Fans have their say on Judgement Day for Welsh rugby

Annette Davies and Keith Collins are both hopeful for the future of Welsh rugby

Hundreds of supporters have travelled to the Welsh capital to support their region on Judgement Day, the longest-running professional club event in Wales.

The annual double-header returned to the Principality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Now in its 10th year, Judgement Day follows a turbulent time for both regional and national rugby in Wales.

With questions on the future of the four Welsh professional regions rumbling on, fans have had their say on whether the day can continue in its current form.

Currently, all four Welsh teams are languishing in the bottom half of the United Rugby Championship table with Cardiff ninth, Scarlets 11th, Ospreys 12th and Dragons 16th.

Off the pitch, the regions are yet to sign a long-term deal with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) after a deadline of "close of play" on Tuesday passed.

The delay comes after the WRU stepped in to take control of Cardiff Rugby after the club's legal entity was placed temporarily into administration by its directors.

'More bums on seats'

Judgement Day's double-header derby has previously attracted good crowds.

In 2016, the number of supporters watching both matches peaked at 68,262.

Last year, the regions played at Cardiff City Stadium due to Taylor Swift, Foo Fighters and Bruce Springsteen taking centre stage at its traditional venue.

The day attracted a crowd of 20,167 – its lowest in the history of the event.

But what do supporters make of the current situation in Welsh rugby?

Annette Davies from Neath said supporters needed to get behind their region.

"We need more bums on seats. We need people to come and watch the boys play because we are all playing exciting rugby."

"We need to do more," she said, adding the WRU "have a lot of questions to answer for."

"What's happened with Cardiff is not ideal but we still need four teams to be pushing forward in the future for Wales as well," she said.

The WRU has previously taken responsibility for the decline in Welsh rugby, and said it was "absolutely committed to four regions equally".

But former Wales captain Sam Warburton said Welsh rugby must now seriously consider cutting a region to pool the player talent into three clubs.

Callum says the Dragons are not winning enough games

Callum is an avid Dragons supporter but said he thought it was time for his region to go.

"Rugby is a bit poor at the moment. I don't think the four regions are working.

"The way funding is going it's not working," he added.

"Personally myself the dragons would need to go – they don't win enough."

Frank Cornelissens from Belgium has been supporting the Ospreys for more than 10 years

Having followed the Ospreys for more than 10 years, Frank, who is originally from Belgium, is hopeful about the future of Welsh rugby.

"We went to Italy for the Six Nations to see the last game that Gatland was in charge for which wasn't very good," he said.

He described the situation with the game in Wales as "a bit difficult", but insisted the four regions will "manage no problem".

"They all have their own identity – I think you cannot merge them together, it's not possible - we will manage."

'Players being discarded too early'

Lee Gee and Huw Griffin enjoy talking about Welsh rugby on their podcast

Lee Gee said the focus should now be on "how we rebuild again".

"We were world number one with four teams – we need to have an expansionist view," he said.

Mr Gee said he believed cutting a region would remove a whole section of supporters in a period where "we need to be bringing people who are not currently watching rugby".

"We are moving in a situation that hasn't been great - we need to focus on how we rebuild again," he said.

"There are too many players being discarded too early, or aren't feeling like they are part of system."

Huw Griffin said the regions were "a lot more competitive this season".

"It doesn't feel like everyone is aligned - there are lot of people trying to tear [Welsh rugby] down.

"People are taking pot shots at the regions and that's not what we need."

Speaking last month, Welsh rugby boss Abi Tierney doubled down on a commitment to four regions and said the WRU was "absolutely committed to four regions equally, giving them all the chance to be successful and that will grow the game".

The WRU has previously revealed its five-year ambition to build the game, including Wales breaking into the top five teams in the world by 2029.

It has also previously announced funding to the regions will rise this July - from the current £4.5m each - with incremental rises over the next three years to £6.5m each as well as wiping some of the regions' debts.

But Welsh rugby is still waiting for that deal to be signed off.