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Rugby Union
Premiership Rugby / Premiership Cup
Anglo Welsh cup over - Welsh clubs withdraw
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<blockquote data-quote="Thingimubob" data-source="post: 902086" data-attributes="member: 20956"><p>Hey tbf the Scots pulled out of the B&I first, so obvs all their fault...</p><p></p><p>In all seriousness, the WRU should never have swapped the Welsh Prem Clubs for the "Regional XV" teams they put in. Teams never really gelled all that well, and the Prem sides definitely had more success and from the outrage when they were pulled out, clearly enjoyed/cared about the competition. I was in favour of the switch to start off with, but clearly the idea fell flat on its face so definitely feel they could've kept it afloat.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Tbf I'm not sure it's been all that much use to the Welsh teams in it's current format, especially in the last season or so. Different teams clearly view it's purpose very differently as there hasn't been any clear definition of whether it's purely for development or not, which definitely seemed to be the focus when they changed things up after the 2008/9 season.</p><p></p><p>Welsh sides have been throwing out what look like u18s sides as time, vs minimum (sometimes stronger) 2nd string AP sides with bags of top level experience. My guess would be the 2nd string players in the Regions already get a decent amount of gametime in the Pro14, especially considering the massive injury issues the Regions have had this year, so clearly they'd rather blood the very green lads out of the academy rather than risk a player who'll probably have to start a league game due to international call ups/injuries. On the flip side, the AP sides mostly have been using it to start bench/ give not quite first 23 players gametime.</p><p></p><p>Like you said anyway, hopefully this shows that they are committed to a proper u23's/development league for the Pro 14 next season!</p><p></p><p>On the English side, I hope they incorporate the top Championship clubs into whatever they decide to do with this Cup competition.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thingimubob, post: 902086, member: 20956"] Hey tbf the Scots pulled out of the B&I first, so obvs all their fault... In all seriousness, the WRU should never have swapped the Welsh Prem Clubs for the "Regional XV" teams they put in. Teams never really gelled all that well, and the Prem sides definitely had more success and from the outrage when they were pulled out, clearly enjoyed/cared about the competition. I was in favour of the switch to start off with, but clearly the idea fell flat on its face so definitely feel they could've kept it afloat. Tbf I'm not sure it's been all that much use to the Welsh teams in it's current format, especially in the last season or so. Different teams clearly view it's purpose very differently as there hasn't been any clear definition of whether it's purely for development or not, which definitely seemed to be the focus when they changed things up after the 2008/9 season. Welsh sides have been throwing out what look like u18s sides as time, vs minimum (sometimes stronger) 2nd string AP sides with bags of top level experience. My guess would be the 2nd string players in the Regions already get a decent amount of gametime in the Pro14, especially considering the massive injury issues the Regions have had this year, so clearly they'd rather blood the very green lads out of the academy rather than risk a player who'll probably have to start a league game due to international call ups/injuries. On the flip side, the AP sides mostly have been using it to start bench/ give not quite first 23 players gametime. Like you said anyway, hopefully this shows that they are committed to a proper u23's/development league for the Pro 14 next season! On the English side, I hope they incorporate the top Championship clubs into whatever they decide to do with this Cup competition. [/QUOTE]
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Anglo Welsh cup over - Welsh clubs withdraw
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