Jiffy: Too many Welsh players aren't good enough to be pros, it's time to cut regions
Wales great Jonathan Davies has urged the Welsh Rugby Union to make major changes to the game at all levels or face a decade in the doldrums.
The Welsh game is at its lowest point since 2003 with the men's national team failing to win a single Test match in 2024, while the regions continue to struggle. Back in 1988 Davies returned from Wales' ill-fated tour of New Zealand where they had been massacred by the All Blacks.
Upon arriving back home in Wales Davies, who at that time was one of the world's best players, demanded a meeting with the WRU in a bid to warn them of the consequences of neglecting everything below the national side. He feared Welsh rugby would fall into the doldrums if significant change wasn't made and was proved right with Wales experiencing years of mediocrity at Test level until the move to regional rugby got the national side back on track.
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Wales have now fallen back into the abyss and Davies insists unless serious change is made then success will become a distant memory.
"What I would like is some kind of plan and transparency in how they are going to improve the game but I don't see that," Davies tells WalesOnline. "The regions worked for a number of years because we had huge success in winning numerous Grand Slams and they produced some great players.
"But back then you had a national academy which raised the standard across the board. At the moment I look at all four regions and it is very clear that we do not have the talent for four sides.
"I understand you need a bigger base so youngsters can come through but ultimately if you aren't good enough you shouldn't be paid to be a professional player. At the moment the base isn't strong enough, so we need to improve the SRC and the Welsh Premiership.
"If we cut regions then a lot of those players will filter down into the SRC and should strengthen that. Also, do they have to be professional players?
"We need to be realistic about this and accept that some players are just semi-professionals and there's nothing wrong with that. If you are not good enough as a policeman or an accountant, you don't get kept on, do you?"
Cardiff and the Scarlets are currently punching above their weight by occupying play-off places in the United Rugby Championship but on the whole the Welsh clubs are a million miles away from competing for silverware. For years a golden generation of players which included the likes of Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny, among others, papered over the cracks in the regional game by helping Wales win five Six Nations titles between 2008 and 2021.
But the WRU took their eye off the ball by almost neglecting everything underneath the national side. Many rugby experts have been quick to point out the standard of players at the regions is not as high as it once was, yet the WRU insists it will carry on with four professional sides for at least the next five years.
"Something has to be done because it isn't working anymore," said Davies. "I'm not advocating people losing their jobs for the sake of it but we are in a desperate situation. If we carry on as we are with no major changes then we will continue to struggle at international level.
"For me I'm struggling to see us improving in time for the World Cup or even the one after that. It looks like it's at least a 10-year job.
"That is how desperate it is at the moment and I feel sorry for all the players because you are going into games knowing you can't win. Believe me, that is the worst feeling as a player.
"When I was playing rugby league, Widnes were skint and I was asked to leave on a free transfer so I've been in that predicament as a player. But you've just got to pick your socks up and prove that you are good enough but if you aren't you've got to get another job.
"That's why I worked throughout my whole career. The best international sides or the best leagues are the ones where there is serious competition for places.
"We just haven't got that in Wales at the moment because our talent is spread too thinly when it needs to be concentrated. If you have competition for places it drives up standards. It means people need to be at their very best week in week out - even the top internationals. But at the moment we haven't got that."
Davies is also frustrated at how the old Welsh Premiership was allowed to wither away. What is now the Super Rygbi Cymru needs to be a far higher standard than it currently is to act as a high-level finishing school for the regional game.
"I remember when Roger Lewis was first appointed as CEO, he came into a meeting with the BBC and I asked him about his thoughts on the Welsh Premiership," recalls Davies. "He said it was the jewel in the crown but it hasn't been treated like that.
"I know the SRC is what is now underneath the regional game but this competition needs to be vibrant and if we go down to three or two teams it would probably increase the quality across the board."
Davies believes the WRU need a strong, world class director of rugby to come in, identify the problems and come up with the solutions to get the game back on track.
"We need someone with the foresight and experience to make the big decisions," said the former dual-code international. "Ideally it would be someone like David Nucifora who did a great job with Irish rugby but unfortunately he's gone to Scotland now. We need someone of the same quality as Nucifora to do a thorough review and make the tough decisions necessary so we can have the chance of being successful again.
"At the end of the day the powers-that-be at the WRU are getting paid a lot of money to make the tough calls which are in the best interests of Welsh rugby. I also think if people could see the plan and there was a bit more transparency there are some wealthy people in Wales who would invest money into it.
"If they could see their money was going to significantly improve schools rugby, the pathway or help a region win silverware they would invest. Transparency is very important because we need a whole game solution if we are to become a successful rugby nation again.
"That means getting the clubs, the district reps and the regions all on board working towards a common goal which is a successful national game. I haven't got all the answers but what I'm certain of is if we stay as we are then we will get the same results."
