Scores of Welsh rugby matches have been called off today because teams simply cannot fulfil fixtures over the Bank Holiday weekend.
A raft of 20-0 forfeit wins have been awarded throughout the leagues, with the final stages of this season heading into farcical territory.
Twenty-three matches have been forfeited so far today, with a further 10 postponed and possibly not replayed. With the season drawing to a close in the next few weeks, many teams still have a number of games left that simply won't get played. The figures are collated by All Wales Sport.
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The affected matches stretch from the Welsh Premiership, where Llanelli have once again pulled out of their match at Newport, right down the leagues. The situation has been compounded this year by the absence of relegation from any of the divisions due to next season's planned restructure of the Welsh Premiership and Championship. The lack of jeopardy for not fulfilling fixtures has seen some teams just accept the forfeit of a 20-0 defeat rather than look to get fixtures on against the odds. This avalanche of bonus point wins awarded by forfeit undoubtedly affects the integrity of leagues and could potentially impact promotion battles.
The challenges facing many clubs are ever-growing since the pandemic saw players drift away from the game, while changing lifestyles and more options for younger players outside of rugby these days has made it harder for some teams to maintain interest. A number of sides have told WalesOnline of their struggles this season.
With teams seemingly far more likely to forfeit away fixtures, this means home teams miss out on vital matchday bar and ticket funds, which are crucial to sustaining their futures.
In December, all clubs were contacted by the WRU who permitted even 12-aside matches to be played in a bid to get matches on and the season completed in the face of struggling player numbers and weather-hit postponements.
It stated fixtures can take place with 12, 13 or 14-a-side if both clubs are in agreement. The move was aimed at stemming the tide of cancelled games, which has been such a major issue.
Since January, teams have been able to claim or award points retrospectively from matches that don't take place.
The WRU regulations state: "Should Team A be unable to fulfil a scheduled league fixture against Team B, and there is no mutual agreement to rearrange, then Team A will be deducted four National League points. Team B will be able to claim a 20-0 victory and five points. Team A can also forfeit the result to Team B whilst still receiving a four-point deduction."
As part of next season's re-jig to the expanded Welsh Premiership and Championship, 12 clubs will be promoted from the various sections in Division One to make it 24 sides in the new two-group Championship. Thus, there will be no relegation from any of the leagues in the WRU pyramid at the end of this season, but there will be promotion as teams move up to fill the spaces created by the changes above.
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