Jeremy Guscott: Wales must act quickly to stop the talent drain

With the news that Jamie Roberts has decided to move on from Cardiff Blues, Roger Lewis chief executive of the Welsh RU and the chairmen/benefactors of the regions plus the best business/rugby minds available must quickly get around a table and work out the best plan to keep Welsh domestic rugby competitive.
Otherwise, by the time the 2015 World Cup starts, most of the Welsh team will have left Wales.
We’ve all read the report that says the new regions are struggling financially to survive. We’ve also heard a proposal from the WRU to help the regions financially was turned down from the regions. I would guess there wasn’t enough money and the regions would lose control of their international players being centrally contracted.
This week Cardiff Blues chairman Peter Thomas spoke about how the Irish RU contribute to the provincial teams and how difficult it was to compete against that. It sounds like Thomas wants money from the WRU and still keep control of the region’s international players.
The Irish have spent a good few years working out how best to work their system. Having the international players centrally contracted from an early stage has helped the provinces work around them being away. The provincial teams have also been around for a long time so have always had a loyal supporter base.
Leinster and Ulster have joined Munster at Europe’s top table and actually gone past them for the time being. This is all despite these teams’ top Irish players being away for good periods on international duty.
I believe Wales’ domestic game still has a fantastic opportunity during this golden international era to be successful. Lewis and the regions have to work on building up the regions’ fan base because currently, while the national team is highly thought of, the regions are not successful in Europe nor are they dominating the Celtic League.
I’m not an expert on how you get more supporters to follow your team, apart from winning, but there are examples out there. Leinster have had a core following over the years but the last few have seen a huge rise in the support base, helped by the success on the pitch. They moved stadia and engaged with their supporters and regularly get 15,000-plus gates at the RDS.
On the playing side of the regions, Scarlets are looking good, it’s a shame they got drawn in such a hard Heineken Cup pool. I look at the Ospreys‘ and Blues’ squads and wonder why they don’t do better given the international quality available.
Blues had problems with the stadium they moved to but there must have been a plan, why did it go wrong? Now they’re back at Cardiff Arms Park. Ospreys had a team of galaticos for a good few seasons, why didn’t they win the Heineken? Scarlets have a good squad and particularly entertaining backs and team style, why can’t they fill Parc y Scarlets more often?
Everyone involved in Welsh rugby – and I include the supporters – still have time to get Welsh domestic rugby back on the high enjoyed before the regions were formed. Supporters need to get behind the teams otherwise the current system will fall off the cliff, the audit has pretty much said the current infrastructure is unsustainable without the support of the benefactors and they seem to be getting weary.
Producing young, talented players doesn’t seem to be a problem for the Welsh game it’s keeping them that is. But there is an answer, they just have to find it. Stop being stubborn, get together to knock some sense into each other and build a legacy from the brilliant players Wales currently have.
It would be such a waste if Wales can’t build on their talent. If football in Cardiff and Swansea has taken a lot of rugby support away, then Welsh rugby has to think of a way to bring them back.
Cardiff, Swansea, Neath, Ponty, Newport and Scarlets were all well-supported once upon a time, so where have the fans all gone?
England had an opportunity during a golden period 1999-2003 and let it go and, despite all their resources are struggling to get it right again. A lot of that is down to the disagreements between the Premiership and the RFU which, with a lot of commonsense and compromise, would be resolved.
It’s slightly different in England because more club teams are starting to balance the books after a lot of losses. More clubs will become self-sufficient despite the RFU because there are some smart business minds backing these clubs and, in the main, they agree what the future should be and how to achieve it.
The England, Scotland and Wales Unions will always struggle to keep international players. Those with 40 or 50 caps and a World Cup or two will always get big financial offers.
These players will generally be around 26 years old and over so why not maximise your earning potential. These offers are life-changing as long as the tax planning is sorted.
Even so, Wales should be working on a plan that keeps most of their international talent in Wales and that strategy needs to be in place before 2015. If Welsh rugby can’t learn from the good and bad of the Irish and English examples then they really are in trouble.