Thanks man - hopefully rugby will one day be on par with those sort of sports. The more channels we have making this sort of content around rugby, the more we'll be pushing it up towards those heights 👍👍
Just stumbled upon this video and so far it’s been absolutely excellent. Every now and again I get a bit of imposter syndrome with my own channel and when seeing channels like yours, I wonder why 😂🙌 This is a channel that deserves far more subscribers than mine, nice graphic design and editing and very well-spoken from an unbiased perspective. Keep it up, Max 🔥🔥🔥
Nice one Max - thanks! Really appreciate it! No need for imposter syndrome, your analysis and reviews are sound… it’s the quality of what you’re saying that’s more important rather than how slick you can make motion graphics. Dropped you a sub - keep creating 👍👍👍
As a South-African I'm sad to see Wales recent decline. They went from losing to the Boks with one point in the semi finals to losing to Georgia. It reminds me of the slump the boks went trough before Rassie arrived. Hopefully Wales can sort out their team culture (that's what I thought the problem was and this well made vid confirms it) and show up at the world cup.
With so many distractions on and off the pitch, it's becoming difficult for any coaching regime to implement a strong rugby culture when boys aren't sure if they'll even be employed in 3 months. Glad you liked the video man!
Great video, really good coverage of all the different things going on. Feel really gutted for welsh rugby fans and the players and the people getting treated so awfully in the WRU. It’s so rough, and really frustrating to watch from the outside. And I thought things in the SRU weren’t great.
Wales is the true nation of rugby. They never made Ireland, Scotland, England, there feeder nations and drained there talent and kept them small... (cough NZ) There player base is very small...... but they just love this wounderful game. I am heart broken that this humble nation with huge passion cant see a future and is falling down the ranks.
Great video as always! Keep it up. On the Irish provinces during the pandemic. Each one was supported by the IRFU who was given a "grant" by the Irish government. Thats how they actually survived without huge debt. The WRU were given a loan which must be paid back to the UK government. So loads of debt.
Thanks man! Really appreciate it. Ah that's good to know. With the WRU, it wasn't a Government loan to start. The WRU ended up getting a £20m loan from NatWest before the Government finally stepped in a few months later
The Ireland covid comparison seems somewhat unfair here. The IRFU received €18m in covid relief grants in both 2021 and 2022 from the Irish government. I am not sure what the WRU and regions got in total, but it seems likely it is a lot less than €36m. In the end those loans are effectively going to be paid back with WRU money, as the WRU funding seems to be about half the regions revenue. There is not much practical difference between taking debt inside the WRU and diverting some of the regional funding to paying it or assigning the debt to the regions and them having to divert some of the WRU funding themselves to pay it off. If as suggested in the linked that one or more regions are going bankrupt in the next few years, would some of this debt then be written off in that bankruptcy or is it guaranteed by the WRU?
The WRU failed to secure a grant or Government loan during the COVID period. They ended up securing a private loan through NatWest. The WRU claimed they didn't have the relevant funds to honour the agreed funding they'd committed to the regions. Despite the regions not being part of the negotiations, the WRU negotiated on their behalf and obtained a really bad deal - £20m+ interest to be paid back over 5 years. (Since renegotiated to 20 years) Without going into too much detail or history, the regions own and operate the player pathways in Wales - the WRU pays the regions for access to it's goods. So for them to turn around and say "we can't afford to pay you for your service... so we've taken out a loan to pay you... but you've got to pay it back on our behalf" seems a little backward to many.
Thanks Dale - multiple sources were used regarding financial information. The WRU have posted a lot of this information themselves via PR and their financial statements. There are some great journalists like Steffan Thomas who have produced some great insight and analysis on the topic
Would it be possible to have a system like NZ? The clubs make up a mitre 10 style competition. Then once the season is finished selection is made for the 4 regional teams.
Potentially… but the lack of money/resources means that bringing the Welsh Premiership up to that standard might be beyond current means. It’s another couple of million of investment that neither the WRU or regions have.
Thanks Rhys - rugby can be a complicated game to follow... both on and off the pitch! Hopefully we made things a little more bitesize... despite the 22 minute run time!
Christ T, Daf Jenks, LRZ, Jac Morgan, Grady, Basham, Hawkins and Reffell are all still pretty young who’ve all got at least 10 years left in them. New Gen stars are slightly lower than usual but given Wales’ size, their player pathways aren’t woefully under performing compared to other areas of the Welsh game. Be interesting to see what happens in the next 5 years though…
Nice video incredibly informative - £50million on a hotel refurbishment - never knew that. Surely its about getting the fundamentals done, first namely the players
Wales is a giant in world rugby ! You can beat anybody on any given ! Official do your job and give the lads a workable contract before taking care of yourself first ! The world needs Welsh Rugby !
Its so sad they seem to struggle really hard. I think its W RUGBY they are haters of the game. They push their own selected favourites. Everyone knows they hate Springboks now Wales is also in their sights
I wonder if this 'woke'/identity politics sideshow going on in Welsh rugby at the moment goes some way to explaining the strange retirement of AWJ. Tipuric, etc? Must be a major distraction for them going into a WC. Imagine being told your job as a senior player/leader now includes providing regular feedback to the WRU's new 'diversity and inclusivity champion'!
The WRU has always been about jobs for the boys. The problem is many of these boys come from club cliques where they talk a good game. The right man for the job is usually ignored in favour of someone's mate.
that's in welsh rugby throughout... i've had mates who were top players and when they go for positions in top clubs they get shunned ..they go with people who were much worse players because they're better connected ... Unbelievably clicky
Greatness isn’t necessarily defined as World Cup wins… especially since World Cups have only been a thing since the late 80s in a sport that has existed for 100+ years. They’ve produced icons of the game like JPR, Edwards, Jiffy, Shane, Warburton and AWJ. Culturally, they are only one of 7 countries who’ve held rugby as their national sport and have a national stadium that’s regarded as one the best in World Rugby. In the same way we can’t deny France as a great rugby nation just because they haven’t won the Webb Ellis cup
Trying to recruit a better coach is going to be tough... there are so many other options out there so trying to get someone like Scott Robertson or Andy Farrell might be too tough. Remember it's the WRU who have to recruit and attract new coaches... and if they can't even make their own players play for their country with this potential strike action, I don't have much faith that they can poach a top coach from elsewhere!
Christ Tshiunza is Wales Mario itoje every time they talk about the Welsh team there be a picture of him same with England team every time they talk about England there's a picture of Mario itoje evan thou none of them are captains of there team or the best players in the team .. Hmm can't think why they do this 🙄🤔
Probably because Itoje is the most marketable player in the England squad right now? 3 World POTY Nominations (the most of any NH player in the world), 2x B&I Lion tours and he's signed to Jay-Z's RocNation management label - so universal appeal. As for Tshuinza, he's not the biggest name in the squad but he's certainly one of the most exciting prospects. As a regular viewer of Welsh media (and previous contributor to it's stories) I can honestly say that Tshiunza doesn't appear any more than the likes of AWJ, Ken Owens or even Rhys Webb (who's not even been in the squad for the past 5 years!). If you're suggesting an alternative connotation, I'd counter that their image (on this occasion) it's due to their talents rather than anything else. As for our thumbnail - we simply searched for the term "dejected Wales rugby" and his image was the first to chronologically come up.
As an Ireland fan. It’s sad to see the decline in Welsh rugby. Hope they can move forward and resolve their issues as a good Wales team makes for a better six nations tournament.
as welsh person, it is so heartbreaking seeing our team fall apart. it is so beloved in our country and I'm worried that it won't continue to be considering the way things are looking. I went to Cardiff to watch Wales vs England last week, and the atmosphere was so blatant that everyone was there simply because they bought tickets when Wales still looked promising. if everyone had the opportunity to sell their tickets, I would only assume most people would take up the offer. and afterwards, what was most worrying was that no fans around me were painfully distraught that we lost but rather just disappointed and got what they expected, and frankly that is terrifying. the wru are killing off fans, killing of motivation for traveling fans, like me who has to travel from London to Cardiff every time I want to see a fixture. I hope they fix up soon, because if they don't this could very much be a very dark and very long rabbit hole they will find themselves in. and it will be no return because they will have lost aspiring players and long-life fans.
English fan here 😅 this is very bad news for Welsh Rugby! This needs to be sorted before the World Cup and rid of people that are corrupting the game ! I wouldn’t blame them for striking if it makes the point 😊
Correction - 1:31. Wales have won the (Home, 5, 6) nations more times than anyone - it's not a joint record. It's a record. Wales have 40 titles, England 39..
The board of member setup is pretty shocking. In SA we have the King IV report on Corporate Governance which is not a statute but its frowned upon if big corporations does not implement it. King IV urges a company's board of directors to be mostly independent and the chair of the board should also always be an independent member.
As a comparison, in football, you need at least two hands to count how many sides there are in London alone. Sure football is a bigger sport, and there's more money in London, but if the EFA made the move to dismantle all of them and say 'there can only be one, and it's Chelsea,' those Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham etc. fans would NEVER turn around and back the likes of Chelsea. That approach of drowning out other clubs and assuming everybody is just gonna follow the four you want them to is next level naivety. I get why they did it, the populous, but come on. To suffocate the players, push fans to teams, and expect to all go as planned... it's as if Vince McMahon runs the WRU.
Now imagine if Crystal Palace had 5 competitive rival teams directly next to it, like in Croydon, South Croydon, Brixton, Beckenham and West Wickham. And those supporters under no circumstances would support or follow Crystal Palace... that's kinda what Welsh Rugby can be like! Due to it's geography and poor transport links, many communities turned inward for sporting support, developing deep rooted and tribal identities. On a map, places like Pontypridd and Caerphilly look like suburbs of Cardiff... yet many club loyalists there wouldn't dream of following them due to this Tribalism
@@catch22rugby exactly. I played rugby in Blackwood. I don't really recall them having any FIERCE rivalries per se, so perhaps that sense in comparison to football is a bit less ingrained. But if all of a sudden they decided to shut down Blackwood RFC and be like 'you've gotta play for Newport now,' not only would the parents be annoyed due to the commute, but more importantly you've now got 30-50 kids in a side and you've gotta send half of them home anyway cus they ain't gonna play. Support for the club would naturally wither away as a result. And your vid said they might be considering cutting 2 of the remaining 4. That's insane thought process wise. Now a fan is gonna be on the fence again, but thinking 'are they gonna reduce to one eventually?' They've dug themselves a massive ditch with that.
They've lost to both teams before... it's a real possibility it could happen again. Wales haven't failed to get out the WC group stages since 2007 but this could be the year it happens again
very good video. i worked as a builder doing that hotel in Cardiff next to the Millennium stadium. 50 millions is extremely expensive . shocking amount of money!!!
Isn’t it odd about rugby, as much as an English supporter, I suffered under the brilliance of the Welsh teams of the 60’s+70’s, however it’s horrible to see how the Welsh game is apparently falling apart. It rather smacks of the comment that Will Carling broadcast regarding the English rugby establishment. Apart from things like a revolution, such as the time when League was formed, it takes time for things to change and ‘evolve.’ We could cry to see the taking over of rugby by American business giants, as we can see the problems caused at Manchester United for example. I’m aware that no one of any power will listen to me, but if the problem is caused by playing within a small niche market within their country’s boundaries, why not extend leagues outside to 3 regional areas throughout England and Wales. Strict stick in the mud patriots may beat their chests with dogged pride, but pride, as we know comes before a fall. No one wants Wales to fall.
I am a massive fan of the idea that we could have a British and Irish league... but England have no interest in pursuing this idea and the Irish have made it clear that they are happy to remain in the URC. For outsiders looking in, it seems the obvious answer... but those in power don't want it to happen at present
Statistically it's hard to argue with 4 Grand Slams and 6 titles in a 16 year period. Is averaging a Championship title once every 2.5 years just hype? Their style and consistency is very much up for debate but it's hard to argue with the sheer success of their numbers.
As an irish man who has your country give us the odd beating, its bad for rugby what's going on there, I was at the u20 match against us and you have some good young players, in other words things are not that bad, after all its wales.
really well made, deserves a lot more views! if this was a Football or a NFL channel you'd have hundreds of thousands for these high quality vids.
Thanks man - hopefully rugby will one day be on par with those sort of sports. The more channels we have making this sort of content around rugby, the more we'll be pushing it up towards those heights 👍👍
@@catch22rugby What sort of sports? American football? Played by... One country and is famous for money laundering and half time shows? Can't wait.
Just stumbled upon this video and so far it’s been absolutely excellent. Every now and again I get a bit of imposter syndrome with my own channel and when seeing channels like yours, I wonder why 😂🙌
This is a channel that deserves far more subscribers than mine, nice graphic design and editing and very well-spoken from an unbiased perspective.
Keep it up, Max 🔥🔥🔥
Nice one Max - thanks! Really appreciate it! No need for imposter syndrome, your analysis and reviews are sound… it’s the quality of what you’re saying that’s more important rather than how slick you can make motion graphics. Dropped you a sub - keep creating 👍👍👍
@@catch22rugby cheers mate, I'll continue to look at your videos, might flick an email if I'm ever interested in a bit of collaboration ✌
@@TheBlackJersey yeah for sure 👌 don’t be a stranger
As a South-African I'm sad to see Wales recent decline. They went from losing to the Boks with one point in the semi finals to losing to Georgia. It reminds me of the slump the boks went trough before Rassie arrived. Hopefully Wales can sort out their team culture (that's what I thought the problem was and this well made vid confirms it) and show up at the world cup.
With so many distractions on and off the pitch, it's becoming difficult for any coaching regime to implement a strong rugby culture when boys aren't sure if they'll even be employed in 3 months. Glad you liked the video man!
They have to much off field dramas to be able to sort the culture.
Great video, really good coverage of all the different things going on. Feel really gutted for welsh rugby fans and the players and the people getting treated so awfully in the WRU. It’s so rough, and really frustrating to watch from the outside. And I thought things in the SRU weren’t great.
Thanks man - it’s unbelievable how bad things have got… this might be the medicine that Welsh Rugby needs to change but who knows who will survive
@@catch22rugby I really hope it does create the needed change.
Keep the faith brother.
Wales is the true nation of rugby. They never made Ireland, Scotland, England, there feeder nations and drained there talent and kept them small... (cough NZ) There player base is very small...... but they just love this wounderful game. I am heart broken that this humble nation with huge passion cant see a future and is falling down the ranks.
It's such a difficult situation - let's hope they can come to some sort of solution because the current set-up is clearly failing many
Great video as always! Keep it up.
On the Irish provinces during the pandemic. Each one was supported by the IRFU who was given a "grant" by the Irish government. Thats how they actually survived without huge debt.
The WRU were given a loan which must be paid back to the UK government. So loads of debt.
Thanks man! Really appreciate it. Ah that's good to know. With the WRU, it wasn't a Government loan to start. The WRU ended up getting a £20m loan from NatWest before the Government finally stepped in a few months later
The Ireland covid comparison seems somewhat unfair here. The IRFU received €18m in covid relief grants in both 2021 and 2022 from the Irish government. I am not sure what the WRU and regions got in total, but it seems likely it is a lot less than €36m.
In the end those loans are effectively going to be paid back with WRU money, as the WRU funding seems to be about half the regions revenue. There is not much practical difference between taking debt inside the WRU and diverting some of the regional funding to paying it or assigning the debt to the regions and them having to divert some of the WRU funding themselves to pay it off. If as suggested in the linked that one or more regions are going bankrupt in the next few years, would some of this debt then be written off in that bankruptcy or is it guaranteed by the WRU?
The WRU failed to secure a grant or Government loan during the COVID period. They ended up securing a private loan through NatWest. The WRU claimed they didn't have the relevant funds to honour the agreed funding they'd committed to the regions. Despite the regions not being part of the negotiations, the WRU negotiated on their behalf and obtained a really bad deal - £20m+ interest to be paid back over 5 years. (Since renegotiated to 20 years)
Without going into too much detail or history, the regions own and operate the player pathways in Wales - the WRU pays the regions for access to it's goods. So for them to turn around and say "we can't afford to pay you for your service... so we've taken out a loan to pay you... but you've got to pay it back on our behalf" seems a little backward to many.
Fascinating stuff. From an Englishman I truly hope Wales turn it around soon. You are a great rugby nation. Get rid of the 60 cap rule too.
Thank you very much - well it looks like that 60 cap rule will be brought down to 25 caps... let's see what today brings!
Very interesting video. What were you sources for the financial information?
Thanks Dale - multiple sources were used regarding financial information. The WRU have posted a lot of this information themselves via PR and their financial statements. There are some great journalists like Steffan Thomas who have produced some great insight and analysis on the topic
Would it be possible to have a system like NZ? The clubs make up a mitre 10 style competition. Then once the season is finished selection is made for the 4 regional teams.
Potentially… but the lack of money/resources means that bringing the Welsh Premiership up to that standard might be beyond current means. It’s another couple of million of investment that neither the WRU or regions have.
Thanks for the video, it is hard to get by rugby news in Germany
Danke! Hopefully out explainer videos help get some news to German rugby fans moving forward
A really well put together and equally depressing video for a Welsh rugby fan 🤦🏻♂️😞
Thanks Jake!
I thought the Welsh team was already on strike during their last two matches so we won’t notice much change if they don’t show up .. again 😢
I mean… Benny and Deiniol would be happy to have a run out if Wales are a bit short on numbers this weekend 👀
awesome video, tons of research clearly done on this! thanks for dumbing it down for people like me!
Thanks Rhys - rugby can be a complicated game to follow... both on and off the pitch! Hopefully we made things a little more bitesize... despite the 22 minute run time!
Awesome video and explanation as always!
Cheers Dylan!
would have been interesting if you touched on the lack of younger talent coming through in Wales also!
Christ T, Daf Jenks, LRZ, Jac Morgan, Grady, Basham, Hawkins and Reffell are all still pretty young who’ve all got at least 10 years left in them. New Gen stars are slightly lower than usual but given Wales’ size, their player pathways aren’t woefully under performing compared to other areas of the Welsh game. Be interesting to see what happens in the next 5 years though…
As an English supporter, I am very excited about the possibility of Welsh rugby's total collapse.
That’s a shame to hear ☹️
Aussie supporter here: it's time for revenge, a dish best served cold.
Nice video well made. The Welsh players deserve better.
Thanks Robert - fingers crossed 🤞
Nice video incredibly informative - £50million on a hotel refurbishment - never knew that. Surely its about getting the fundamentals done, first namely the players
It does raise some questions on what the financial priorities should be... the game itself or the support around it
Wales is a giant in world rugby ! You can beat anybody on any given ! Official do your job and give the lads a workable contract before taking care of yourself first ! The world needs Welsh Rugby !
It would be a massive hole in the rugby world if the Welsh died out... but it looks to be a self-inflicted wound at present!
As MLK said "I had a dream.... that this will all get fixed and Wales will win the world cup." Or something like that.
Nicely done chaps 👌🏻
Glad you enjoyed Chris - thanks
Enjoyed this
Thanks man!
Its so sad they seem to struggle really hard. I think its W RUGBY they are haters of the game. They push their own selected favourites. Everyone knows they hate Springboks now Wales is also in their sights
Self interest over rugby interest… when you are putting money meant for the regions into doing up hospitality boxes then something has gone wrong
Need to change root and branch
Hopefully change is on the way
I wonder if this 'woke'/identity politics sideshow going on in Welsh rugby at the moment goes some way to explaining the strange retirement of AWJ. Tipuric, etc? Must be a major distraction for them going into a WC. Imagine being told your job as a senior player/leader now includes providing regular feedback to the WRU's new 'diversity and inclusivity champion'!
Having worked very closely with both AWJ and Tips - I seriously doubt that the reason for their retirements was due to extra EDI responsibilities…
@@catch22rugby Thanks. Interesting to hear you worked with them personally. Are you at liberty to say what kind of work you did with them?
Whaaaat???
Now I know what all the fuss is about.
Mental to see how much is going on all at once
The WRU has always been about jobs for the boys. The problem is many of these boys come from club cliques where they talk a good game. The right man for the job is usually ignored in favour of someone's mate.
Amanda Blanc is a classic example! Begs the question - how many other talented people have slipped through the net?
that's in welsh rugby throughout... i've had mates who were top players and when they go for positions in top clubs they get shunned ..they go with people who were much worse players because they're better connected ... Unbelievably clicky
super!!!
Thanks 👍
So called great rugby nation has never reached the World Cup Final in a sport with such a tiny pool of genuine contenders
Meh.
Greatness isn’t necessarily defined as World Cup wins… especially since World Cups have only been a thing since the late 80s in a sport that has existed for 100+ years. They’ve produced icons of the game like JPR, Edwards, Jiffy, Shane, Warburton and AWJ. Culturally, they are only one of 7 countries who’ve held rugby as their national sport and have a national stadium that’s regarded as one the best in World Rugby. In the same way we can’t deny France as a great rugby nation just because they haven’t won the Webb Ellis cup
different coach that’s why
Trying to recruit a better coach is going to be tough... there are so many other options out there so trying to get someone like Scott Robertson or Andy Farrell might be too tough. Remember it's the WRU who have to recruit and attract new coaches... and if they can't even make their own players play for their country with this potential strike action, I don't have much faith that they can poach a top coach from elsewhere!
So it turns put the WRU had an absolute business god at the top but the old farts couldn't take advice from Woman.
Pretty much - ex factory works and retired teachers ignoring business advice from the CEO of a FTSE 500 company because “they know best”
Christ Tshiunza is Wales Mario itoje every time they talk about the Welsh team there be a picture of him same with England team every time they talk about England there's a picture of Mario itoje evan thou none of them are captains of there team or the best players in the team .. Hmm can't think why they do this 🙄🤔
Probably because Itoje is the most marketable player in the England squad right now? 3 World POTY Nominations (the most of any NH player in the world), 2x B&I Lion tours and he's signed to Jay-Z's RocNation management label - so universal appeal.
As for Tshuinza, he's not the biggest name in the squad but he's certainly one of the most exciting prospects. As a regular viewer of Welsh media (and previous contributor to it's stories) I can honestly say that Tshiunza doesn't appear any more than the likes of AWJ, Ken Owens or even Rhys Webb (who's not even been in the squad for the past 5 years!).
If you're suggesting an alternative connotation, I'd counter that their image (on this occasion) it's due to their talents rather than anything else. As for our thumbnail - we simply searched for the term "dejected Wales rugby" and his image was the first to chronologically come up.
It all about money.
It's a shame but that's the way the world works these days :(
As an Ireland fan. It’s sad to see the decline in Welsh rugby. Hope they can move forward and resolve their issues as a good Wales team makes for a better six nations tournament.
Fingers crossed... I mean, if Italy are on the up then Wales might take the title as the new whipping boys of the tournament
as welsh person, it is so heartbreaking seeing our team fall apart. it is so beloved in our country and I'm worried that it won't continue to be considering the way things are looking. I went to Cardiff to watch Wales vs England last week, and the atmosphere was so blatant that everyone was there simply because they bought tickets when Wales still looked promising. if everyone had the opportunity to sell their tickets, I would only assume most people would take up the offer. and afterwards, what was most worrying was that no fans around me were painfully distraught that we lost but rather just disappointed and got what they expected, and frankly that is terrifying. the wru are killing off fans, killing of motivation for traveling fans, like me who has to travel from London to Cardiff every time I want to see a fixture. I hope they fix up soon, because if they don't this could very much be a very dark and very long rabbit hole they will find themselves in. and it will be no return because they will have lost aspiring players and long-life fans.
A lot of short term thinking from the higher ups… it’s a slow rot that has been going on for years
As a Welsh transwoman and Welsh Rugby fan, this breaks my heart. The WRU needs to be broken down and reformed. It can't go on.
A difficult time indeed - let's hope they can sort this mess out Steph
English fan here 😅 this is very bad news for Welsh Rugby! This needs to be sorted before the World Cup and rid of people that are corrupting the game ! I wouldn’t blame them for striking if it makes the point 😊
Some Welsh fans are already writing off any chance of a World Cup run. Harsh times in Wales right now
Genuinely love your stuff lads, these are really informative! Grim topic, but youse covered it fantastically
Thank you so much Phil - grim topic indeed but hopefully it gives some insight!
Correction - 1:31. Wales have won the (Home, 5, 6) nations more times than anyone - it's not a joint record. It's a record. Wales have 40 titles, England 39..
Thanks Gareth
@@catch22rugby it was a compelling video though - possibly the best synopsis I have seen about this whole mess thus far!
Really appreciate it! We had to re-write the script 4 times because new things kept coming out in the media 🤣
Take a breath and deliver your narrative coherently.
Thanks Jem - will try my best next time
Lashings of salient points in that report, and all you can moan about is the narrative ? I reckon your priorities are a trifle incoherent, 8937 face.
The board of member setup is pretty shocking. In SA we have the King IV report on Corporate Governance which is not a statute but its frowned upon if big corporations does not implement it. King IV urges a company's board of directors to be mostly independent and the chair of the board should also always be an independent member.
That's really interesting to know - might have to take a look at that King IV report...
Really good deep dive. Thank you
Thanks! Appreciate it
Maybe an Arab nation can buy them, not much else left the haven't bought..
Those nations aren't massive fans of rugby so they would probably be more inclined to purchase more global sports like football or F1
As a comparison, in football, you need at least two hands to count how many sides there are in London alone. Sure football is a bigger sport, and there's more money in London, but if the EFA made the move to dismantle all of them and say 'there can only be one, and it's Chelsea,' those Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham etc. fans would NEVER turn around and back the likes of Chelsea. That approach of drowning out other clubs and assuming everybody is just gonna follow the four you want them to is next level naivety. I get why they did it, the populous, but come on. To suffocate the players, push fans to teams, and expect to all go as planned... it's as if Vince McMahon runs the WRU.
Now imagine if Crystal Palace had 5 competitive rival teams directly next to it, like in Croydon, South Croydon, Brixton, Beckenham and West Wickham. And those supporters under no circumstances would support or follow Crystal Palace... that's kinda what Welsh Rugby can be like! Due to it's geography and poor transport links, many communities turned inward for sporting support, developing deep rooted and tribal identities. On a map, places like Pontypridd and Caerphilly look like suburbs of Cardiff... yet many club loyalists there wouldn't dream of following them due to this Tribalism
@@catch22rugby exactly. I played rugby in Blackwood. I don't really recall them having any FIERCE rivalries per se, so perhaps that sense in comparison to football is a bit less ingrained. But if all of a sudden they decided to shut down Blackwood RFC and be like 'you've gotta play for Newport now,' not only would the parents be annoyed due to the commute, but more importantly you've now got 30-50 kids in a side and you've gotta send half of them home anyway cus they ain't gonna play. Support for the club would naturally wither away as a result. And your vid said they might be considering cutting 2 of the remaining 4. That's insane thought process wise. Now a fan is gonna be on the fence again, but thinking 'are they gonna reduce to one eventually?' They've dug themselves a massive ditch with that.
Losing out to Fiji or Georgia in the world cup may add insult to injury with such WRU shenanigans.
They've lost to both teams before... it's a real possibility it could happen again. Wales haven't failed to get out the WC group stages since 2007 but this could be the year it happens again
@@catch22rugby My point exactly
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very good video. i worked as a builder doing that hotel in Cardiff next to the Millennium stadium. 50 millions is extremely expensive . shocking amount of money!!!
Thanks! It’s a nice hotel… but when you have to potentially close 1 of the 4 regions down to fund it… seems wrong
Isn’t it odd about rugby, as much as an English supporter, I suffered under the brilliance of the Welsh teams of the 60’s+70’s, however it’s horrible to see how the Welsh game is apparently falling apart. It rather smacks of the comment that Will Carling broadcast regarding the English rugby establishment.
Apart from things like a revolution, such as the time when League was formed, it takes time for things to change and ‘evolve.’
We could cry to see the taking over of rugby by American business giants, as we can see the problems caused at Manchester United for example.
I’m aware that no one of any power will listen to me, but if the problem is caused by playing within a small niche market within their country’s boundaries, why not extend leagues outside to 3 regional areas throughout England and Wales.
Strict stick in the mud patriots may beat their chests with dogged pride, but pride, as we know comes before a fall. No one wants Wales to fall.
I am a massive fan of the idea that we could have a British and Irish league... but England have no interest in pursuing this idea and the Irish have made it clear that they are happy to remain in the URC. For outsiders looking in, it seems the obvious answer... but those in power don't want it to happen at present
@chrisbloodknot2380 That's gonna hurt some to the "westward" there, but none the less, is true.
Statistically it's hard to argue with 4 Grand Slams and 6 titles in a 16 year period. Is averaging a Championship title once every 2.5 years just hype? Their style and consistency is very much up for debate but it's hard to argue with the sheer success of their numbers.
As an irish man who has your country give us the odd beating, its bad for rugby what's going on there, I was at the u20 match against us and you have some good young players, in other words things are not that bad, after all its wales.
Let's hope Wales can continue to inspire the youth... because if they keep going down this route, future generations might bypass rugby altogether