Getting rid of Flanagan solves nothing - the Dragons need major surgery to climb out of abyss

Back in September 2023 this writer was offered the opportunity to interview new Dragons RFC chairman David Wright who had recently been revealed as part of a consortium, along with David Buttress and American entrepreneur Hoyoung Hugh, which had bought the club from the Welsh Rugby Union.

Wright was adamant he could help turn the Dragons into a competitive outfit. "I don't want to turn up and see us losing every week," he told WalesOnline at the time. "You want to be part of something that's winning."

Well, unfortunately, the Dragons haven't been winning, with the Gwent-based side tasting victory just once this season and head coach Dai Flanagan has paid the price. Flanagan is a good man and is respected in Welsh rugby coaching circles, but unfortunately he has the worst record of any Dragons coach, winning just 10 times in 48 matches since being appointed in 2022.

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But is Flanagan really the root cause of the Dragons' struggles? Definitely not.

Professional sport is about winning but there is always a context to everything. Ultimately the Dragons have performed in line with their playing budget (£4.5m) and the harsh reality is they have one of the weakest squads in the United Rugby Championship.

Yes, they have a handful of good players like Aaron Wainwright, Rio Dyer, Taine Basham, Shane Lewis-Hughes and Ben Carter, among a few others. They also have some very promising youngsters emerging from their pathway like Brodie Coghlan, Jordan Morris, Harri Ackerman, Ryan Woodman and Joe Westwood.

But the majority of the squad is filled with mediocre players who would struggle to get contracts elsewhere. How many of the Dragons squad who suffered a heavy defeat to Connacht in Galway last week would be on the shopping lists of clubs in England's Gallagher Premiership?

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Not many. The marzipan layer of the squad, which is in between your Wainwrights and your Woodmans, is just too weak, even weaker than the three professional clubs in Wales. This makes up between 60-70% of a squad, so it goes without saying it needs to be strong.

It doesn't matter who succeeds Flanagan as head coach, he is still going to be handicapped by the same problems. Currently Wales doesn't have the talent to service four professional sides, that could change in time, but as things stands it doesn't.

That's the biggest issue. Also, in Flanagan's defence, up until recently he has operated without a defence coach and a head of recruitment.

It's always the head coach who gets the blame but according to many who are close to the action the Dragons' general manager James Chapron should also be taking some of the responsibility. You can't expect to turn around a failing organisation with the same people. Flanagan's job was basically to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

To his credit performances were a lot better before the Connacht defeat, with a gutsy victory against the Ospreys, while they should have beaten both the Sharks and the Lions. But they didn't and Flanagan has lost his job as a result.

Next season the playing budgets are set to go up from £4.5m to over £5m which is still way behind what many other clubs are spending in the URC. The Dragons need to invest in the likes of Morris, Westwood, Ackerman but their recruitment needs to be a lot better over the next couple of seasons, especially the standard of their non-Welsh-qualified players.

"Where do I want the club to go? I said to the guys at the end of last week when we signed that the next stop is European silverware," said Wright in the interview we did back in September 2023.

"People might say it's a dream but it shouldn't be a dream. It should be something we strive for.

"We are comfortable about where we can take it over the next couple of years. I think we'll see the development of a new leadership team, with a new board which will ensure the club takes on this plan that we are excited about over the coming years.

"We want success on and off the field, we want to build results on the field, and we are looking forward to not just competing against other regions in Wales but in the future doing something very strong in an European context."

In order to come anywhere close to achieving this the squad needs to be restructured. But having said that it is still imperative they have the best possible coaching team while also investing in the club's infrastructure. Dragons defence coach Filo Tiatia will have first dibs, having been made interim head coach, although it's unclear whether he'd want the job on a permanent basis.

Tiatia was one of the finest overseas signings in Welsh rugby history during his successful stint at the Ospreys but the jury is out on the former All Black as a head coach. The Dragons need someone with pedigree who has a track record at turning around struggling teams.

Former Cardiff and Wasps boss Dai Young is not currently involved in the professional game and they could do a lot worse than consider the former Wales prop, while Stephen Jones also deserves another crack at Welsh rugby. Young as director of rugby and Jones as head coach wouldn't be a bad shout.

There is also former England prop Graham Rowntree who recently parted ways with Munster where he won the URC in 2023. Rowntree applied for the Dragons role when Dean Ryan got it and is a coach who is heavily respected throughout the game.

The key point is if the Dragons are to shed the tag of Wales' worst professional side and start competing for play-offs then it is going to take more than simply replacing the head coach. This runs a lot deeper and this is a rugby organisation that needs major surgery from top to bottom if it is to climb out of the doldrums.

But they do have capable men at the helm in Buttress, Wright, Huh and new CEO Rhys Blumberg. The onus is on them to turn this sinking ship around.