And so, another season in the Welsh rugby madhouse is set to begin. What will 2024/25 bring? In the last 12 to 18 months, we’ve had player strike threats, contractual chaos, financial misery, off-field scandals and much, much more.
Recent history tells us the new campaign is likely to be anything but uneventful. Frankly, it is hard to escape the fact that once again the forecast looks gloomy.
Before I’m accused of revelling in the negative, I shall point out I have been hugely fortunate to report on one of Wales’ golden periods. From a media perspective, life is far easier in the good times.
But currently, Warren Gatland’s senior Wales men’s side have lost their last nine Tests. Their only wins last season came in uncapped games with the Barbarians and Queensland Reds. Wales will start the season 11th in World Rugby’s rankings, having dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since the standings were introduced after the 2-0 Test series defeat in Australia.
The struggles of the Wallabies since then have only served to place Wales’ place in the modern game in greater context.
Warren Gatland’s Wales men’s side have lost their last nine Tests and are gripped in turmoil
Gatland has a small player base and poor finances has led to an exodus of exits abroad
They have fallen badly behind. Head coach Gatland has a small player base. The perilous state of Welsh rugby’s finances has led to an exodus of players who have moved abroad. There have also been a raft of retirements of key personnel.
The Welsh Rugby Union, now led by chief executive Abi Tierney, is cutting costs to stay afloat. That has even included reducing the outlay on flowers in the Principality Stadium’s hospitality areas. The lack of money in the WRU coffers has an impact down the food chain.
Wales’ four professional sides – Dragons, Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets – will operate off budgets of just £4.5million this season. It makes their chances of success in the United Rugby Championship, which begins on Friday, more than difficult.
Dragons, Cardiff and Scarlets all struggled last season when their budgets were at £5.2m. Cutting £700,000 off each team’s bottom line is hardly a recipe for success. But it must be done to ensure survival.
The lack of financial clout has stopped the Dragons bringing Liam Williams back from Japan, a deal Gatland wanted. The Ospreys, who punched well above their weight last term as Welsh rugby’s leading lights, are losing the outstanding Toby Booth as head coach in what is a real blow.
There is significant internal concern at Cardiff over unpaid bills to creditors. Senior figures at Cardiff have played down those worries to Mail Sport, but they are understood to be very real.
The Scarlets have had to extend the repayment terms of their £2.6m loan with Carmarthenshire County Council. Mail Sport has learned that at two of Wales’ domestic sides, players are still owed money in image rights.
The Welsh Rugby Union, now led by chief executive Abi Tierney, is cutting costs to stay afloat
The lack of financial clout has stopped the Dragons bringing Liam Williams back from Japan
It is, therefore, time to do something radical and the Principality Stadium holds the key. The central Cardiff venue is one of the best rugby stadiums in the world which is now a go-to destination for some of the globe’s best performers.
Taylor Swift, Coldplay and many, many others have headlined there. The much-anticipated Oasis reunion will begin in Cardiff too.
You could make a good argument that Principality Stadium has become a concert venue which just so happens to host a few rugby matches each year. The WRU must harness this as a means of raising revenue. Doing so at the moment is a difficult task when Wales’ on-field rugby performances have been so poor. Winning sells.
So, a new sponsorship deal on the naming rights to the stadium would be a good place to start in bringing in more funding. Principality’s 10-year deal took effect in 2016 and they were given an extended run free of charge due to the pandemic.
But the WRU must look at a fresh deal, either with Principality or a new brand, as a first port of call. The RFU’s decision to rebrand Twickenham as Allianz Stadium has netted them close to £100m over the next decade. The WRU couldn’t hope for such a number, but they must aim to secure a significant uplift on the current deal.
That money could then be ploughed back into Welsh rugby to ensure the professional teams can be funded adequately. Another far bolder proposal could be to remortgage the stadium and use some of the capital to invest in rugby, although doing so would be undoubtedly be bold.
The WRU must harness the potential of the Principality Stadium to raise more revenue
The RFU’s decision to rebrand Twickenham has netted them close to £100m over a decade
The decision of the previous WRU regime to invest in the building of a hotel continues to be questioned in some quarters, with some suggesting direct funding of the country’s professional rugby teams should be the only priority.
Accounts for the hotel on Companies House show it made a loss of £153,000 for the year ended June 2023 but it is understood the WRU are happy with the project’s direction of travel and that it has quickly become very profitable.
The WRU say the funding they received from Legal & General to build the Parkgate Hotel could not have been used for any other purpose and that all WRU profits go back into the game in Wales.
Other options, such as cutting one of the regions or merging two together, have long been proposed but will never come to pass due to rugby politics.
Wales’ sides joining the Gallagher Premiership in an Anglo-Welsh league has also been mooted as an option but despite much speculation on this, it is understood that is unlikely to come to pass, at least not soon.
At the WRU, Nigel Walker and Huw Bevan are both employed in senior but similar roles. When Tierney’s predecessor Steve Phillips departed amid a storm of controversy, Walker was promoted to interim chief executive and Bevan came in to fill his shoes. Tierney is in charge, but both Walker and Bevan remain.
It is a question being asked in Welsh rugby’s corridors of power as to why that is the case.
In Gatland’s international set-up, it is understood Rob Howley is now the man heading up the team’s attack and that he did that role in Australia. Where does that leave Alex King? King was attack coach before Howley’s return in late 2023.
Tierney ignored Gatland’s offer to resign but was put in an impossible position by the coach
King is now believed to be the one working on starter plays off scrums and skills. Such a scenario always looked likely. After an initial bedding in period, Tierney needs to make some tough and big decisions.
She ignored Gatland’s offer to resign after the Six Nations defeat by Italy but was put in an impossible position by the head coach at the time. Gatland’s quotes made for an easy headline, but they could also be interpreted as a powerplay. He is the man in control despite his team’s poor performances.
It would be nice to see more input from the national squad’s coaches across the game in Wales, both at URC matches and further down the pyramid. That is constrained by the fact Gatland lives in New Zealand. Jonathan Humphreys and Mike Forshaw also live outside of Wales.
Howley and Neil Jenkins are the only national squad coaches who reside in the country for whom they work. Such a situation is unpopular with many in Wales, especially with the team losing.
The senior Wales set-up hasn’t helped themselves. Gatland was shocked by the anger caused by his decision to make Cory Hill captain for the Reds match, but the outcry could easily have been avoided. The same applies to the situation which saw Sam Parry walk out on the squad before the Australia tour.
Only two UK media organisations – both Welsh based – covered Wales’ tour of Australia. Interest in the national team in the wider sphere has already waned significantly. Such a situation should be sounding alarm bells at WRU towers.
Gatland was shocked by the anger caused by his decision to make Cory Hill captain
The autumn is set to be a defining period for Wales and the trouble could still deepen
Gatland’s work has already been hit by the WRU’s financial constraints. The team won’t stay in Europe between their opening Six Nations matches with France and Italy in 2025 as they have done in previous years. The age group and women’s sides have also been impacted by cutbacks.
In the likes of Louie Hennessey, Jonny Green, Morgan Morse, Bryn Bradley and Macs Page, Wales do have promising young talent to work with. But three of those five already play their club rugby in England.
The WRU’s new performance strategy, which will be confirmed officially later this year, must try to make the pathways in Wales attractive enough to stop that player drain.
The autumn is set to be a defining period for Wales. Lose all three of their matches to Fiji, Australia and South Africa and the trouble could deepen. One really hopes Wales and the regions can alleviate the gloom and get back to winning ways this season.
But the signs, unfortunately, don’t point to that happening.
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