few players would want to join them under these circumstances either. Those who do will not be of the quality that would normally be expected of a team in the top tier of Welsh club rugby. Inevitable decline.

I have not hidden my dislike of the Welsh regional club structure and I won't be a hypocrite by implying I've changed my mind. But I think that  most people feel that if the rumours are true then the Ospreys have been badly let down by the WRU and that they should make amends by guaranteeing the long term future of the club.

Or else they may be announcing the Ospreys' closure in the future.

Until the next time.

Again The Question Needs To Be Asked. Is The Welsh Rugby Union Mad? Today's example: The Ospreys

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

There is a part of me that wonders whether we are witnessing a sort of unique Welsh mathematics rule being that the more success the national side has there is an equal and opposite reaction of incompetence on the Welsh club rugby scene.

So after Wales beat England in the six nations you expect something to happen in the club structure and there is no change here. You may remember a post I did where I discussed the proposal to change the Welsh regional club structure (called Project Reset by the way - says everything you need to know about the success of the Welsh rugby structure). The original proposal was of the current Welsh Pro14 teams (The Cardiff Blues, The Dragons, The Ospreys and the Scarlets) two should become the main teams whilst the other two "feeder" clubs.

This mad proposal was rejected. And a good thing too. End of story.

Well apparently not. For the latest proposal is to disband the Ospreys team and create one in North Wales instead.

As I've said before my view is that the Welsh teams should leave the Pro14 and go back to the previous local club structure which included promotion and relegation. I'm not going to back down on that point of view.

Four questions need to be asked.

What is the research that states that a North Walian regional team in the Pro14 is going to be successful? After all as we've previously discussed when you look at matches for the supposed heartlands of South and West Wales then the current regional teams do not play to full houses as opposed to those that play the round ball. So where is the proof that things will be different for a North Walian franchise?

Secondly why have the Ospreys been picked for this Sporting suicide? Why not the "financially troubled have to be bailed out by the WRU" Dragons? Since this regional rugby concept began they have been the most successful team yet for no apparent reason they're the ones venerable for the chop? What is the logic here?

Thirdly does the WRU seriously expect disenfranchised Ospreys fans (a team mainly playing in Swansea) to move their allegiances to the Cardiff Blues (yes really!) or the Scarlets? This is the same mad logic that for example assumed rugby fans from the South Wales Valleys would flock in their droves to watch the Cardiff Blues play. It did not work then. It will not work now.

And finally the most important question of all. Explain how in terms of anyone can truly argue that the regional rugby structure has been a success for the Welsh club game? Is it not a case that the WRU created a mess of it's own making and have made it even worse through the years?

So going back to the first point I raised in regard to the Welsh rugby mathematical formula. With this increased mayhem I predict that Wales will win the rugby world cup later this year. With regard to the club game however predictions are impossible.

Until the next time.

Pro 14 Rugby. Out Of Sight Out Of Mind?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Tomorrow wife and daughter are off to watch a Pro14 rugby game between the Ospreys and the Scarlets with a friend and her grandson (I can't come because I'm working). It's made me think that though the season is roughly half way through I've not single game even on the TV this season.

Now the main reasons are a combination of work and coming back home to discover the result on Twitter beforehand. But the other big reason is the lack of free to air TV coverage in the new season. BBC Wales having lost the contract leaving just S4C to show one game a week.

And what is the result now? Well what I'm going to say is word of mouth, or rather lack of word of mouth. Because if my personal experience is anything to go by there appears to be just near silence by people I know on the subject. Why? Well they appear to be not that bothered.

Why? Well I would argue that it basically stems from the relative lack of support for the Welsh regional clubs for all of the areas they cover. The Valleys with regard to the Cardiff Blues (no longer called the Cardiff Blues it appears now) or Bridgend concerning the Ospreys. People were happy to watch the Friday night game on the BBC because it was there. But they do not have any loyalty to a club strong enough to subscribe to Premier Sports (the company that holds the rights).

(Of course I'm chatting generally here. The obvious exception are the Scarlets. Still chatting on a general level the point holds)

As I said at the time the focus was on BBC Wales losing the contract. But so did Sky Sports. They knew the product was not worth putting more money into it.

Actually there is another free to air channel showing PRO 14 rugby. Freesports. Owned by Premier Sports and they show one match a week. Trouble is the match appears to be the least attractive of that week's fixture. That is a mistake. It might not be the biggest game of the week but it should be one that people would be prepared to watch. That might make them be interesting in a Premier Sports subscription.

And this is serious. Less children being interested in watching rugby means less adults being prepared to watch the game which would probably damage the national team.

Better minds than mine can chat about how to deal with the future of Welsh club rugby. But those minds need to deal with the situation quickly.

So how is it that wife, daughter, wife's friend and her grandson are going to the game tomorrow then I hear you ask?

It was free.

Until the next time.

Why Ospreys And Swans Should Cold Shoulder A Virgin

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Now what I'm going to say is just a thought but.....

You may recall that I've been advocating a boycott of Virgin Media since they announced the closure of their Swansea call centre for next year. A closure which will cost at least 800 jobs. Well I'm not going to repeat my arguments in this post (although I haven't backed away from that position) but a connected though different way to damage (albeit slightly) the company came into my head.

And the idea came into my head thanks to Virgin Media's Twitter account.

Now I don't follow them on Twitter (I wouldn't digitally soil my hands) but the company does advertise on the platform and I must admit to (I stress politely) trolling them. In the sense that when they advertise a summer of fun and entertainment for example I remind them that the workers in the Swansea call centre would not be feeling that sense of fun thanks to their announcement.

This time though I didn't. The tweet was about their sponsorship of Southampton Football Club (a team doing almost as disastrously in the Premier League as the team I support West Ham. Beaten yesterday by blog villain Arsenal. It's not going well at all). Now regular readers will know that sometimes my brain goes into tangents. And as I was reading this tweet a thought occurred to me.

The two biggest sporting clubs in the region are the Swansea City Football team and the Ospreys Pro 14 rugby side:

What if they issued a statement saying that following the proposed closure of the call centre and the loss of jobs affected they would not ever consider Virgin Media sponsoring them?

Now I'm not saying that either the Swans and/or the Ospreys would have considered them anyway. Or indeed vice versa.  Nor am I saying that as an action it's no more than a gesture. But as a gesture it will hurt Virgin Media in terms of bad publicity. And it would provide the teams with good publicity as it will show that they respond to issues affecting Swansea and the surrounding area by supporting the community.

Just a thought.

Until the next time.

When A TV Show Is An Unexpected Comfort (Bones)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So still in Essex exile at the moment. Hopefully just over a week to go before I can return to Wales. In the meantime Wales seems to appear in different ways. For example the discovery that I can watch Welsh club rugby on the TV in Essex via the red button was a pleasant surprise though the match itself, between the Ospreys and a South African team wasn't.

But as my mother is thankfully on the road to recovery it did occur to me about the things that pulled me through when things did not seem so bright. Coming back to the house from the hospital on a late evening, uncertain about the future, grabbing a microwave meal, a meal that someone in the family kindly made for me or a buying a bag of chips from the local Chinese around the corner (I tend to go Belgian with chips. Mayonnaise is my thing) and then propping myself in front of the TV.

I've mentioned before about the programmes I've been watching, either straight from the TV or as a DVD box set, during these two months, but during those specific moments of uncertainty one of these shows seemed more important than others. I think because this was the show I grew to like during this period when things were at it's most darkest.

And that programme (as you can tell by the title) of this post is Bones. What makes this even more unusual is that when I saw the odd episode before I didn't like it. Thought it was too glossy.

It does happen like this. Unexpectedly a programme creeps up on you unawares and before you know it you're a fan. It becomes a sort of comfort blanket when times are not good.

Bones is I know an odd choice. Loosely based on the life and novels of Kathy Reichs. Essentially episodes consist of a gruesome murder where you would see the victim in various stages of decomposition however as they would mainly be in a skeletonal state. This is convenient as the FBI in the form of Special Agent Seeley Booth is onto the case with his partner Doctor Temperence Brennan, a forensic anthropologist from the Jeffersonian Institute. Not just her though. There are other "squints" (scientific experts in their field) from the same institute.

I think the reason why it resonated was that it showed a group of good people facing a dark situation and being able, both with humour and intelligence to resolve it.

I have a few box sets now of this twelve season show. My mother's moaning that I'm watching too much of a programme that she doesn't really understand. She'd rather watch Murder She Wrote (Am happy to help my mother during these past few months...but there are limits).

Until the next time.

The Welsh Rugby Union......Sport's Welsh Labour?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling today.

When I was young growing up in London my knowledge of Wales was limited and now I realise full of cliches. When Wales either in fact or fiction appeared on British TV it would generally include a coal mine, a choir,a pub, socialism and poverty (the last of which I'd argue still exists and has got worse in the last decade).

(A quick aside here. I was told when in London by a Welsh woman who moved there that the cliché she hated the most was that when the miners left the coal mine for the day they were singing. Her grandfather told her that they were too weary and just wanted to get home)

The other cliché that would always appear was rugby. That it was "the people's game". It was the sport that most people watched and played and followed their local team every Saturday afternoon after which they would go to the pub. And you know what? If my experience in the late nineties was anything to go by that cliché was basically true.

But in 2003 the structure of Welsh rugby at club level changed. Instead of a league structure like football with promotion/relegation there would just be five teams that would join teams in Scotland and Ireland to form the Celtic League. All the other teams, some with a great history like Pontypool would just become feeder clubs to the big five.

And yes I said five. The Celtic Warriors. The team that was the merger between Bridgend and Pontypridd. The team that I must admit was looking forward to taking my then baby daughter to on a Saturday to support her (and our) local team. But in 2004, for financial reasons that are too complex to explain here the Welsh Rugby Union closed the team down.

Thirteen years later however we have now got the news that the Welsh Rugby Union have taken over the Newport Gwent Dragons and possibly (at least for a temporary period) the Cardiff Blues because of various financial issues.

And the question needs to be asked how has it come to this? The answer I would argue is that taken as a whole (because I think Scarlets are an exception) these (now four) teams failed to convince enough people to follow them. In other words people from Pontypridd would rather watch their local team play in a lower tier rugby game than travel to Cardiff to see a club that they had no emotional attachment to whatsoever. Or why would I take a forty minute drive to Swansea to watch a team hoisted on me by default when the Warriors folded? Welsh rugby is not the NFL but the Welsh Rugby Union thought it would be a successful model for Wales. For the moment at least this isn't

Also the point about supporting a club is that you will have that dream that your team would reach the top of their sport. The Welsh Rugby Union took that dream away from a lot of fans in clubs across the country. Consequently a lot of these fans became disillusioned and didn't feel the impetus to attend every game whereas once was a reflex reaction to being a Welsh rugby supporter.

You could also argue that it has been unlucky with the relative rise in that period of Cardiff and Swansea City football clubs.  Swansea shares their ground with the Ospreys and the difference in attendances is embarrassing. Equally when for a short period the Blues shared with Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium. When the Blues eventually moved back to the Arms Park it was I remember hailed by the BBC as a victory for the fans. But in reality it was an admission of failure. They could never even give an impression of filling the stadium which Cardiff City could do with ease. There is a good case for saying that at a club level football is now the national sport.

What could be done? Well I have no knowledge of the financial issues but I'm inclined to go back to the future and create the situation that existed before regional rugby was created. That way there would be local clubs that could be guaranteed real local support that could be built upon. It's no coincidence that when I see a second tier Welsh rugby game the attendances are impressive.

The Welsh Rugby Union find themselves in this situation because they alienated their base. Consequently whilst they are still the biggest sporting organisation in Wales they, and indeed Welsh club rugby, are not (talking generally) as part of the local fabric that they once were. The analogy with Welsh Labour is striking.

And they have only themselves to blame.

Until the next time.