Unsubstantiated conspiracy theories aside, yes. Rugby has been professional for 20 years now and Wales is a capitalist country, subject to UK and EU law. Why should an ambitious team be denied the opportunity to better themselves just to save the blushes of their competitors within the free market economy that is pro / semi-pro rugby? You seem unhappy to be sat outside the effective ring fence that the regions create, yet you seek to effectively ring fence Merthyr.
The club I support (Redruth RFC funnily enough) has a lot of similarities with Ponty. We're a small town in a very poor area with a much wealthier club 20 miles or so down the road who have cherry picked the best of the talent developed and / or identified by us since the advent of professionalism. I've long since made my peace that the challenge for every club is to make the best of the hand dealt to them - in Redruth's case, strong support and am proud that the club's custodians have done this and still manage to compete a level higher than they did at the advent of league rugby in England, against teams from much bigger towns and cities in much wealthier areas of the country.
The BIC is not the property of the PP or its member clubs, it is a competition that invites the WRU to enter 4 teams. In the past, they chose to give this opportunity to the PP, this season, they have chosen to follow the IRU's lead and give it to the regions.
Surely there should be a cap on expenditure, what happens when clubs overspend is that they expose themselves to bankruptcy if and when the financial backer pulls out and the clubs in lower leagues are most at danger of this. It sounds like Redruth RFC are a well run club, who operate within a given financial structure, clubs who start spending more than they have coming in due to a benevolent backer will have trouble when the backer pulls the plug, this has happened in Wales before and when you have a club such as Merthyr who don't get massive numbers through the gate but have wages which vastly exceed income it's a disaster waiting to happen Ponty are the best supported club in the Welsh prem and club shop and bar takings will be much higher than average in the league, we would not last a season if we paid Merthyrs current wage bill. To conclude the governing body should act to stop clubs spending exceeding their respective income the once great club Neath have only just avoided bankruptcy.
- - - Updated - - -
This is from a survey undertaken 3 years ago and still nothing has changed, but shows I am not alone in this.
SURVEY OF RUGBY FANS BASED IN THE SOUTH WALES VALLEYS:
82.7% feel they do not identify with any of the existing regional sides. These fans pay to watch, on average, at least 5 matches of semi-professional or amateur rugby each season, but feel alienated from the elite, professional tier.
83.2% of these fans claim they would regularly attend the matches of a Valleys-based professional side.
AMONG FANS WHO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS SUPPORTERS OF ONE OR MORE OF THE EXISTING REGIONS:
51% are satisfied with regional rugby. Of those dissatisfied, the quality of the rugby played, the 'dilution' of traditional club loyalties, the disconnection from communities and the 'soul-less' nature of the modern stadia are cited as prime causes of their discontent.
Only 17% of those regional fans feel that Welsh rugby has become more 'enjoyable' since the advent of regional rugby.
CRUCIALLY, IN LIGHT OF THE WRU'S HINTS THAT A 'DEVELOPMENT REGION' MIGHT BE CREATED:
48% of existing regional rugby fans surveyed believe that a development region should represent the South Wales Valleys, with a further 16% undecided and only 36% opposed to the creation of a development region.
60% of valleys based fans felt that a Valleys based development side should concentrate on the development of younger players.
The fans' views dispel any notion that the answer to our problems is merely to boil down the number of professional players to still fewer numbers and to exert greater control over their wage demands through contracting them directly to the Union. Though it's easy to see how such a solution – fewer workers, lower wages and indentured service - might appeal to the bottom line. It's far harder to see how such a change can either bring back the lost passion and lost fans of the club game in Wales. Nor indeed how, in the longer term, it will be good for the national set up. Do we really only want one or two tight-heads or open-sides to choose from in future (assuming, that is, a ban on foreign imports is not also on the cards?)
Mr Lewis is clearly serious about the need to reform the regional game and has been candid about the options being considered. I would urge him to continue in this vein and to go one step further by making sure that any changes are built on a solid evidence of what the fans, whose funds and passion must sustain the game, want from it at a club/regional level.
In addition to taking our research into consideration, the WRU should make sure that their own PwC study into the current status and sustainability of the regional tier should include an assessment of the fans' perspective - and it, like ours, should be published in full.
Lastly, in considering any further changes, the Union must recognise the heartfelt hurt of rugby fans in the Valleys who feel alienated by the current set up but remain passionate rugby fans and a great, untapped financial resource for our game. It would be a travesty if their views were to be ignored and a top-down reorganisation of Welsh rugby put in train with neither a professional clubs nor even a development region in the Valleys.
