How do you fix a problem like Welsh rugby in Europe?
- Published
Regional rugby success, like Cardiff winning the 2018 Challenge Cup, has proved to be the exception rather than the rule for Welsh sides
So there we have it, it's official. Wales will have no representation in the Heineken Champions Cup last 16 following the conclusion of the knockout stages.
Eleven matches played in the two European tournaments and 11 defeats suffered by Cardiff, Scarlets, Dragons and Ospreys.
It is quite a stark statistic as Wales coach Wayne Pivac welcomes his players into Six Nations camp today.
Scarlets and Ospreys have been eliminated from Europe after finishing bottom of the two Champions Cup pools.
Seven French sides, five English teams and four Irish provinces will make up the last 16 in Europe's top-tier tournament.
Cardiff are set to be the only Welsh side in the Challenge Cup knockout stages having dropped down from the Champions Cup.
Dragons are on the brink of elimination from that second-string tournament ahead of the final weekend of group games in April.
Dean Ryan's side have one match remaining, against Gloucester.
They must claim a bonus-point win and hope Benetton and Perpignan draw their game without bonus points.
So Dai Young's Cardiff are likely to be left to fly the dwindling Welsh flag and will learn their Challenge Cup knockout opponents in April.
Recurring problems
The regions could point to mitigating factors like injuries and Covid-19, with Cardiff and Scarlets particularly badly hit following their nightmare trips to South Africa, when both squads were forced into at least 10 days of quarantine.
Scarlets' 52-21 home defeat by Bristol last weekend was only their third competitive game in three months and second match in the tournament.
When Cardiff played Toulouse and Harlequins in December, the Welsh side were without 32 players who were forced to quarantine on their return from South Africa, as well as a further 10 because of injury and suspension.
Cardiff's makeshift team - made up of academy players, semi-professionals and a handful of Wales internationals - performed admirably but lost both games.
But other countries have been affected by Covid and European failure is not a new issue with regions created in 2003 in the hope they would compete with Europe's elite.
A Welsh side has never won European club rugby's top prize since the inception of continental competition in 1995.
In the 10 years since the 2011-12 season, only Scarlets have reached the Champions Cup knockout stages.
Cardiff Blues, as they were then called, had success in the Challenge Cup in 2010 and 2018 but that is a paltry regional return considering that the Wales national side has won four Grand Slams and half a dozen Six Nations titles since 2005.
It is not just Europe where regions have struggled with Scarlets the last Welsh team to win a domestic league title in 2017.
The concerning thing is the gap is becoming wider between the Welsh sides and teams from England, France and Ireland and apathy among the public is setting in.
Fingers will be pointed at the regions themselves, but the four sides will also highlight the discrepancy in the budgets they are working with compared to some of their European rivals.
A decade ago the Welsh sides were blessed with overseas internationals signings to complement Wales' top players but that has faded away.
Scarlets players in a huddle following a heavy home defeat by Bristol
Just one look at the Bristol replacements' bench compared to that of the Scarlets last Saturday night illustrates the issue. Other examples could easily be highlighted.
The Professional Rugby Board (PRB) runs the professional game with representatives of Cardiff, Scarlets, Dragons and Ospreys and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) on the board.
There are five teams involved. They need to be pulling together for the common good.
A meaningful review is required into the Welsh domestic professional game and the WRU must take some responsibility rather than just place the blame at the regions' doors.
With the WRU providing the funding to the four professional teams, the governing body has an important stake in this.
There has to be a breaking point where the success of the national side will no longer paper over the cracks of the failing domestic game.
Since his appointment in July 2021, WRU performance director Nigel Walker has been busy transforming the women's game with the introduction of new contracts.
The issue of regional struggles in the men's game should also be near the top of his in-tray. Former Wales wing Walker is well-placed to understand the plight of the domestic sides having sat on the Cardiff board before joining the governing body.
Whoever instigates change, action is required now, otherwise Welsh domestic rugby will continue to fall into the European abyss with players and supporters watching the knockout stages from the sidelines.
No quick fix
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth admits there will be no short-term solutions.
"We all want the same thing, successful regions and a successful Wales," said Booth.
"From that point of view there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes at lots of different levels to try and change that.
"These fixes are not going to happen next week. It is a long-term approach to get a greater strength in depth and quality of players through the system.
"You have seen what we are doing at Ospreys in order to play our part in that by blooding young players.
"But this (Champions Cup) is a step up with different competition and quality. If you look at French sides like La Rochelle and Toulouse and the Irish provinces, this is a tough ask.
"We need to bridge that gap as soon as we can."
