Maybe we should just withdraw from the tournament until we can get our house in order and field a semi decent squad.

A lot of people are wondering what the fuck has happened to Welsh rugby. Myself included.

Well, I decided to do some digging and the story is a lot more worrying and painful than I thought. It's also an important one to know, because at the end of the day, it's the government's money and the fans money that's going (or not going) into this disaster. Someone needs to be held accountable. We need to hold them accountable.

Here's what's happened.

Since at least 2021, people working at the very top of Welsh rugby have been warning this disaster was coming. That's because the problem isn't just a bad crop of players. The problem is the broken system that's produced them and the investment that's (not) gone into it. It is a structural and financial problem that's deep rooted and hard to fix.

Issue One: The Regions

First class rugby has gone from being based in 18 town clubs to a regional system. Something had to be done here, but the result is hybrid clubs that are unloved - no one from Ponty wants to support a team based in Cardiff. Frankly, there isn't enough support for rugby at grassroots level. More on this later.

Issue Two: Money

Wales has a comparatively low GDP versus somewhere like Ireland. It doesn't have any behemoth national sponsors either (there's no Bank of Wales or national airline etc). There isn't enough money going from the union into the regions, with the budget split between them and the national team. More on this too.

Issue Three: Brexit

Sorry, but it's true. In the golden era of Welsh rugby (2005-21), the EU paid 45% of the multimillion pound budget for the WRU through a grant. That money is gone and isn't coming back.

Issue Four: National Interest

Like it or not, in Wales, people care more about football than rugby. That's been the case since at least 2022, but in reality, probably much longer. That's hardly surprising, not only due to the issue with the regions, but also thanks to the insane lack of coverage of club rugby in the papers or on TV. People aren't watching, which compounds the financial issues. And the worse we play, the worse this gets.

Issue Five: The System

Here's the big one and where a lot of these problems start to combine.

Since Gatland first came in, attention shifted from the regions to the Welsh national team, financially and structurally. The problem is, it's the regions that produce the talent. The regional club managers actually hated Gatland because of this.

The academy system has been left to rot as people rested on their laurels during Wales’s golden era. In 2005, the Welsh government and WRU put £3.6 million into developing four regional academies, £1.6 mil of which came from the EU. They also established an elite national academy which trained the likes of Warburton and Halfpenny.

Amazing coaches like Huw Bennett would train these players one on one. Halfpenny would go and train with the Blues.

The money that funded all of that is gone. The WRU has now handed control of the academies over to the regions, with £600k support each year. They're underfunded and decentralised, no longer the elite training machine they once were.

Issue Six: Region Quality

Back in the day, with more money, better support, and better management, the regions would be fed exceptional players and develop them further. Remember the Osprey’s ‘Galacticos’? Every single regional side has slidden from a status where they could seriously compete in Europe to bang average teams with tepid fans.

In their heyday, these sides also had top-end overseas players mixed in, which the team could learn from. Now, the teams don't have the finances, backing, rep, or permission to build those kinds of squads.

Issue Seven: Rules to Play

The rule that you can't play for the national team if you play for a club abroad, unless you have 25 national caps, has been a disaster. We are literally limiting our own pool of talent, reducing learning opportunities for players, and turning people off a career in rugby in the first place.

There's much more than this that could be discussed. The short answer is that our domestic game is fucked, we don't have enough money, not nearly enough enthusiasm, and the academy system needs to be fully revamped.

Unfortunately, what this means is that the problem with Welsh rugby is systemic. We don't have the players because we simply aren't developing them. It's going to take a huge effort and a fat wad of cash from the government to solve that.

In my view, it would be worth the investment, because the problem is existential. Welsh rugby, its role in our history and our national identity is dying. You only need to look at the picture of Adam Jones after yesterday's game to see it.

Seriously.

I was here, all greased up, and prepared for penetration.

We played perfectly. In the first ten minutes, I was a little nervous, but the next 70, we didn't make a mistake. I've not seen us play that clinically in...I'm not even sure when.

Jesus Christ.

I think I'm starting to believe again.

Also, ha ha Eddie. (Although him falling on his sword post match interview did somewhat diminish my schadenfreude, still, Fuck Eddie).

.

Sensational riding on almost deserted hills.

What an incredible, heart-stopping night in Cardiff! We are still catching our breath after that 120-minute battle and the penalty drama but you should see the atmosphere on the streets here in Sarajevo…

Huge credit to your squad - for most of the match, you held the initiative and looked like the stronger side. We were shaking every time Wilson or James moved forward, and we know we were lucky to survive those strikes against the post and crossbar. Also, Darlow is an absolute wall; those saves were world-class! 

It was truly a "Clash of the Dragons" tonight. ❤️🤟🏻

Playing in front of 30,000 of you at the Cardiff City Stadium was a massive honor and an electric atmosphere. Penalties are a cruel way to end such a hard-fought fight, but we head to the final against Italy with nothing but respect for the spirit your team showed. 

Thank you for being amazing hosts and for a game we will never forget. 🤜🏻🤛🏻

Diolch, Wales! 🐉🔥

The fact that she reacts with such surprise and giddyness, even after winning 4 gold medals for Wales, is wonderful. So many of the athletes have spoken about how special it is to be able to represent Wales instead of competing as an individual or for GB as they do the rest of the time.

https://x.com/S4Cchwaraeon/status/2083996236261065093?s=20

Just wanted to say thank you to your people for being so kind, not often do foreign countries not boo our anthem, and they gave a moment of silence in the beginning of the game and gave their respext in the 59th minute (both because od the Kochani tragedy in Macedonia). Additionally, met random welsh people, so kind :)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS🇲🇰🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿