Fears have been expressed over the Welsh Rugby Union's changes to youth rugby in Wales amid claims clubs' concerns have been ignored.
The WRU have permanently cut the age range of youth rugby players from 16-19 to 16-18 until 2026, sparking a big reaction from those involved in that level of the game. It comes after the change was brought in temporarily for this season due to Covid restrictions amid warnings it could result in a "lost generation" of players. You can read the full details here.
Those fears remain for many, with one club claiming more than half the players told they would have to make the step up to senior rugby a year earlier than hoped have already signalled their intention to quit. There are also concerns pitting 18-year-old front-rowers against experienced 30-year-olds could be physically unsafe.
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The WRU believe shortening the age band by a year will actually help lower the number of players dropping out of the game and see more youngster going on to play senior rugby.
One source of frustration among some clubs is a perceived lack of communication from the governing body on changes. The WRU say they surveyed over 9,000 individuals as part of the process of creating these changes, but some clubs have been unimpressed with the nature of the survey and claim there has been a lack of a robust and open consultation process.
One club official told WalesOnline the survey was "loaded with closed questions", claiming there was lack of a proper consultation process and that clubs feel they been railroaded into the decision.
A recurring fear was the number of youth teams that could fall by the wayside in the coming years, as well as the effect it will have on senior teams - with some concerned a problem isn't being solved here, but simply moved from losing players at under-16 level to losing them at under-18 level.
Those sentiments were echoed by Cyril Locke, fixture secretary for Rumney Youth, who described the move as "a disaster for youth rugby in Wales". He was also critical of the nature of the survey - saying it "didn't lend itself at all to supporting under-19s rugby."
He also told WalesOnline that half of the players told this week that they'd have to play senior rugby a year earlier than expected have decided they won't make the move up to the adult game.
"You could be an 18-year-old playing against a 30-year-old prop," he said. "That can't be healthy for a young kid.
"Where I'm at with it, and a lot of other clubs feel this way too, is they don't appear to be listening at all. The repercussions of this isn't going to be good for lots of clubs.
"When they introduced it because of Covid, we sort of accepted it, even though it wasn't good. We lost a lot of players, as did other clubs, who should have been in their last year of under-19s.
"They had to go play seniors instead and a lot of them didn't want to go up. We managed this season with a bit of a struggle. With this two-year banding, if you don't have any under-16s coming through, you won't have a youth team as there's only two years in the banding rather than three.
"Unless you're blessed with under-16s, you've not got the under-19s to rely on. The youth feeds the senior teams. If you haven't got that, we could end up losing rugby altogether.
"Hopefully they wake up and smell the coffee. This thing is no good for club rugby and youth rugby. Over the four year period, you could end up with one side in a club. It's hard enough now to run two sides.
"The only way you can do that is with the evolution of youth players coming through at 19 and 20, stepping through into senior rugby as they always have done."
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Senghenydd youth team manager Richard Gater previously slammed the decision when it was initially brought in for this season, saying: “This is absolutely insane. I can’t believe it. Who in their right mind thinks this is a good decision? This will cripple teams and we will see a huge drop off to seniors.
“Some of these boys haven’t even played youth rugby and they have to go straight to seniors? It’s mental. This will be detrimental to youth rugby and seniors in my experience.
“It will leave teams short of numbers at youth level and discourage players from continuing in the game once they turn 18. It is hard enough as it is trying to get boys through to seniors. Front five forwards going straight into senior rugby at 18 is insane.”
Speaking after the announcement of the changes, WRU community director Geraint John was insistent the WRU had followed the numbers in making this decision, adding they had full belief it would be for the benefit of the male game in Wales.
"The key question is always about how we grow the male game," he said. "We need numbers, simple as that. We noticed that between the ages of 16 to 19, there's a drop-off. You can't hide that.
"An example over the last few years is we had around 2,300 16-year-old players. By the time they got to 19-years-old, the number is about 990 players. That's a significant drop-off. We've looked at other countries and how we keep players engaged.
"Our view was that the more players we have at the younger age, the more players we'll have going through to senior rugby. We listened to what 16-year-olds wanted and they want to play with their friends, which isn't likely in a three-year band.
"We went to over 9,000 people and that's what 16-year-olds wanted. This season, we've had an increase in 17-year-olds playing the game. We've never had that. Usually, it decreases year on year. The only thing we've done is having a two-year banding.
"We firmly believe we'll retain more 16-year-olds than before. From there, we'll hopefully have more 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds and eventually we'll have the numbers to sustain our game.
"No matter what decisions you make, you'll always get a nervousness, but there's also a confidence and excitement from us about this decision. We believe through the work we've done that this is the right decision.
"I understand history and tradition, but we need to keep our game moving forward for future generations. We feel this is the right way to do it. Ideally, we'd have single-year banding. Decisions are always tough to make. I always say if you can get 51 per cent supporting you, you're doing well in Welsh rugby."
Addressing the fears that many players will simply leave the game after turning 18, John added that work would be needed to put in on other ways to transition players - such as better support for second XVs. However, he reiterated that addressing drop-offs at 16-years-old was the priority.
"The key part for us is here is where the starting point was for us," he added. "That was the 16-year-olds. We'll work hard with the 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds.
"There's second XV rugby and we need to put support and resources around that. We won't get it right straight away. We know we'll have to work hard and everything won't be made rosy in the garden with a magic wand.
"But the starting drop-off is the 16-year-old and we'll start by addressing that. One of the things they've said to us in surveys is that once they're in rugby, they stay in rugby. Rarely do you find a 21-year-old who starts rugby again.
"So it's important to keep as many as possible in the game. From the people who answered the question, that physical fear wasn't evident at 18 and 19 when it was for 15 and 16. But it's about finding opportunities to transition those who are concerned, whether that's seconds XV or something else.
"In terms of positional one, it's key making sure that players play at the appropriate position in the appropriate game. But it's the same thing for 16-year-olds possibly playing in the front-row against 19-year-olds.
"There'll be many people who think differently on this and will disagree, but we firmly believe this is about how we make our male game sustainable moving forward. "
