Project Reunion

Calling for true regional rugby that includes the whole of Wales. Every club and fan equally. Fully integrated and aligned. We'd be so much stronger together.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

Love Llanelli, Neath, Swansea, Cardiff & Newport, but EVERY PART OF WALES IS IMPORTANT. Every club and every fan. So, let's… stop the bickering - include everyone - work together - tap into every resource - and finally fulfil our potential.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

Fantastic from Bordeaux Bègles. Back to back Champions Cup winners.

Maybe mergers can work?

Maybe resource concentration makes sense?

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

Time to bring back East Wales too? Huge sacrifices are needed to save Welsh rugby & this should not fall on West Wales alone. Especially as the 2 West teams took regionalism & inclusion far more seriously. They have also been more successful & haven't needed WRU financial rescue.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@CraigosP1 @PontypriddRFC @neathrfc The SRC is all about strengthening the "regions". Pontypridd and Merthyr didn't apply because they are not included by any of the 4 "regions" - and did not want to give up some of their autonomy to become feeder clubs for Cardiff. Totally understandable. The system is broken.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@TheVietGwent Exactly. Having the wrong entities at "regional" level has led - not only to the collapse of the national side - but also to the club game being far less meaningful and appealing. Solving both problems requires a true regional tier (with 3 teams covering ALL OF WALES).

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@thepaulwilliams @StevenDickens3 @RugbyPass But - as you noted - there were "laudable reasons to have changed the law in the first place". Simply returning to the old version is probably not the answer here. There are other options that could be explored first.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@ThomaDave There's no official or universally agreed definition of "West Wales". Different definitions are used by different people for all sorts of purposes. In Welsh rugby - South Wales has often been split into East & West. Swansea, NPT & Bridgend have always been assigned to West.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

Totally get how hard this is for Scarlets & Ospreys - but the fantastic clubs & communities of what Welsh rugby has often designated "West Wales" have come together before & they can do it again. Merging both pathways into 1 new regional team would be far better than a culling.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@Bob71136804 @LWaunfawr Ospreys? The Swansea RFC and Neath RFC merger became the most successful Welsh side of the "regional" era.

Cardiff RFC - born in 1876 after Glamorgan FC and Wanderers FC merged.

Read up about Bordeaux Bègles too. Merger in 2006. Average home attendance of 23,689 for 2014/2015.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@BenAronov @BBCScrumV Yeah, one big West Wales region would be a force to be reckoned with! Cardiff & Dragons need to put their heads together too - and fast. One big East Wales team is also needed (and financially inevitable). Looks like West will get a head start though...
https://t.co/YWKslISZ88

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

Totally get how hard this is for Scarlets & Ospreys - but the fantastic clubs & communities of what Welsh rugby has often designated "West Wales" have come together before & they can do it again. Merging both pathways into 1 new regional team would be far better than a culling.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@WalesRugby Great piece @benjames1796. Mentions 13 out of 19 Unofficial Championship clubs. London Welsh omission is understandable, but feel a bit sorry for Newbridge (and Abertillery, Cross Keys, Glam Wands & Tredegar)!!! Dunvant, Treorchy & Caerphilly also in the top tier before 2003. 👍

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@TSovereigner @FabioPerini123 (1/4) There's a limit to how much money the WRU can generate - and to how much of that total pot they can give to our pro teams (without underfunding the other crucial parts of the Welsh rugby ecosystem).

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@tweetsfromben What about the Ospreys? The merger between Swansea RFC and Neath RFC went on to become the most successful Welsh side of the "regional" era.

And what about Cardiff RFC? Born in 1876 after Glamorgan FC and Wanderers FC merged.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@TSovereigner @FabioPerini123 It worked well in the amateur era, but everything changed when rugby union went pro in 1995. Wales doesn't have the money or the players for 4 pro teams, let alone 10 or 12! The smaller local clubs are ideal for semi-pro level - and should underpin 3 massive regional sides.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@Oweninsouts Spot on Owen. Since 2003, a huge amount of damage has been done to the soul of Welsh rugby. It's time to admit the mistakes and reset.

"A future we can all believe in" means including ALL of Wales.

@TorstenBell is at least correct about needing "new ways of working" 👍

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@TSovereigner @FabioPerini123 (4/4) There are also legitimate questions about whether a small country of just 3.1 million will be able to produce enough top quality elite players to fill 4 squads with the necessary strength in depth.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@TSovereigner @FabioPerini123 (3/4) Having uncompetitive pro teams erodes confidence and doesn't prepare players adequately for international level. The failure of this pseudo-regional system has caused the collapse of the national side.

[Project Reunion @WelshRugbyUnity]

@Oweninsouts He quite rightly says Wales can't copy every bit of the Irish system.

BUT - we can (and should) copy the main feature - larger regional teams between all the old small settlement clubs and the national side.

He was right in 2017 about needing an East & West Wales approach...