Why the future of regional rugby in Wales is bleak

As Welsh rugby continues to enjoy a promising period on the international stage, doubts persist about the future of the regional game following the introduction of a salary cap.

From the beginning of next season the four Welsh regions will each be permitted to spend a maximum of £3.5 million on the wages of Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup squad members in an attempt to prevent wage inflation at a time when attendances continue to fall.

With the Welsh cap lower than the English equivalent and only a little over half the figure allowed in France, the danger of the top Welsh players seeking moves abroad is an increasing concern. Lee Byrne, Mike Phillips and James Hook have already moved to French clubs, whilst Gethin Jenkins has agreed a move to Toulon for the new season. The prop is likely to be joined by fellow international forwards Luke Charteris and Huw Bennett in leaving Wales at the end of the season.

The career of a rugby player remains a short one and the potential to gain substantial wage increases in France seems likely to harm the strength of the Welsh regions. The ability of the current Welsh international squad, combined with the increased profile of the players on the world stage makes them an attractive prospect for French clubs and seems likely to take them out of the price range of the regional sides.

With the Welsh rugby system producing high-quality players on a consistent basis, there have also been concerns about the continued effectiveness of player development schemes as the financial stability of top clubs is questioned. However, the new budget does not affect development players or the amount that can be pumped into academy systems.

Regional Rugby Wales chairman Stuart Gallacher said: “One of the benefits of the salary cap I believe is that it gives us more scope and more finances within the regions to keep developing our own younger players as we saw in the World Cup”.

The salary cap will not hamper a region's chances of developing players with potential to play on the international stage, but problems will arise when a player's ability and worth takes them beyond the means of their Welsh club. If the best Welsh players continue to be snapped up by French clubs, there is a worry that the regions will essentially become feeder clubs, never seeing the full benefit of the money invested in players during their development.

The impact that this could have upon the future of Welsh rugby on an international level concerns hooker Matthew Rees. The Scarlets player said: “We've put the building blocks in place in terms of the international scene and Wales as a team. But that is only as strong as your regions are, and we've got to make sure that is sorted sooner rather than later”.

Whether the salary cap will affect Welsh rugby on the international stage will only be seen in the long-term, but the future of regional rugby appears bleak. With small attendances restricting the growth of regional rugby in comparison to the French equivalent, the salary cap appears to be a measure to assist financial stability rather than an attempt to compete with the rest of Europe.

African Cup of Nations Review

Published in Gair Rhydd on 20/02/2012.

There are some sporting moments that an ill-timed ITV commercial break can not ruin. Despite the decision that an Australian alcohol promotion was more screen-worthy than eccentric manager Herve Renard carrying an injured player to join his team's celebrations, Zambia's Nations Cup victory restored faith in the game after a torrid period.

All too often viewed outside of Africa as an inconvenience due to its mid-season scheduling, the continent's premier football competition has won the affection of fans worldwide in the past month.

That Zambia, 40-1 outsiders at the start of the competition, could emerge victorious is a story in itself. However, the symbolic significance is clear for all to see.

In 1993, 18 members of the Chipolopolo team were killed as their plane crashed off the Gabonese coast ahead of a World Cup qualifier. 19 years later, with Gabon a co-host, the disaster was at the forefront of Zambian minds.

However, the draw dictated that the only way Zambia could play a game in Gabon would be to reach the final. With a new manager, an injury to the important Jacob Mulenga and a group draw with Senegal, a fairytale seemed unlikely.

Fielding a squad of African-based players, Zambia defeated Senegal 2-1, before a 2-2 draw with Libya and a narrow 1-0 victory over Equatorial-Guinea saw them finish top of their group. A 3-0 quarter-final victory over Sudan followed, to set up a clash with a Ghana side who won the affections of so many in the World Cup.

Every success story has heroes and this was to be no different. Kennedy Mweene is not a textbook goalkeeper, but has bravery in abundance. In the semi-final, he saved an Asamoah Gyan penalty, before Emmanuel Mayuka came off the bench to win the game at the death.

As the Zambian squad moved to Gabon for the final, they attended a beach ceremony at the nearest mainland spot to crash site of 1993. Against all the odds, the reserve side fielded in the Nations Cup a year after the disaster finished as runners-up. Renard's side were to go one step further.

Didier Drogba blazed a penalty over the bar, before a penalty shoot-out was required to crown a winner. Ivory Coast did not concede a goal in the tournament, yet were defeated in a high-quality spot-kick contest. During the shoot-out, the Zambians could have been forgiven for doubting what was considered to be their destiny. Mweene saw a save disallowed as he strayed a matter of inches from his line, before a potentially decisive penalty was sent over the bar as the Zambian players broke into song on the halfway line. However, after Gervinho's miss, Stoppila Sunzu kept calm to give Zambia the most poignant of victories.

There were other stories in this tournament. Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea knocked out Senegal, before Gabon removed Morocco. Zambia's story can not be overshadowed, however, as they knocked out the three favourites on their way to victory.

19 years after the darkest day in Zambian football history, Renard's men have paid the ultimate tribute.

Your Pitch: Contact Sport

Published in Gair Rhydd on 13/02/2012.

Football and rugby union don’t enjoy direct comparisons. Rugby traditionalists view dissent towards referees as a trademark of the round ball game, whilst football fans are often scathing in their analysis of Britain’s public school sport. However, in recent weeks the talking points of both sports have become prominent with an ever-increasing proximity.

The art of tackling in both games has been under scrutiny, with potentially dangerous challenges provoking debate on the terraces and in the media.

Wales’ victory was overshadowed, in the eyes of those from Ireland at least, by referee Wayne Barnes’ judgement in regard to two tip-tackles. Whilst Bradley Davies was fortunate to escape more substantial punishment for his off the ball spear tackle on Donnacha Ryan, Stephen Ferris will feel harshly treated to have received the first yellow card of his international career for a tackle on Ian Evans.

These were two tackles at opposite ends of the scale, yet received identical punishment. Davies is perhaps undeserving of the term ‘tackle’ as the ball was nowhere to be seen when the Irish forward was dropped onto his neck. Whilst the letter of the law dictates that Ferris’ tackle was worthy of punishment, there are serious question marks about Barnes’ interpretation if tackles of such contrasting severity are inseparable in the referee’s handling of the game.

It is interpretation that is the key to the debates in both rugby and football. Looking back to his red card in the World Cup, Wales captain Sam Warburton said: “the laws might be a bit harsh because I think the referee should be able to interpret the law depending on the situation.” Warburton rarely gets things wrong, but he is wide of the mark in this regard. Football provides evidence of this.

The rules in football lack clarity. There is no horizontal above which a player must not be rotated and there is no clear instruction as to what tackle requires which punishment. The most common phrase in recent weeks has been ‘two-footed tackle’, the wording of which features at no point in the football rulebook. Where Stuart Attwell found justification for Nenad Milijas' dismissal against Arsenal remains a mystery.

Following Robert Huths' red card against Sunderland, John O'Shea said: “It hasn’t been explained to us explicitly, but you know yourself as a player you run the risk of a red card – some refs might, some refs won’t.” With such a lack of consistency from referees and transparency from the game's governing body, the only assumption is that you can no longer make a hard but fair challenge. If fans and pundits are confused by what is fair, what chance do players have when there is only a split second to make a decision? The hard men of yesteryear such as Ron Harris and Tommy Smith must wonder what has gone wrong.

Semi-final referee Alain Rolland will never be a popular man in Wales, but his decision to dismiss Warburton has set a tone for the management of tip-tackles in rugby. There are clear rules as to what is allowed and referees should be praised for enforcing them.

Wayne Barnes' decision to sin-bin Davies was unnecessarily lenient, but human error will always be possible. If we ask referees to apply context to the rules, rugby union will increase human error to the level that football suffers from.

Say it quietly, but in this instance, rugby fans are right to claim superiority over the round ball game.

Your Pitch: Homophobia in Sport

Published in Gair Rhydd on 06/02/2012.

Anton Hysén is a unique footballer. He is the son of former Liverpool defender Glenn and plays for Swedish second division team Utsiktens BK. On paper, his career is nothing special and yet there remains nobody else in world football like him.

Hysén is the only openly gay footballer in the professional game today.

There is no entirely accurate statistic for the percentage of men who are homosexual, but even in a sport that is still perceived to be the epitome of masculinity, the sum total simply has to be greater than one.

The question, therefore, remains: Why do professional athletes feel a need to hide their sexuality?

Whilst racism continues to dominate the news, the time seems right to contrast Britain's attitudes towards the two. Both are forms of personal discrimination, but the level of tolerance towards homophobic comments in stadia remains far greater than that seen with racism. The British game has made fantastic strides in the fight against racism, but other forms of discrimination need to be brought into line with the FA's primary anti-discrimination campaign.

In February 2010, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor stated that a campaign to remove homophobia in football did not rank as highly on the game's agenda as it should have. Speaking about the FA's abandoned campaign video and the absence of professional footballers in it, Taylor said: “They wanted one player at every club and the Premier League didn't think it was a big enough issue”.

This is the route of the problem. There are many forms of personal abuse present within football, but even the game's hierarchy have been seen to prioritise which victims need support the most. It is to the game's credit that a player who is racially abused knows such actions will not be tolerated, but other forms of abuse must receive similar punishment. Until sport has a zero-tolerance policy on homophobic abuse, athletes will continue to hide their sexuality, if only to avoid the unwanted attention it can create.

The openly gay former Welsh rugby union star Gareth Thomas has cited uncertainty as to the response of his team-mates as one of the greatest struggles in his battle to reveal his sexuality. Thomas says that his fellow professionals “didn't even blink” when they heard the news.

This week, the PFA issued posters to all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs to promote the issue of homophobia in football, with the intention of creating a similar 'so what?' culture. Finally, it seems that football is viewing homophobia as the significant issue that it really is.

Homophobic abuse at football matches in Britain remains widespread. It is not uncommon for thousands of fans to vocally question a player's sexuality due to the style of their haircut. These comments may be in jest, but the doubts sewn in the minds of homosexual players as to whether they would be tolerated are far more damaging.

Earlier this month, Oxford City sacked striker Lee Steele for a homophobic tweet relating to Thomas' appearance on Celebrity Big Brother on his Twitter account, whilst Crawley Town's Hope Akpan and former Everton defender Michael Ball were both fined by the FA for homophobic posts. Ball's fine of £6,000 was the highest fine ever imposed by the FA for this type of discrimination. It would appear that slow progress is being made.

We are at the beginning of the road in terms of tackling homophobia in sport. The flaws of a minority within society will almost certainly be exposed if players in Britain 'come out', but it is only through such bravery that we can begin to remedy the game's problems.

The day that Anton Hysén is no longer seen as special remains a long way away, but it is something to aim for. 

Six Nations Preview

Published in Gair Rhydd on 30/01/2012.

After a World Cup of mixed fortunes in New Zealand, Europe's top rugby nations are preparing for the northern hemisphere's premier tournament. With three of the nations having appointed new management since the World Cup, the Six Nations marks the beginning of a transitional period, the success of which will ultimately be judged at the 2015 tournament in England.

Having secured the services of coaches Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley until after the next World Cup, Wales will be looking to build on an impressive campaign in New Zealand. Warren Gatland's provisional squad have travelled to Poland for a similar training camp to the one that was so effective in 2011, again using cryotherapy chambers to aid physical recovery from intense training sessions. Gavin Henson resumes his international rugby career after meandering into reality television, whilst six uncapped players have the opportunity to force their way into Gatland's final squad. Ospreys pair Ashley Webb and Rhys Beck are joined by young Blues winger Harry Robinson and Scarlets trio Liam Williams, Rhodri Jones and Lou Reed at the Cetniewo camp. Alun Wyn Jones and Luke Charteris are ruled out through injury, whilst key figures Gethin Jenkins, Dan Lydiate and Jamie Roberts are ongoing injury concerns as Wales look to start life without Shane Williams in positive fashion.

Ireland will be Wales' opponents on the opening weekend, with Declan Kidney's men looking to gain revenge for their quarter-final defeat to Wales in October. The Irish squad has a familiar look to it, with no uncapped players named by the former Munster coach. However, one significant loss is that of captain Brian O'Driscoll who misses out with a shoulder injury. In his absence, Paul O'Connell will captain the side. David Wallace, Jerry Flannery and Denis Leamy are all unavailable, whilst Geordan Murphy has not been selected. Following a third place finish last year and victory over Australia in the World Cup, Ireland will be hopeful of a successful campaign.

England return to action following the disappointment of New Zealand with a new coach in Stuart Lancaster and a new-look playing squad. Despite the omission of Danny Care following a drink-drive charge and continued uncertainty about the fitness of Manu Tuilagi, there is a sense of optimism surrounding the youthful England side. Nine uncapped players have been selected, with the impressive Owen Farrell looking to replace Jonny Wilkinson at fly-half. He is joined by Brad Barritt, Jordan Turner-Hall, Lee Dickson, Phil Dowson, Calum Clark, Joe Marler, Rob Webber and Scarlets forward Ben Morgan in the provisional squad. More so than any other nation in the tournament, the Six Nations marks a fresh start for England.

Andy Robinson will look to dent the his former employer's rebirth when his Scotland side face England at Murrayfield. After a frustrating World Cup, Chris Paterson has retired leaving a large void in the Scottish backs. Fly-halves Greig Laidlaw and Duncan Weir will be looking to claim a starting berth, whilst Lee Jones, Robert Harley, Stuart Hogg and Fraser McKenzie receive their first call-ups. Steven Shingler has been denied his opportunity after the IRB ruled that the London Irish back must represent Wales after an appearance for the U20 side last season. However, with Edinburgh impressing in the Heineken Cup, Scotland will be confident of building on the good feeling engulfing rugby north of the border.

World Cup runners-up France have a new coach in the form of Philippe St André and name two uncapped players as Les Bleus look to regain their Six Nations crown. Playes from Heineken Cup pool winners Toulouse and Clermont Auvergne dominate, with Wesley Fofana and Yoann Maestri joining the squad for the first time. Despite impressing for his club side, Florian Fritz remains absent from a French side boasting a wealth of talented players.

Perennial underdogs Italy begin life after Nick Mallett with a tough clash in Paris as the French look to gain revenge for defeat in Rome last season. Jacques Brunel has named four uncapped players with Aironi pair Alberto de Marchi and Giovanbattista Venditti joined by Luca Morisi and Angelo Esposito in an ever-willing Azzurri side.

As with all post-World Cup Six Nations tournaments, this year's competition looks likely to be unpredictable. With new managers, styles and players adding to a a plethora of top class players, weekends in February and March should be kept free.

My First Game...

I'm seven years old and I'm at the Manor Ground. I've not got an Oxford United shirt on. I don't own one. If you had spoken to me 24 hours earlier as I tore open my Christmas presents, you would have been informed that I was a Liverpool fan. Dad is a Liverpool fan, so I'm a Liverpool fan. Robbie Fowler is my hero and I love watching the old season reviews on video tape. I know that Oxford has a football team but at this moment in time, the Milk Cup is merely a vessel used to strengthen my bones and enhance the quality of my smile.

With this in mind, why am I wrapped up like an Arctic explorer on a bitterly cold Boxing Day afternoon in Headington?

Despite claiming that “football is a game for rough boys” when I first encounter the sport (and I'm still not entirely sure that my mindset has been fully transformed), I've grown to love it. As soon as I'm allowed, I join a football team and due to winning a penalty shoot-out in the first training session, I'm officially a striker. I'm taller than the other boys my age so I don't do too badly, despite lacking any pace. Take my Welsh roots, penalty record and lack of mobility into account and I'm effectively a seven year old Rob Duffy. Obviously, I'd be more like Alan Shearer if I had been to a match and seen the level I should aspire to in the flesh.

However, this is all about to change. On Christmas Day 1998, I am informed that my football team's manager is taking me to the Division One game against Crystal Palace the following day, presumably as a reward for scoring against Halifax Town U8s on my début. I'm not sure who seven year old Andy Burgess is in this strange analogy, but I probably don't like him.

And so, this is it. I'm a football fan. I'm given a whirlwind lesson in everything Oxford United as we park up and walk to the ground. Firstly, we have no money. In my young mind, I'm not quite sure why this is important. The football team I play for don't seem to have any money but we are really good. Why is everybody so concerned? Apparently, a player called Dean Windass is going to be leaving soon to save the club. He must be really bad.

My memory of the game itself is hazy. Unlike my first Liverpool game several months later, not a great deal of the match seems to sink in. I know that Palace scored first and it is only thanks to the power of the internet that I can tell you that this was through a Craig Foster header. It's also news to me that I've seen Matt Jansen play football.

It is what happens next that will live with me forever. Oxford are awarded a free-kick 30 yard from goal. Windass steps up to smash the ball into the goal away to my left. Apparently, he's actually quite good.

The ground seems to erupt and whilst I jump and cheer, I am trying to take in everything that has happened around me. When the only goals you have seen have been on television or your own, followed only by the applause and shrieks of parents on the touchline, the majority of an 8,375 crowd going mental is a slight shock to the system. I like it and decide I could get used to it.

Unfortunately, this is Oxford United and I shouldn't get used to it. Clinton Morrison, a man I've never been fond of (and now I know why), restores the Palace lead. Two minutes later, Lee Bradbury adds a penalty and it's game over. When Bradbury signs for Oxford many years later, I have absolutely no idea that he was a key factor in my first game setting the tone for the following decade. I do grudges very well, so the current Bournemouth manager has had a lucky escape.

I'm hastily written off as an unlucky charm and the invitation isn't repeated. Over the next few years, I will be reclaimed by my family and the only team I watch in person are Liverpool. My next Oxford game is in 2002 and it will be another few years before I fully understand that my local club is the one that I love the most.

I have been going to home games and the odd away fixture with the family of a school friend and whilst we are anything but successful, I really enjoy following this team. If anything, it is the pain of the relegation season that confirms where my loyalties lie. As Leyton Orient go nuts in the North Stand, I don't go home. I look down on what is now the home of Conference football from the South Stand and it hurts. It hurts a lot. Steve Basham, my first Oxford hero, is in tears and when I feel like doing the same, I know that I'm going to be here for life.

Despite deviating from what I am supposed to be talking about, there is a point to this. Due to my period of gradual realisation, I never return to the Manor Ground. By the time I next go to an Oxford game, we have a new home. As a result, when fans recall the old ground with such affection, I can't join in. It was cold and we lost every game there. What was there to like?

As a result, however, I don't know the ground very well. If Windass scored in the goal to my left, where was I? Answers below please. If it was that fixture which brought Oxford United into my conscious thinking, I want to know all the details.

Unlike many Oxford United fans, my first game wasn't the game that changed my life. My love for the club was developed over a period far longer than 90 minutes. However, this was the highest I have ever seen Oxford in the Football League. Although I have every faith that I will one day watch Oxford at such a level again (and this time I'll care), for now, this is the peak.

It's a good job I was good at penalties...

Oxford Utd: Gerrard, Robinson, Powell, Wright (Cook 68), Watson, Warren (Wilsterman 87), Remy, Smith, Thomson (Beauchamp 45), Windass, Murphy.

Goals: Windass 68.

Crystal Palace: Miller, Jihai, Smith, Moore (Rizzo 90), Linighan, Foster, Burton, Zhiyi, Bradbury, Jansen (Morrison 45), Rodger.

Goals: Foster 59, Morrison 78, Bradbury 80 pen.

Your Pitch: Depression In Sport

Published in Gair Rhydd on 5/12/2011.

What is a professional athlete? Talented? Dedicated? At the peak of physical condition? In truth, an athlete is usually all of the above. However, when asking somebody for their thoughts on some athletes, it wouldn't be long before you were informed that they are overpaid and detached from the real world.

This is the illusion that the media has created over the protagonists in one of the world's most exposed industries. The wealth of athletes at the highest level is undeniable. They have big houses, a multitude of expensive cars and lucrative sponsorship deals. All too easily, however, we forget that these people are just like us. Beneath the public profile, they are still human.

This week, we are left with the most poignant of reminders as to the fragility of any life.

The loss of Gary Speed has left a gaping hole in football. We would be better served not knowing the reasons behind Speed's passing, but the tragic loss of a football manager with some of his greatest achievements still ahead of him provides a stark reminder that success does not breed immunity. In recent times, some of sport's largest names have struggled to fight their demons behind closed doors.

Former heavyweight champion Frank Bruno is a high profile case of depression after a sporting career. In 2003, Bruno was taken from his home under the Mental Health Act, before being sectioned and diagnosed with bipolar. Later, Bruno admitted that his condition had been worsened by cocaine use.

Since his recovery, Bruno has been honest about the cause of his problems: “My trainer, George Francis, once said to me that the hardest fight would be when I retire. I didn’t understand what he meant. But when you’re used to getting up at seven o’clock, going running, to the gym, sparring, doing press conferences, after-parties, retiring is the worst thing that can ever happen to a sportsman.”

This is the key aspect that we may never understand. We have never lived life always striving to achieve our next goal in the public eye and we have never known our lifestyle change entirely overnight in the manner than a retiring athlete would. This lack of empathy was highlighted by The Sun, who ran the headline 'Bonkers Bruno Locked Up', to widespread criticism.

Speed is not the only tragic loss at the hands of depression. In 2009, German goalkeeper Robert Enke, 32, stepped in front of a train having battled depression following the death of his daughter.

The story of Kelly Holmes provides proof, however, that there is a way back. Whilst training for the 2004 Olympics, Holmes suffered from injury problems and became depressed. Due to the doping rules, she was unable to use anti-depressants, turning to self-harm as a form of catharsis. She said: “Everything in my life at the time was wrong. When you’re in it, you don’t see a way out.” Holmes has since admitted to considering suicide before winning two gold medals in Greece.

Marcus Trescothick, Andre Agassi, Robert Enke, John Kirwan, Michael Yardy. The list goes on.

Only a matter of hours before Speed's death, Stan Collymore – himself a long-term sufferer of depression – used his Twitter account to explain how he was feeling during his current bout of depression, one that he described as his worst for six years. The former Liverpool striker wrote: ''If, like me, you have been there many times then you will know this...it's bloody dark but the clouds ALWAYS lift, so do everything you can to help yourself through. Open up to help and the fog will lift. You are not alone. Stan Collymore, depressive and broadcaster.'

Mental illness pays no attention to bank balance or profile. Now, more than ever, we can see that the gulf between sport stars and the ordinary person is not as broad as we think. Fundamentally, we are all the same.