Eddie Butler feels the creation of the Welsh regions was a short-term fix that has not worked for the Welsh game.
Speaking to The Rugby Paper Podcast, Butler said that the creation of the Welsh regions “has not worked” and needs a re-think.
Regional rugby was introduced in 2003 at the expense of clubs, with five sides initially created before the Celtic Warriors was disbanded a year later. The four surviving sides are the Blues (Cardiff), Scarlets (Llanelli), Ospreys (Swansea), and Dragons (Newport).
In May, a report commissioned by the WRU proposed cutting a region to three.
Butler added: “We have two standalone regions. Llanelli and Cardiff are basically stand-alone clubs and they can’t cut it! They can’t deliver a crowd.
Looking across the Severn, Butler feels that the Premiership is a success due to games being played in front of full houses.
He said: “You have that full sense of theatre and drama that goes with the full-on sporting occasion. In Wales, whenever the television pans or whatever television angles you try, you’re always conscious of rows and rows of empty seats. It simply does not help.
“So, you have to look for a new model. You bring down the regional system, what do you replace it with?”
Butler suggested that Wales may have to leave the URC in order to improve the professional game in Wales.
“Wales may have to contemplate going back to being Welsh,” said Butler.
Despite the professional struggles, Butler felt that the Welsh club game was flourishing with masses of talent in the club game.
Butler’s children still play the community game, so Butler has seen the talent first-hand.
“There’s nothing wrong with the community game. We’re having to shed clubs. But that’s because we live in post-industrial Wales. If you go to the good community clubs in Wales – they’re great places, they’re absolutely buzzing.”
“We’ve reached a point where we have to think smaller, export big.
“If our system is not good enough for fully-fledged professionals then we have to release them to ply their trade elsewhere and just enjoy what Welsh rugby is for the time being.
“It’s vibrant, it’s inventive, creative. We’re so mired in the gloom that we’ve forgotten what it is to have fun.
United Rugby Championship ‘a beast’
This weekend see’s the semi-finals of the United Rugby Championship as Leinster host the Bulls this evening (Friday) and Ulster travel to Cape Town to face the Stormers.
Eddie Butler encapsulated the URC as a “Beast that is ignored everywhere bar those many countries that are included in it”.
Brendan Gallagher (who also appeared on the podcast) felt that the URC was not well watched in England due to it being on Premier Sports – requiring a further television subscription to view it.
Butler warned that it was not a foregone conclusion that Leinster would win the URC, saying: “The Bulls are very good. The Bulls got their big surprise last year when they waltzed into Italy for the final of the Rainbow Cup to play Benetton and I don’t think they’ll make that mistake again. They know exactly what is coming their day and they are formidable.”
“Leinster are very good at dispatching weak opposition now, they’re the Graeme Hick of rugby. Put them on a flat track and they’ll clout you out the ground. But, a few questions have been asked.
“If you stand up to their mighty forward pack and if you overcome the Leinster machine then something might be there for you.”
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