That was lovely. He was a top player.Bloody brilliant! They did it for Doddie, the legend!
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His strength stopping that player from getting a try
a win is a win, but england still look leaps behind ireland and france (and even scotland on current form). they will likely beat wales, but playing ireland in dublin?! i feel they will get battered.
another addition to the welsh rugby is a mess conversation 
www.bbc.co.uk
Welsh rugby union players consider strike action as England game looms
Welsh rugby players are to consider strike action during the week in which Wales build up to hosting England in the Six Nations in Cardiff.
www.bbc.co.uk
That's an interesting conundrum. Sounds like the reasoning behind a strike is valid. Let's hope they pull their fingers out and actually get the contracts sorted so that a strike can be avoided, but that seems like a big ask.
can’t see it happening sadly, the situation has been bubbling for a while and the regional setup has never really been fit for purpose. if you’re a professional welsh rugby player then actually playing in wales seems a poor decision right now.
It seems like such a sad situation for everyone involved. The national team is really going to suffer if they enforce the 60 caps or playing in Wales rule, but then if they don't enforce the rule the regional clubs will suffer even more because who is going to stick around otherwise. What a mess! Not what Welsh fans want in a world cup year.
Would someone be so kind to briefly explain what's happening with Wales union? I've seen things about contracts but feel like I've missed something along the way
i will try! it is important to note, with all of this, that the regional system has never worked and the need to make cardiff and llanelli stand-alone teams basically killed rugby in mid wales but we digress.
the regions mess, along with the general lack of money and quality of development etc was part of a paper that got released in november/december 2022 which basically said there was a six year plan to sort it all out. while this was ongoing, there was a recruitment and contract talk freeze, which should have been lifted when the paper was released.
come january 2023, still no contract talks as the budgets still haven’t been confirmed. a huge number of players have their contracts due this year, dai young (coach of cardiff blues) said over half his players are due. contracts are important obviously for job security but also (with a sport like rugby) for medical support and possible bills etc.
wru are promising talks will “start” at the end of february but it seems unlikely as there’s still no budgets confirmed. this is also coupled with the fact that if you play outside of wales you can’t play FOR wales, but as a player if you can get a solid contract elsewhere you would probably leave, so an exodus seems likely.
basically, a large number of wales players are being left with job and financial uncertainty and the wru are being
about it!Thank you for explaining. Now understanding where the players are coming from. What a mess! AWJ looked really upset before at the press conference. Do you think they will strike at the next 6 nations match?i will try! it is important to note, with all of this, that the regional system has never worked and the need to make cardiff and llanelli stand-alone teams basically killed rugby in mid wales but we digress.
the regions mess, along with the general lack of money and quality of development etc was part of a paper that got released in november/december 2022 which basically said there was a six year plan to sort it all out. while this was ongoing, there was a recruitment and contract talk freeze, which should have been lifted when the paper was released.
come january 2023, still no contract talks as the budgets still haven’t been confirmed. a huge number of players have their contracts due this year, dai young (coach of cardiff blues) said over half his players are due. contracts are important obviously for job security but also (with a sport like rugby) for medical support and possible bills etc.
wru are promising talks will “start” at the end of february but it seems unlikely as there’s still no budgets confirmed. this is also coupled with the fact that if you play outside of wales you can’t play FOR wales, but as a player if you can get a solid contract elsewhere you would probably leave, so an exodus seems likely.
basically, a large number of wales players are being left with job and financial uncertainty and the wru are being
no worries! it’s a bit of a mess to try and explain
i truly don’t know. ultimately, the WRU can’t guarantee contract talks by the end of the month and i think (where a lot of them are coming from) is if they play and, as an example, break their leg and are due to be out for a year with no solid contract in place then the protection they would usually have with a contract just isn’t there. a lot of them have young families etc and their job security is being messed with.
world rugby in general is having a wake up call, probably about to get worse, over head injuries and dementia and playing when you don’t have that protection just isn’t a good idea.
awj has been very loyal to wales but has also been around forgot enough to see how the wru works (he remembers the celtic warriors!) - i think the team respect him so much that they will go where he leads and i agree that he seemed incredibly upset at the press conference.
the wru need to pull their fingers out, ultimately, i think they will play and see out the tournament but after that we’re going to lose a huge number of players to england/france etc. a mess!
Definitely not good especially as they rely on their contracts for security. I agree with you about Rugby in general going through a shift. Clubs going into administration etc.no worries! it’s a bit of a mess to try and explain
i truly don’t know. ultimately, the WRU can’t guarantee contract talks by the end of the month and i think (where a lot of them are coming from) is if they play and, as an example, break their leg and are due to be out for a year with no solid contract in place then the protection they would usually have with a contract just isn’t there. a lot of them have young families etc and their job security is being messed with.
world rugby in general is having a wake up call, probably about to get worse, over head injuries and dementia and playing when you don’t have that protection just isn’t a good idea.
awj has been very loyal to wales but has also been around forgot enough to see how the wru works (he remembers the celtic warriors!) - i think the team respect him so much that they will go where he leads and i agree that he seemed incredibly upset at the press conference.
the wru need to pull their fingers out, ultimately, i think they will play and see out the tournament but after that we’re going to lose a huge number of players to england/france etc. a mess!
Hope it gets sorted quickly for the players
Any ideas when they’ll decide? Last I read it was still very likely a strike would happen. That’s millions in lost revenue and complete upheaval of fixturesanother addition to the welsh rugby is a mess conversation
Welsh rugby union players consider strike action as England game looms
Welsh rugby players are to consider strike action during the week in which Wales build up to hosting England in the Six Nations in Cardiff.
the deadline the players have given is tomorrow. gatland has already delayed naming the team and admitted that they skipped training today so players could attend meetings etc.
the wru ultimately doesn’t have the money. the only way forward is probably to drop another region (which would likely be the dragons tbh). they can’t summon money out of thin air but i imagine they might try and buy more time through your argument (history of the tournament, impact on other teams etc).
gatland seemed much more resigned to a potential strike in his press conference today than he did over the weekend. he also implied he didn’t know anything about the problems when he agreed to come back, which is interesting!
Thank-you for summing up, haven’t had time to read much into the story. Interesting about gats, he always seemed to want to know everything. I can’t see how striking will help if they don’t have the money in the first place. Will be interesting to see how it plays out, this after wasps and Worcester rugby really is in a state at the moment, very frightening to see
fully agree about gatland! he always seemed very clued up and like someone who wouldn’t go into anything without the full facts so his comments were interesting.
it really is a state. in our case, i think we have to admit that wales cannot sustain four regions sadly. we’re definitely going to lose one. it’s no surprise that so many players are leaving to play in france, japan etc.
So pleased to find this thread 
English fan but also a big wales supporter having lived in Cardiff for eight years. Glad the Welsh players are holding their ground and so pleased the senior players like AWJ are backing action even though they wouldn’t directly be affected. Selfishly I hope they don’t strike as I’m going on Saturday and have trains and a hotel booked….
it’s a proper two tier tournament this year, France and Ireland then England, wales and italy, with Scotland floating somewhere in the middle. This world cup will be so exciting as it’s the most open it’s ever been (and England have a flattering side of the draw which will very much be required if we’re to reach knockout stages given our current form!)
English fan but also a big wales supporter having lived in Cardiff for eight years. Glad the Welsh players are holding their ground and so pleased the senior players like AWJ are backing action even though they wouldn’t directly be affected. Selfishly I hope they don’t strike as I’m going on Saturday and have trains and a hotel booked….
it’s a proper two tier tournament this year, France and Ireland then England, wales and italy, with Scotland floating somewhere in the middle. This world cup will be so exciting as it’s the most open it’s ever been (and England have a flattering side of the draw which will very much be required if we’re to reach knockout stages given our current form!)
Fingers crossed for you @ForkHandles 
would be such a shame if the match doesn't go ahead but it is looking increasingly likely?!
Agreed about the world cup looking interesting, I think England will really have to up their game based on their recent performance...
would be such a shame if the match doesn't go ahead but it is looking increasingly likely?!Agreed about the world cup looking interesting, I think England will really have to up their game based on their recent performance...