There may be some singing, likely some beers, but the Principality Stadium won't be at capacity this weekend. Instead of being full of rugby fans, the visitors will be Plaid Cymru members and just like the hierarchy of the Welsh Rugby Union, the political party's upper echelons too have big questions to answer.
Last year, the party had a Senedd election that was fairly dire. There is, depending on who you speak to, a differing level of acknowledgment about just how poor it was, but one thing that was accepted is that the tactics employed weren't right and when it became clear they weren't working, changes weren't made quickly enough. Before the election the decision made was that the party would run a presidential campaign, putting Adam Price front and centre and up against Mark Drakeford. But that backfired. He was up against Mr Drakeford at a time Covid had catapulted the First Minister into public consciousness and popularity no-one expected when he was chosen by Labour as the replacement to Carwyn Jones.
But Plaid Cymru was not quick enough to react and it showed in the results. Some already think it took such a backward step it will take longer than the next Senedd election to make any gains again. That result caused damage, not just to egos but to the reputation of the party in terms of its ability to campaign effectively for an election, and, more crucially, happiness in the ranks.
Read more: Council elections are being held in Wales this May
Having failed to make the gains, and in fact, the opposite, there are pressing questions facing the party about what it does next and what direction it takes. Electoral nerds know that Westminster - where it has three MPs - isn't the place the party can expect gains, and to lose out at the Senedd was bruising.
Some optimism can be taken from the party's new cohort of MSs bringing in some new voices. They're described to me by long-time Senedd observers as a feisty, enthusiastic, ambitious bunch. But some of that bluster and excitement has been forcibly muted by the co-operation deal with Welsh Labour. That deal means in certain areas, MSs now can't use their allotted times or press releases to criticise Labour because they are now, politically, in bed with their opposition. And that is hard to take for new members who thought they were entering politics to hold Labour to account and came in all guns blazing, only to have those guns replaced with water pistols.
Plaid will continue to push the line they are responsible (when it comes in) for getting more kids free school meals or free childcare. But their deal with Labour will end before the next Senedd election, at which point it'll be up to campaigners on the doorstep to explain why two different political parties are both saying they achieved the same thing however, that's a topic for another year. Independence was something the party went big on for the Senedd election, and it didn't work, so there are decisions to be made about how loudly they continue to shout about that.
Now, all eyes are on the council elections to see what Plaid can do. What happens if there is a mediocre, or disastrous election this May? I asked senior party members what chance they have this May and they told me they didn't expect huge gains, nor huge losses, but accepted that anything less than some gains for Plaid Cymru would add to the questions around the party's leadership under Adam Price.
No-one should, I was reminded, should be shocked he wants to talk about international issues. Mr Price, is a big thinker. He was long before he was elected to the Senedd, or as leader of Plaid Cymru. He will use his platform to talk about global issues, but that doesn't sit easily with all those in his party. He doesn't take the Leanne Wood approach of spending his nights or weekends at local meetings in the same way, nor are MSs given a cwtch and a cuppa after a bad day. Since entering the deal with Labour there has been a shake up of staff in the party team and that isn't yet complete. There's some hope that once it is, the worries and grips may be able to be eased by an effective manager.
His choice to travel to Ukraine was hammered, if privately, by many in his own party. There was a state of disbelief he'd made the trip, and that they were expected to defend the trip. He wants to talk about, and take action on Ukraine, but foreign affairs are not devolved, it is to his Westminster trio of MPs to speak on that, but that has not stopped Mr Price trying to instil his position on supplying arms to Ukrainians on the group.
When he recently lost a battle with both the Senedd and Westminster groups over that stance, I'm told he said he would have to "consider his position". Interestingly, to some that was taken as a comment he will reconsider being leader, to others, it was he will reconsider his position on Ukraine. Either way, it was a big loss for him and it's telling some took his use of such words to suggest he may not remain leader for much longer.
The co-operation deal has also seen more of Adam Price standing in the Senedd talking with, rather than criticising his political rival Mr Drakeford, something that doesn't sit easily with many. That is clearly something the Conservatives are angry about, and have questioned whether he should still get allotted time to ask questions often about matters they agree with the government on.
The party will also soon need to come to agreement on its position about expanding the Senedd. But this May isn't a Senedd election, it's a council election. So where should we be looking to see how the party will fare. In 2022 there are 1,254 councillors to be appointed across 22 councils. In the 2017 election, the party got 16.5% of the national vote share and 208 councils. It some gains, increasing its majority in Gwynedd and becoming the largest party in Anglesey somewhere it is hoped the local success during the pandemic under leader Llinos Medi will be repeated.
Rhondda Cynon Taf will be interesting as the bounce that came from Leanne Wood's victory in 2016 seems to have gone, and a number of RCT Plaid councillors are standing down.
More than one person has told me the party is struggling to get candidates who want to stand. In its defence, that is not unique to their party. The pandemic has brought what councils do into sharp focus for people. In places like Ceredigion, decisions the council were making led to local anger which isn't directed at the distant Cardiff Bay, but councillors. Being a councillor isn't a job most people do full-time, yet to do it properly, you do need time and energy. When we spoke to councillors and candidates about the reality of their jobs, that was obvious. So you're not getting the financial reward or relative glory of a job like the Senedd, nor the resources, but you are in the frontline for flak.
I have however been told potential candidates in heartland communities are explicitly saying they won't stand due to issues with Mr Price's leadership. There will, as we saw in Labour ahead of their conference, be some who do not agree with the leadership and those will always be vocal but there is also going to plenty of focus on Cardiff where the party has drawn up an alliance with the Green Party. The hope is that will yield at least one seat and give them a presence back on the capital's council.
The party has no councillor in the capital and many are still bruised by the antics of Neil McEvoy. He was a strong campaigner for the party, and will no doubt stand again but his repeated battle with the party, and in some cases, individual members, bruised many to the extent they want to stay well away. When I asked if it really matters that Plaid has no presence in the capital, and the overwhelming response was that yes, it absolutely does.
So does all this put Adam Price's position under threat? This conference is not when Adam Price can face a leadership challenge, the first time that can happen is in the autumn, yet when I asked different people what they thought the chances of that happening even then, there was some split. Some don't see it coming this soon, some can't see who would stand against him. Ynys Mon MS Rhun ap Iorwerth stood last time and would likely do so again, Senedd newcomer Sioned Williams' name was also mentioned, but no-one I spoke to said they thought Mr ap Iorwerth would mount a challenge first.
Plaid will be happy to be back meeting in person this weekend, and the hope will be some of the worries will be eased with some stomping speeches, and party bonding. There may be press releases and tweets saying how great everything is, but you can't sugarcoat it, the party has big questions to deal with, and no obvious answers about how their problems can be fixed as of yet.
