Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Rugby Union
United Rugby Championship
Trouble in Wales?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="snoopy snoopy dog dog" data-source="post: 935623" data-attributes="member: 13611"><p>That's exactly how it appears to me and, making an assumption here, most people outside Wales. I feel for people in the valleys and other places that lost their top teams but in reality, those towns weren't big enough to support pro teams. The talent was too spread out and by concentrating it on 5 and then 4 teams, Wales have prospered internationally to a point where they're genuine World Cup contenders</p><p></p><p>It's also often trotted out that Ireland were lucky to have the provinces which people identified with. That's overstated. In the 90s, the AIL was king. Games between Shannon and Garryowen, for example, were televised live on Sky in front of 10000 fans. The provinces were lucky to see more than the families of players turn up. The IRFU got their **** together and sold the provinces to the public. </p><p></p><p>The WRU could have done a better job selling the regions to the public. An 8 year old in 2002 when the regions began is now 25 and won't remember the supposed glory days of club rugby. It's a shame that fans of that age and younger haven't been engaged to greater extent. The potential support base is there as witnessed by Wales consistently selling out the Principality Stadium.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="snoopy snoopy dog dog, post: 935623, member: 13611"] That's exactly how it appears to me and, making an assumption here, most people outside Wales. I feel for people in the valleys and other places that lost their top teams but in reality, those towns weren't big enough to support pro teams. The talent was too spread out and by concentrating it on 5 and then 4 teams, Wales have prospered internationally to a point where they're genuine World Cup contenders It's also often trotted out that Ireland were lucky to have the provinces which people identified with. That's overstated. In the 90s, the AIL was king. Games between Shannon and Garryowen, for example, were televised live on Sky in front of 10000 fans. The provinces were lucky to see more than the families of players turn up. The IRFU got their **** together and sold the provinces to the public. The WRU could have done a better job selling the regions to the public. An 8 year old in 2002 when the regions began is now 25 and won't remember the supposed glory days of club rugby. It's a shame that fans of that age and younger haven't been engaged to greater extent. The potential support base is there as witnessed by Wales consistently selling out the Principality Stadium. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Rugby Union
United Rugby Championship
Trouble in Wales?
Top