“Community rugby in Wales is in rude health, according to the latest participation figures.”
So runs a line from Steve Phillips in the Welsh Rugby Union’s latest annual report, with the governing body’s chief executive adding: “The total number of registered players in the community game has gone through the 50,000 mark for the first time since digital records began.
“We are buoyed by these figures, but this is not a case of job done.”
Indeed, it isn’t.
Some would say the job isn’t even half done.
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So far this season, after just three complete weekends of matches for most, Welsh rugby has seen upwards of 50 club and community matches postponed outside those that were chalked off after the Queen passed away. Not all have fallen because of clubs being unable to raise teams, but plenty have.
Some of the stories have been eye-opening, with anecdotal tales suggesting that over the past few weeks some clubs might have struggled to even raise sufficient numbers for a five–a-side larkabout on training nights.
Several have yet to even start their seasons.
Last weekend, 17 games were postponed, one game fewer than the round before. At the start of September, 15 matches went down.
Glyncorrwg saw their Division 4 West Central game with Pontrhydyfen called off last Saturday. “It was no-one’s fault,” said Rob Morris, the club's fixture secretary, operations manager, funding co-ordinator and junior chairman.
“There were a few issues, then we heard on Saturday morning Pontrhydyfen were down on a few players and the match wouldn’t be going ahead.
“Pretty much all clubs are struggling for players and in other ways at our level.
“Post-pandemic it’s been an absolute nightmare.
“Before Covid, things were going well for us. We were top of the table, we were averaging about seven tries a game and we had plenty of players. Then the pandemic hit, players drifted away, perhaps after developing other interests.
"Other clubs will probably tell a similar tale and plenty are struggling and it’s sad to see.
“I was Glyncorrwg’s team manager but I finished about halfway through last season. With my job as a nurse, as well, the stress was just too much.
“I would dread Thursday nights.
“Pen would be put to paper and then it’d be a case of ‘Is so-and-so available? Can we ring someone else?’
"I’d been doing the job for around 15 years and increasingly found that you had to reach out to players. One of our older players calls the younger boys the X-box generation. You really have to keep onto them and WhatsApp them, whereas, old-school, you wouldn’t have to even message people. You knew they’d turn up every week.
“But it’s not like that anymore.
“With the younger boys, it’s a case of constantly trying to stay in contact via WhatsApp, Snap Chat and all other social media, just to make sure they turn up.”
The ex-Wales, Swansea and Bath openside Richard Webster once told a tale a decade or so ago about how he jokingly had to tempt a player to play community rugby by offering to buy him a Chinese meal. “I know the feeling,” laughs Morris: “takeaways, kebas, pizzas, free lifts, free pints over the bar — I’ve tried everything.”
Nor is it just an issue of player shortages. “Clubs are finding it hard financially,” says Morris.
“Rather than come to the club, perhaps, people are spending more time at home and not going out so much. Players might have formed new relationships and had children while they were away from the club. They might just be doing other things.
“It’s something the WRU really has to address. I feel we don’t get enough support at grassroots level.
“They need to be concentrating on the nitty-gritty of getting more kids to play rugby because that is where players of the future are going to come from.”
Banwen’s Division 5 West Central game against Pantyffynnon couldn’t be played last weekend, meaning the club were hit in the pocket. Again, Banwen attach no blame, because they know what it’s like to struggle. A year ago, they took a year out to regroup after facing problems over player numbers.
“We had to sit out the year because we were struggling for players, but, ironically, we are strong in that respect this year. Last week’s game went down because of an issue at Pantyffynnon’s end. They had injuries and couldn’t raise a side,” said chairman Leighton Thomas.
“These things happen and you just have to do your best.
“What’s disheartening is it’s hard to get a game if the original opposition can’t make it for whatever reason.
“That has an impact on income. If players stay on for a home game, we can make between a thousand and two thousand pounds.
“Without a game last week, we hit £500.
“When we don’t have matches, the bills will still be coming in, Sky Sports still has to be paid for.”
Banwen, Seven Sisters and Crynant have previously explored the idea of setting up a Dulais Valley side. “The idea was that we merge the three clubs into two senior clubs, calling them franchise names, perhaps, like the Black Dragons, the Colliers or whatever.
“We explored it, but we couldn’t do it. It was too political. We didn’t have the help from the WRU.
“But, for me, that has to be the way forward. It’s worked for the kids’ section in the Dulais Valley.
“I think amalgamation of clubs in the Valleys would improve standards.”
Thomas continued: “Our recruitment drive means we have numbers now.
“We are not saying we are world-beaters.
"Nowadays, it’s a success to get players on the field, let alone bid for trophies.
“On the back of the pandemic, we lost nine forwards in total, boys who were about 30 to 32. Once a prop has a couple of years out, it’s hard for him to come back.
"The trouble is you can start a season with 30 or 40 people on your books, but by Christmas you can struggle to raise a team. There’s no continuity there, no consistency and loyalty isn’t what it used to be.
“The pandemic made players realise we need them more than they need us, and the old rules no longer apply.
"Banwen rode a wave of success when I played but it was a different world and so much has changed. There wasn’t the technology and different things to interest players then outside rugby.
"Nowadays, it's a mess. Sometimes, I think it’s too late to be saved.”
Problems are not just confined to south Wales. Barely a week passes without games falling in the north of the country as well. Shotton Steel have yet to play a game in Division Two North this term. Last week’s game with Newtown went down because of matters at the opposition’s end; previously, two matches had been cancelled amid issues at Shotton’s end.
“We struggled to raise a side for our first two games,” said secretary Mike Roberts.
“Then last week we had 20-odd lads available but Newtown couldn’t raise a team.
“We’re the old steelworks side, so a lot of our players work shifts. What used to happen is lads would book holidays and swap their shifts to make themselves available to play games. That doesn’t seem to happen as much any more.
“Now, some of them will think: ‘I didn’t play for two years because of the pandemic. Why am I using my holidays to play rugby?
“So we lost out scheduled game with Welshpool as seven players booked a holiday in Lloret-de-Mar.
“Although there was a league structure last year, because there was no urgency to play games, I think that mindset has crept into the players and sort of stuck. We are getting reasonably good numbers for training. It’s just about getting people back into the cycle of ‘we need to play every league match. Every game is important and we can’t pick and choose which ones we play’.
“With the non-competitive league last season, that feeling of “oh, well, we don’t really needed to play, I have other things to do and it might get cancelled, anyway” has sort of stuck.
“You regularly see on the WhatsApp groups, messages going out asking ‘who’s playing Saturday?’ Back in the old days it was a phone call off the coach or you’d pick your side every Tuesday after training and that was it. Now, and I’m sure every club’s the same, one player is busy that weekend, then the next one drops off, and then the next one.
“We’ve lost front row players, and that can make it impossible.
“It’s frustrating because we’ve moved from our own ground to a brand new purpose-built community hub, with a 4G training pitch, two new grass pitches. The place is amazing.”
No one can accuse Division 4 East club New Tredegar of not trying, their efforts include putting out a social media appeal for new players, with the carrots including an end-of-season tour.
Last weekend their match with Blackwood Stars bit the dust.
“We’ve had two games called off this term because we couldn’t raise sides,” said committeeman Ray Davies.
“We’ve even run a thirds team in the past. In 2012, we were in the final of the bowl at the stadium in Cardiff. We have no youth team at the moment, whereas we once had one of the oldest youth teams in Welsh rugby, a set-up that had been going for 80-odd years. Eight years ago we just couldn’t continue. We couldn’t get the players.
"I don’t know what it is. They say the football has taken over, but I don’t believe that, because in New Tredegar there’s only one Sunday league team at the moment, and if I go back 25 to 30 years, there were seven senior football teams in New Tredegar.
“So I don’t think it’s the football that’s taken over. Kids just don’t want to know.”
Davies continued: "Rhymney rugby club have been helping us out on a Saturday and I hold my hand up to them. Most of the local clubs are helping each other out, because we’re all in the same boat. We had to cancel our game with Nantyglo earlier in the season. I know the boys there very well and they were saying that four years ago, they were in much the same position.
“Payment is another thing.
“All these clubs sign these declarations that they don’t pay, but there are a lot of clubs paying. We know that. The WRU would like us to report them, but you are not going to get that. That’s not the way it’s done in Welsh rugby.”
Will the situation change? Will player numbers dramatically increase? Rugby is walking into strong headwinds.
“We’ve tried a lot of things,” said Davies.
“For our last tour, we spent a week in the Bahamas and a week in Miami.
“There just seems to be a lot going on. You only have about 50 percent of the boys come back to the club after games for a pint.”
He added: “It’s frightening, to be honest. I’m the chairman of District A, which is the biggest in Welsh rugby, with 62 clubs, and even at district meetings there’s sometimes only about 50 percent attending.
“Across the board there are problems.”
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