RGC 1404- the glimmer of hope for regions

hi long time viewer and previous poster here (under both this username and previously welshy824 before I forgot the password and lost my email... but anyway!)

As I am sure a fair few of the welsh posters here are aware, there are in fact 5 regions, the 5th rather unknown region is the north wales region, RGC 1404, which while only currently only in development is making all the right noises to how a region should be run!

My father attended an evening with Rupert Moon who is now involved within RGC and while it seems all doom and gloom for the south Walians that is not the case for us up here in the North. RGC have secured the 6Nation u20's matches for the next 3 years in Eirias park. Other good news is that Rupert Moon apparently said (please don't quote this!) that it should take a maximum of 5 years to set up RGC within the Pro12 and he hopes for this to be achieved within 3!

The good aspect of RGC is that it is being built up from the ground, with full involvement of all North Wales clubs, this means that while there are still the obvious club rivalries all of the clubs are working together to build up RGC so that it has strong ties to the clubs and a strong base of support, which are being strengthened by having people such as Rupert Moon come into the clubs and keep the clubs informed on the progress of it.
Another key aspect for me is that they are no longer having a regional side prior to u16's which is aimed to prevent the idea of elitism which had previously occurred within the north.

Overall I think that the development of RGC can only benefit North Wales and eventually Wales itself. Previously talented North players (such as a few of my friends) have been poached by English premiership clubs which could of course mean them potentially becoming future English stars rather than Welsh stars. Meanwhile others have also been poached to rugby league, the development of RGC into the Pro12 will therefore hopefully stop this poaching and will mean that North Wales will no longer have such an underrepresentation within the Welsh squad.

So what are your thoughts of the development of this 5th region? and hope I didn't cause you all to fall asleep!

Will there be 5 welsh regions in the pro 12 or will one of them have to be disbanded?

I am really not sure to be honest, I guess it depends on Roger Lewis and the WRU

No, not just Roger and the WRU. It also depends on our Pro 12 brethren. We can't just impose another team on everyone else - "oh by the way we're entering another team next year. Cheers." Won't happen that easily. It will mean an extra two games for everyone, so more player burnout potentially. More travel and associated costs.

From a welsh POV I think we'll again be spread too thinly with 5. I'm all for a North Wales presence, and a pro region if necessary. But we'll have to lose one, as 4 is the magic number for me. That probably means my region the Dragons going down the sh*tter, so I'm obviously against it. But in reality there are so many problems and so many things I don't understand (e.g. Where does all of our supposed funding go, etc.) that I'm genuinely tired of defending us. If we go then we go. And all the best to the new 4th region.

Griff wrote:No, not just Roger and the WRU. It also depends on our Pro 12 brethren. We can't just impose another team on everyone else - "oh by the way we're entering another team next year. Cheers." Won't happen that easily. It will mean an extra two games for everyone, so more player burnout potentially. More travel and associated costs.

From a welsh POV I think we'll again be spread too thinly with 5. I'm all for a North Wales presence, and a pro region if necessary. But we'll have to lose one, as 4 is the magic number for me. That probably means my region the Dragons going down the sh*tter, so I'm obviously against it. But in reality there are so many problems and so many things I don't understand (e.g. Where does all of our supposed funding go, etc.) that I'm genuinely tired of defending us. If we go then we go. And all the best to the new 4th region.

I can understand your concern regarding the dragons, if I am honest the WRU really didn't think it through regarding the regions. They should have had North, South, East and West region, and actually defined the regions in which they each controlled and set it up from the ground up rather than just papering over the cracks. but ah well.

Yep I agree. However, with little money in the game they couldn't build 4 new regional stadia so had to base it on current stadia and infrastructure which inevitably meant some teams being the basis for these regions. They could have gone for representative teams renting grounds from the prem clubs, but anyway all in the past now.

The next #OneTrueRegion?

Personally I think it will be difficult to enter RCG 1404, Scotland will be looking to expand to 3 teams in future and Italy prob will as well, they are unlikly to support Wales having a 5th team before either is allowed a 3rd.
Its also probable that the SRU/FIR/IRFU do not want to increase the league beyound 12.

For these reasons I believe that if the WRU are serious about entering RGC1404, then one of the current 4 will go, or be merged.

It appears with the Ospreys plan this summer that the WRU don't mind which one folds, however I do suspect that it will be Dragons.
With a 50% share in Dragons it would make it easier for the WRU to dissolve, or merge then than any other region,

A Scarlets/Ospreys merger may be considered to strong, for the other 3 regions, Dragons are the ones normally in the Almin so would maybe be connsider the ones to be merged with thier nearest team the Blues.

What I would like to see happen is the Blues/Dragons region to be redone completely when this happens.

Cardiff RFC lose the license to run the region, Newport and Pontypridd told they are not recieving it either. Then sit down all the Clubs in the Blues/Dragons region to launch a new team, set up like RCG1404, with no ties to any club, games played as the people running the region see best, try to appeal to everyone, have the clubs supporting the region, not competing against it. Compelety new team and colours, (ie instead of becoming something like Cardiff Dragons, they become the Red Kites, or something)

If you had RGC1404 in North, an equalivent (Red Kites) in the South, both WRU owned and run with the Clubs, then add the Scarlets and Ospreys, and you may have a better model?