Welsh players struggling to focus due to planned overhaul
Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Wales v Ireland - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - February 22, 2025 Wales players huddle before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
CAPE TOWN :Welsh rugby players have found it tough to concentrate on their performances this season amid the uncertainty over the future of the professional game in the country, said Ospreys coach Mark Jones.
The Welsh Rugby Union is soon expected to announce a revamp of the domestic game, which could lead to their four franchise teams - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - being cut to two.
The four regional sides were created in 2003 from the famous clubs that had formed the backbone of the Welsh game for more than 100 years but they have struggled due to dwindling finances.
RECORD RUN OF DEFEATS
To compound the gloom, Wales went on a record run of 18 consecutive test defeats before beating Japan in July, prompting a major review of the future of the game which has caused uncertainty and apprehension.
"The restructure is something that's going on in the background, and obviously now and again it comes to the foreground," Jones said after his team completed a two-match swing in South Africa in the United Rugby Championship, losing to the Bulls in Pretoria and Stormers in Cape Town.
"Obviously, it is tough for the players to have that in the background, but I can only speak for my own players, and they’ve done a terrific job of compartmentalising that and thinking about it when they need to but also focusing on rugby when they don't.
"I think it's great that Welsh rugby is having a really good look under the stones and really turning them over because there are definitely areas in Welsh rugby that have become complacent," he told Reuters.
"When you're winning Grand Slams and Six Nations titles like Wales have done over the last 20 years, sometimes you don't quite see what's in front of you, and I'm just pleased that there's been a thorough exploration around the whole game, and I'm excited about what will come out from the review.”
Jones feels his own club, who will have a long-term home at a redeveloped St Helen’s in Swansea from next season, are a cornerstone of Welsh rugby and should not be tampered with.
"What we hope will support us moving forward are improvements around the pathway for players, producing more players to a better level, coming into our academy, so that we can make a real finishing school for the young Welsh talent," he added.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
