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Trouble in Wales?
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<blockquote data-quote="dullonien" data-source="post: 935002" data-attributes="member: 13739"><p>It would obviously be nice to have a region based in North Wales, however questions must be asked about whether it's totally viable. There must be a reason why there wasn't at least one top level club based in North Wales during the club days.</p><p></p><p>It would be a real shame if the Ospreys were disbanded/merged with Scarlets, mainly due to the history they've managed to generate. It does sound like they're in real trouble though which is a travesty given where they were 10 years ago as one of the best sides in Europe, one which probably should have conquered Europe in their pomp. It also leaves South Wales with a very uneven split, with Cardiff and Newport being so close geographically.</p><p></p><p>I do wonder whether now would be the best time to just start afresh once again? Have some of the old rivalries reduced over time which makes a more logical split possible? E.g:</p><p></p><p>- Llanelli + Swansea = South-West Wales region</p><p>- Cardiff + Newport = South-East Wales region</p><p>- Neath + Bridgend + Valleys = South-Mid Wales region</p><p>- North Wales region (if viable). They would probably also need to capture all of mid wales</p><p></p><p>Joining Llanelli + Swansea would probably be the biggest hurdle, but I do worry about the future viability of the Scarlets when they rely on Llanelli + Carmarthen as their support base (neither of which are very big). Adding Swansea's population into that mix helps massively. This would also get the valleys back on board, very few of which are willing to support a side based in Cardiff. Cardiff + Newport just makes sense and would solve the Dragons issue.</p><p></p><p>I could see 2 of those sides being very competitive out of the gate, depending on how many ospreys players the Scarlets would inherit (+ how many they'd lose to a north wales region) and how many valleys players the Cardiff Blues would lose to the South-Mid region.</p><p></p><p>Some would argue that we're too far down the road with the current regions, and I would have agreed previously; but if the ospreys are to go, then that changes everything.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dullonien, post: 935002, member: 13739"] It would obviously be nice to have a region based in North Wales, however questions must be asked about whether it's totally viable. There must be a reason why there wasn't at least one top level club based in North Wales during the club days. It would be a real shame if the Ospreys were disbanded/merged with Scarlets, mainly due to the history they've managed to generate. It does sound like they're in real trouble though which is a travesty given where they were 10 years ago as one of the best sides in Europe, one which probably should have conquered Europe in their pomp. It also leaves South Wales with a very uneven split, with Cardiff and Newport being so close geographically. I do wonder whether now would be the best time to just start afresh once again? Have some of the old rivalries reduced over time which makes a more logical split possible? E.g: - Llanelli + Swansea = South-West Wales region - Cardiff + Newport = South-East Wales region - Neath + Bridgend + Valleys = South-Mid Wales region - North Wales region (if viable). They would probably also need to capture all of mid wales Joining Llanelli + Swansea would probably be the biggest hurdle, but I do worry about the future viability of the Scarlets when they rely on Llanelli + Carmarthen as their support base (neither of which are very big). Adding Swansea's population into that mix helps massively. This would also get the valleys back on board, very few of which are willing to support a side based in Cardiff. Cardiff + Newport just makes sense and would solve the Dragons issue. I could see 2 of those sides being very competitive out of the gate, depending on how many ospreys players the Scarlets would inherit (+ how many they'd lose to a north wales region) and how many valleys players the Cardiff Blues would lose to the South-Mid region. Some would argue that we're too far down the road with the current regions, and I would have agreed previously; but if the ospreys are to go, then that changes everything. [/QUOTE]
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