Dai Young believes Wales' four professional sides are '20 points behind' their United Rugby Championship rivals in a sobering warning to Welsh rugby.
Just four rounds into the 2022/23 URC season and things have a familiar feel to them. Like last year, all four sides are in the bottom half of the table and outside the play-off spots. Of course, there is a long way to go but there is a sense of deja vu with Welsh sides, in particular, struggling to claim favourable results away from home.
Collectively, the regions have won three and lost 9 of their matches against teams from other countries. Of those nine defeats, seven were by margins greater than seven and five of those were by margins greater than 14.
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Looking ahead to his side's derby against the Dragons this weekend, Cardiff boss Young insisted that there wasn't much between the Welsh sides but their big problem was beating everyone else.
He said: "I don't think there is much between any of us four regions, really, and I think we can all beat each other on the day. That game last weekend could have gone either way. The last couple of games we've played against the Dragons, certainly at the end of last season at Rodney Parade, is a game we could have easily lost.
"There is nothing in these games and it is very much on the day."
But he added: "To be quite honest with you, the bigger issue is that the four of us are 20 points behind most of the teams in this league at this moment in time.
"That is the concern and it's what we're all struggling to put right."
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Young was able to bring in the likes of Liam Williams - who suffered a shoulder injury on his debut and is ruled out until December at the earliest - and Taulupe Faletau this summer.
But he was adamant that it remains difficult to improve fast enough in order to catch up with other teams.
"Let's just talk about Cardiff for a second, we've got the same squad and we're constantly trying to get better but our rate of improvement has to be greater than the rate of improvement of teams above us for us to close that gap.
"When you look at the teams above us - this week Edinburgh have signed a British Lion, Ulster have signed a British Lion - it's very difficult to close that gap when they keep on improving.
"All we can do really is try to get the best out of the squad and keep improving, and I think that will be right across the four regions really. There's not much between us but the major challenge for Welsh rugby is closing the gap on the teams above us."
When it was put to Young that his opinion was brutal, he said: "Well, just look at the facts. When we play teams outside of Wales, we've all struggled.
"It's not my opinion, it's factual."
Young was vocal about off-field matters in Welsh rugby last season but has opted to keep opinions on those matters to himself so far this season. But the four pro teams are yet to reach an agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union over the financial strategy for the professional game beyond this season.
After almost a year, talks are still ongoing but Young insists his focus is simply making the best of what he's got.
He said: "You can only deal with the cards you've got. I know what I've got here and we just have to try and improve, make the best of it. I think the three other coaches feel the same.
"But the facts will bear themselves out. It's hard for us to compete on a regular basis with teams from other countries. I'm not getting involved in the funding issues or anything like that but it's just factual.
"It seems like they are continually trying to move forward, where we are continually trying to hold onto their coat tails and keep up with them."
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