The plan for Welsh rugby failed due to financial mismanagement, outdated structures, and a lack of long-term vision.
Without meaningful reform in finances, player pathways, and WRU leadership, Welsh rugby has struggled to remain competitive on the global stage.
Without meaningful reform in finances, player pathways, and WRU leadership, Welsh rugby has struggled to remain competitive on the global stage.
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00:00So, Charles, looking again at Welsh Rugby, obviously at the moment they're not doing
00:06very well at all in the Six Nations. Two losses from two sat absolutely rock bottom of the
00:12table, losses against France and Italy. At the moment though, the Welsh Rugby Union,
00:18they've released what is essentially a five-year plan as to how to resurrect Welsh Rugby. Now
00:23that's quite ambitious given the depth they are at the moment in terms of how bad they
00:27are. Obviously, you know, they've recorded a record 14 losses in a row under Warren Gatland
00:33who of course before that, in a previous regime, was once a really good head coach for Wales.
00:39But what is this plan? What is in it? And what actually is the plan? How are they planning
00:44to get Welsh Rugby to their former glory and restore them to one of the dominant nations
00:50in the world of rugby union? And I know it's obviously a five-year plan, but is that realistic
00:55for them? And realistically, could it actually take longer than that?
01:00Yeah, definitely. You know, they obviously released it in the summer of 2024. So this
01:06is obviously, you know, prior to the terrible start to the Six Nations campaign they're
01:11having. You know, it's all to do with the sort of overriding issues that go on in the
01:15WRU, the Welsh Rugby Union. And they highlight the five-year plan to sort of make sure the
01:22future of the game in Wales is getting back to what they wanted it to be. You know, they
01:27point out the issues. I mean, Covid really hurt them. They blamed a large part of their
01:34debts on Covid and the sort of struggles they faced during lockdown. And, you know, we're
01:40talking over £20 million of debt. And that was all sort of blamed towards the pandemic.
01:46Yes, you know, that's obviously going to play a factor. But, you know, so many nations,
01:50so many clubs and organisations have already, you know, suffered and sort of amended their
01:56issues that they faced during the pandemic. So that doesn't already read very well for
02:02them. You know, a few of the things they pointed out, they want to be consistently ranked in
02:06the world's top five. They are now at an all-time low of, you know, 12th in the world rankings,
02:12which is absolutely absurd. There's been, you know, discussions about whether a Six
02:18Nations playoff should actually come in in the future. So the, you know, European Championship
02:24winning side will face the bottom side in the Six Nations to see who actually competes.
02:29And I'm sort of all for that. And I think, you know, that's only fair on the likes of
02:32Georgia. But it's all to do with financial stability at all levels in the country. And
02:38so far, they are a mile off that, you know, really trying to regrow the number of participants
02:44in the sport and, you know, this five-year plan. Yes, it's incredibly ambitious.
02:50And, you know, at the moment, you really struggle to see how Wales can
02:53actually make that plan a reality by 2029.