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The legendary Jonathan Davies slams 'scandalous position' in Wales
Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies has slammed the situation in Wales that has led to the threatened players’ strike for next weekend’s Guinness Six Nations match versus England. Failure to fulfil the February 25 game could cost the WRU upwards of £9million in much-needed revenue as it grapples with a financial crisis it is nowhere near solving.
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No contracts are currently on the table for players at the four regions whose deals expire at the end of the 2022/23 season and the situation has now turned nuclear with the national team considering whether to play next weekend or give the match with England a miss.
The latest development in the controversy came on Tuesday when the WRU called off its planned 12-noon announcement of the Wales team to play England.
That denied the union the opportunity to switch the narrative onto selection and on-pitch matters and temporarily move away from all the negative headlines surrounding contracts and this Wednesday’s scheduled meeting between the WRU’s professional rugby board and the Welsh professional players.
It’s a standoff that the legendary Davies doesn’t like. His gut feeling is that the Six Nations match will eventually go ahead but he is dismayed that the sport has fallen into such disrepair. Appearing on the latest episode of The Rugby Pod, he quipped: “I’m glad I have retired with all this hassle going on.”
Asked for the inside track as to what is happening behind the scenes in Wales, Davies continued: “I don’t think anyone knows unless you are around the table and I’m not. It’s a serious threat, a well-timed threat really. It [Wales versus England] is the biggest earner for the WRU, the players know that. How that is going to have a knock-on effect if the game doesn’t go on to the regions and their finances I’m not sure but I just feel it is a decision they all came to and they had to do it.
“It’s a scandalous position to be in. You can’t expect players to perform when they have been promised finances to be sorted. It was pre-Christmas or whatever and it is still the situation. It was highlighted by Jack Dixon of the Dragons. He went off injured and he is up for contract renewal His confidence must be shattered and he is worried because who is going to sign a guy who is injured? It makes it harder.
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“They are serious about it and hopefully they can all get around a table and get it sorted ASAP. Everybody wants the game to go ahead and I’m sure all the players would but unfortunately, they have been caught up in a situation. It’s not a great reflection on Welsh rugby and the WRU and they have had a disastrous last couple of months.”
Davies believes the Test match will ultimately happen but he has called for total reform of rugby in Wales. “It will go on. Gut feeling is everybody wants it to happen. Hopefully, this will be put to bed… But you have got to have a business plan.
“The regions have got to know where they are, the players have got to know where they are and we have always been told, just concentrate on your rugby. That is what the players want to do but they can’t do it because of the financial situation.
“The problem is the union doesn’t trust the regions, the regions don’t trust the union and I don’t think the regions trust each other. That has always been an issue and if you have got five parts to this, they should work in harmony for everyone to get better because they need the grassroots, they need the regions, and then all of a sudden you have got Wales. For me, it’s the union’s fault that it has come to this.
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“They had to try and nail it down ASAP. I can understand that maybe the regions have squandered the money. I do think that across the board now, not only in Wales, they have got to look at player salaries,” reckoned Davies.
“When you have got clubs like Wasps and Worcester going through and then Leicester needing a cash injection, it’s not sustainable. They have got to look at contracts and players will go, ‘Why are we taking a cut?’ Because for the longevity of the game they have to and they have to be realistic about salaries.
Welsh LEGEND Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies weighs in on the Welsh Rugby Crisis and the lads preview R3 of the 6N.
Listen now on Spotify ? https://t.co/0MAB4mXgov pic.twitter.com/QrNgInOTmn
— The Rugby Pod (@TheRugbyPod) February 21, 2023
“I don’t know how that is going to work… but what they need first and foremost is trust between the lot of them. I don’t even know what (Warren) Gatland is going to be doing. Is he staying, is he going to be a rugby director? What influence is he going to have over the regions? The regions won’t want him to come in because he is a union rep.
“So this is an opportunity to have total reform, on finances, on the rugby, on the culture in the WRU. You need a CEO to run the business and either a CEO or a director of rugby to run the rugby because we have been failing the youngsters. I am looking at it now and we haven’t got strength in depth and I do blame coaching at the lower level.
“When you get to regional standard you shouldn’t have to be taught how to pass or how to kick, which tackle to use in a tackle. We have failed the youngsters coming through as well because we neglected the finances at grassroots and age-group rugby.”
Comments on RugbyPass
He would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to comments