Warburton says he is "privileged" to be the only current centrally-contracted player in Welsh rugby

Warburton says he is "privileged" to be the only current centrally-contracted player in Welsh rugby.

Do you agree?

The regions are unwilling to field centrally contracted players at present so I fail to see what he is going to do as of next season.
Should the Blues play him or tell him thanks for your past efforts, close the door on your way out son?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27512797

Scrumpy wrote:Warburton says he is "privileged" to be the only current centrally-contracted player in Welsh rugby.

Do you agree?

No, I think he's making it up and probably regrets not moving to France like every other half decent player in Wales when he had the chance.

No. Ok he signed but how much pressure did Lewis put on him to sign? The amount he gets paid probably helped, or he genuinely wants this to be a watershed for int players in Wales? I can see his appearances for the blues in line with the Irish players and their provinces. RC games and the welsh derby games. That's it...

I don't think his body would survive in France, they get well paid but want their pound of flesh so to speak.

I think the central contract was the only financially viable offer on the table for him which is why he had to take it.

If the Blues play him next season then under the current arrangements they face upsetting and breaking ranks with the other Regions but I am sure it will be resolved one way or another.

He's the Welsh Captain and therefore the WRU poster boy. I wish he hadn't done this

Scrumpy wrote:Warburton says he is "privileged" to be the only current centrally-contracted player in Welsh rugby.

Do you agree?

The regions are unwilling to field centrally contracted players at present so I fail to see what he is going to do as of next season.
Should the Blues play him or tell him thanks for your past efforts, close the door on your way out son?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27512797

No I don't agree with him and no, Cardiff shouldn't play him if there's any risk of upsetting the regional entente cordiale. Great player, but it's a shame he's become a pawn in Roger's game.

"For me the WRU might manage my game time,"

meaning what exactly? Anyone know?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27512797

Well come 1 July he may well be the only professional player in Wales.

The regions will quickly crumble without a league to play in next year.

Then he could be right , we will see many more central contracts.

Can someone answer me 1 question. Say they don't come to a deal and the 'regions' (I use that term loosely) don't appear in the PRO 12 then how do they qualify for the RCC?? Can they still play in it? If they weren't part of the WRU any more then out of which countries allocation would they come? If the WRU create 4 teams for the Rabo, then surely they would qualify for the RCC ? Still confused on lots of this.

Ok more than 1 question I know.

No he's not. It's an absurd situation, not his fault, but indicative of the pathetic governance of the game in Wales.

This crap has been going on for far too long. Im quickly coming to the view point that both sides are as bad as each other. Both stubborn and unwilling to compromise. Somebody has to give first, and with the WRU holding the trump card it has to be the regions. If one side can be the adult in this, surely some approved changes can happen???

TBJ,

Totally agree that both are as bad as each other but IMO I think its the Union, as the governing body should be the ones to show the way forward and if thats means giving a bit to the benefit of the rest then so be it.

I'm still of the opinion that something (not sure what) will be sorted ou and Warburton and anyone else who goes down the CC route will play for the Regions, both have too much to lose not to come to an agreement.

Like has been mentioned there are just to many 'what ifs' if nothing is sorted.

Would you please just sort your civil war out. It's bad for the Pro 12 and the rest of European rugby.

justified sinner wrote:Would you please just sort your civil war out. It's bad for the Pro 12 and the rest of European rugby.

It wouldn't be Welsh rugby if there wasn't some sort of turmoil ruining the game, no matter whether we are doing good or bad on the pitch the Clubs/Regions and the Union can and do easily cack it all up with political in-fighting.

I agree Bedford I just dont think they will. There it will need to be the RRW that makes the move.
Im not that fussed on Moffet either but I think a shake up at the WRU is no bad thing either. I have to take my hat off to Lewis for what he's done for the unions finances, but I believe he has taken backwards regarding development of grass routes rugby and wants too much control over the regions.

For me Moffett isn't any better or worse than the current bunch of idiots and like you said maybe we need another shake up it will just be like out of frying pan into the fire.

justified sinner wrote:Would you please just sort your civil war out. It's bad for the Pro 12 and the rest of European rugby.

The problem matey is that Rugby in Wales is not the only problem.  Now that the Heineken Cup/Euro Rugby mess is over for now, we can clearly see that was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg, a pimple on the bum of Rugby, a symptom of the real structural issues which are the issues no one wanted to deal with.  In simpler terms, the circle-jerk which diverted the parochial, the emotional and defenders of the status quo ante from facing reality.  Making it us against them instead of all of us doing it together, growing Rugby.  Wales must get fixed, no doubt, then we need a real pan-Europe strategy followed by a global plan for our sport.  The biggest problem is whether there are enough, or even any, big picture thinkers and do-ers involved.  And then we have poor Warburton hoping he isn't isolated as the only centrally contracted player in Wales.  PDB.

bedfordwelsh wrote:

justified sinner wrote:Would you please just sort your civil war out. It's bad for the Pro 12 and the rest of European rugby.

It wouldn't be Welsh rugby if there wasn't some sort of turmoil ruining the game, no matter whether we are doing good or bad on the pitch the Clubs/Regions and the Union can and do easily cack it all up with political in-fighting.

Absolutely and i'd be hard pressed to remember a season when there wasn't something kicking off or about to.

TBJ9625 wrote:I agree Bedford I just dont think they will. There it will need to be the RRW that makes the move.
Im not that fussed on Moffet either but I think a shake up at the WRU is no bad thing either. I have to take my hat off to Lewis for what he's done for the unions finances, but I believe he has taken backwards regarding development of grass routes rugby and wants too much control over the regions.

Like increasing ticket prices and the 4th AI money spinner? There are humorous references to these on the IRWTV link I posted yesterday somewhere on here.
And I disagree. I reckon it will be the WRU who will give ground. I believe they've already offered more cash and central contracts/dual contracts is the sticking point plus probably a few other bits and pieces.

bedfordwelsh wrote:For me Moffett isn't any better or worse than the current bunch of idiots and like you said maybe we need another shake up it will just be like out of frying pan into the fire.

Moffett at least has a plan and nobody else offered anything. The WRU wanted to carry on as we are.
Also the regions have proved they can work with him. They simply cannot work with Roger. He has to go.

doctornickolas wrote:Well come 1 July he may well be the only professional player in Wales.

The regions will quickly crumble without a league to play in next year.

Then he could be right , we will see many more central contracts.

Can someone answer me 1 question. Say they don't come to a deal and the 'regions' (I use that term loosely) don't appear in the PRO 12 then how do they qualify for the RCC?? Can they still play in it? If they weren't part of the WRU any more then out of which countries allocation would they come? If the WRU create 4 teams for the Rabo, then surely they would qualify for the RCC ? Still confused on lots of this.

Ok more than 1 question I know.

They qualify for the RCC by virtue of being signatories to it. If Roger messes about with the whole of European Rugby by not allowing the regions to enter the Pro 12, thus making a farce of the competition that has taken so long to reach a compromise on, what do you think the upshot will be?

The little sh1te is toast.

Stone Motif wrote:

doctornickolas wrote:Well come 1 July he may well be the only professional player in Wales.

The regions will quickly crumble without a league to play in next year.

Then he could be right , we will see many more central contracts.

Can someone answer me 1 question. Say they don't come to a deal and the 'regions' (I use that term loosely) don't appear in the PRO 12 then how do they qualify for the RCC?? Can they still play in it? If they weren't part of the WRU any more then out of which countries allocation would they come? If the WRU create 4 teams for the Rabo, then surely they would qualify for the RCC ? Still confused on lots of this.

Ok more than 1 question I know.

They qualify for the RCC by virtue of being signatories to it.  If Roger messes about with the whole of European Rugby by not allowing the regions to enter the Pro 12, thus making a farce of the competition that has taken so long to reach a compromise on, what do you think the upshot will be?

The little sh1te is toast.

Thats just it though aren't the Regions there under the WRU umbrella so couldn't the Union put whoever they wanted into the competition?

TBJ9625 wrote:This crap has been going on for far too long. Im quickly coming to the view point that both sides are as bad as each other. Both stubborn and unwilling to compromise. Somebody has to give first, and with the WRU holding the trump card it has to be the regions. If one side can be the adult in this, surely some approved changes can happen???

Aye, since 2008 I reckon when the WRU showed their contempt for the regions. In that respect nothing has changed. Also it's very difficult, nay impossible, to come to a compromise if one side flatly refuses to discuss the issues that matter.

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Stone Motif wrote:

doctornickolas wrote:Well come 1 July he may well be the only professional player in Wales.

The regions will quickly crumble without a league to play in next year.

Then he could be right , we will see many more central contracts.

Can someone answer me 1 question. Say they don't come to a deal and the 'regions' (I use that term loosely) don't appear in the PRO 12 then how do they qualify for the RCC?? Can they still play in it? If they weren't part of the WRU any more then out of which countries allocation would they come? If the WRU create 4 teams for the Rabo, then surely they would qualify for the RCC ? Still confused on lots of this.

Ok more than 1 question I know.

They qualify for the RCC by virtue of being signatories to it.  If Roger messes about with the whole of European Rugby by not allowing the regions to enter the Pro 12, thus making a farce of the competition that has taken so long to reach a compromise on, what do you think the upshot will be?

The little sh1te is toast.

Thats just it though aren't the Regions there under the WRU umbrella so couldn't the Union put whoever they wanted into the competition?

"The regions will next week resume talks with the WRU about the participation agreement, which has been retitled as a service agreement. They are in a far stronger position than they were a few months ago: as one of the signatories to the Champions Cup, the WRU cannot threaten to field new teams in Europe."

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/mar/27/rugby-union-european-cup-deal-finally-agreed

On the face of it Warburton has been very foolish. He is Wales captain and has broken ranks with his team mates and their employers. Cardiff Blues are on record saying that they tried to keep Warburton signed to them, and that they will support the other regions in their stance not to play centrally contracted players. I cannot see this ending well, perhaps Warburton can be sold off the France by the WRU, but it will still leave a sour taste.

Where else would an UNION, use their members money to poach their staff and most important assets?

Hopefully Moffat will rock the boat sufficiently for Roger the dodger and his partner in crime Pickering to fall on their swords. I see this as the only way any compromises which will restore unity to the professional game can be made.

I think some people are mixing to up two things.  The Regions qualify for competitions run by the ERCC by being signaturies of it.  The Pro12 is simply used to determine which tier they're in, not whether they're in it at all. So if the Pro12 goes (for the Regions) then a decision would have to be made to determine how their tier is set. Although the WRU would be obliged to put Welsh teams in the Pro12, these teams wouldn't be able to qualify for Europe, regardless of where they finish.

EDIT: a LOT of speculation as it would depend on the exact working of the contracts.

Cardiff Dave wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Stone Motif wrote:

doctornickolas wrote:Well come 1 July he may well be the only professional player in Wales.

The regions will quickly crumble without a league to play in next year.

Then he could be right , we will see many more central contracts.

Can someone answer me 1 question. Say they don't come to a deal and the 'regions' (I use that term loosely) don't appear in the PRO 12 then how do they qualify for the RCC?? Can they still play in it? If they weren't part of the WRU any more then out of which countries allocation would they come? If the WRU create 4 teams for the Rabo, then surely they would qualify for the RCC ? Still confused on lots of this.

Ok more than 1 question I know.

They qualify for the RCC by virtue of being signatories to it.  If Roger messes about with the whole of European Rugby by not allowing the regions to enter the Pro 12, thus making a farce of the competition that has taken so long to reach a compromise on, what do you think the upshot will be?

The little sh1te is toast.

Thats just it though aren't the Regions there under the WRU umbrella so couldn't the Union put whoever they wanted into the competition?

"The regions will next week resume talks with the WRU about the participation agreement, which has been retitled as a service agreement. They are in a far stronger position than they were a few months ago: as one of the signatories to the Champions Cup, the WRU cannot threaten to field new teams in Europe."

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/mar/27/rugby-union-european-cup-deal-finally-agreed

That's all well and good but:

If the Regions weren't say playing in the Pro12 where would they play?
If the WRU pulled all funding where would finances come from?
If the Regions played without backing of the Union how would they stand on insurance?

This is just again a small selection of the numerous amount of questions that would have to be answered if they don't come to an agreement.

There will be an agreement. After the Euro Rugby fiasco and embarrassment, there is no more tolerance for drama and disruption to the business. There will simply be too much pressure applied to allow this business to fail. If I had to predict, there will be a little more drama if for no other reasons that we have drama queens involved. But resolution will come and things will settle down.

SW is privileged to be the only current centrally contracted player in Welsh rugby because his attempts to coerce his colleagues to sign failed.

I don't want him at the blues, it's a slap in the face for the guy who is there every week playing for the shirt, Josh Navidi. JN will start at 7 for the blues and continue to grow as a player only for SW to swoop in for HEC and welsh derby games for 60 minutes because the union want him fit for Wales games? No thanks, i hope the regions stick to their guns and flat out refuse central contracts until the proper funding issues are sorted.

I said at the time that this was the dumbest move SW had ever made. Lots anti-region types were busy gloating, but couldn't see how divisive his signing was, especially when AWJ tuned down a central contract the same week. SW is never going to be the captain of a successful welsh team. He is isolated, and cannot be a leader having made this step. Wales with SW as captain will not amount to much. Once u lose the dressing room, it's gone forever.

PDB

Lost the dressing room - are the players refusing to play with Sam now Quins? Who has declared they are not going to tour SA because Sam has taken a central contract?

Do u even understand what lost the dressing room means?

quinsforever wrote:I said at the time that this was the dumbest move SW had ever made. Lots anti-region types were busy gloating, but couldn't see how divisive his signing was, especially when AWJ tuned down a central contract the same week. SW is never going to be the captain of a successful welsh team. He is isolated, and cannot be a leader having made this step. Wales with SW as captain will not amount to much. Once u lose the dressing room, it's gone forever.

PDB

it's almost sad.  Warburton allowed himself to be used as a tool in a bureaucratic struggle and power play fought by others.  Hard to know exactly how he was advised or by whom, but this was clearly a terrible mis-step.  

He did not understand one of the basic rules about tribal in-fighting:  Mind your own hind quarters at all times.  AWJ has emerged as appearing to be more of a leader than Warburton.  This is unfortunate for Warburton because as a player I respect him highly.

Either an agreement will be reached, including playing CC players at the regions...or no agreement will be reached. If that happens there will be bigger things to worry about than this.

Yep totally agree Hammer. Having put SW on a central contract, thats one thing they wont budge on. Not sure this tug of war will be over by June 30th

Yep totally agree Hammer. Having put SW on a central contract, thats one thing they wont budge on. Not sure this tug of war will be over by June 30th

quinsforever wrote:Do u even understand what lost the dressing room means?

Yes. And taking a contract from the the WRU is no worse than North being flogged off to Northampton, Roberts, Phillips & Co. in Racing, Davies or Halfpenny selling their soul to the highest bidder in France.

How many existing international players have signed up with their regions?

I still wonder what other offers he had and was this the best for him financially. He gets injured a lot so going to France would have wrecked his body even further, with all the injuries he does get its a short career so maybe he took the best offer

Players who went overseas opted out of the union vs region battle. Only Warbs explicitly took the side of the union. How can he command the loyalty of anyone else who has to earn their club and country spot. Warbs is guaranteed a country one, and guaranteed not to have a regional one as things stand.

He picked sides. That is something a player, especially a young captain, should not do.

I don't think he will be on his own for much longer on the central contract front. I would think Adam will because i doubt he will move away from Wales and i don't think any of the regions can afford him anyway.

quinsforever wrote:Players who went overseas opted out of the union vs region battle. Only Warbs explicitly took the side of the union. How can he command the loyalty of anyone else who has to earn their club and country spot. Warbs is guaranteed a country one, and guaranteed not to have a regional one as things stand.

He picked sides. That is something a player, especially a young captain, should not do.

The Welsh players who might resent SW for signing up to a central contract should be more embarrassed for themselves because they have let their clubs down badly this season.

I doubt very much if Warburton is guaranteed a spot. It certainly doesn't work like that in the Irish system.

Jhamer25 wrote:I don't think he will be on his own for much longer on the central contract front. I would think Adam will because i doubt he will move away from Wales and i don't think any of the regions can afford him anyway.

Absolutely. All the players are looking out for themselves and what suits them and their families. And more power to them.

Sin é wrote:

quinsforever wrote:Do u even understand what lost the dressing room means?

Yes. And taking a contract from the the WRU is no worse than North being flogged off to Northampton, Roberts, Phillips & Co. in Racing, Davies or Halfpenny selling their soul to the highest bidder in France.

How many existing international players have signed up with their regions?

Warburton and North are both victims/pawns of the union/region battle. North was sold due to his lack of regional game time, wage demands etc. He was used as an example to the union that the regions can survive without the international players, but tg 4th AI will not. The the union out bid the Blues to sign Sam in a move to show their wallets are bigger than the regions.

But Sam is in a worse position as he has nowhere to go week in week out, where as George can still play for Wales. As for Foxy and co. they just jumped ship before it sank. No dishonour in that, especially as thinks don't look like getting sorted any time soon.

Ok so lets say a deal isn't struck (sure one will be) and the Regions refuse to play Sam and any other players who take a CC.

Surely the Union will find them somewhere to play even if they are loaned out to an English club at no cost to them because the Union are paying his/their wages.

Maybe!

But it is a ridiculous situation to be in.

Scrumpy,

Think most agree with you but well it wouldn't be Welsh rugby without a bit of turmoil.

Bedford, not sure they would. Couldn't see PRL allowing it, or the Irish provinces etc.

But looks like Anscome is gonna be cc, Adam Jones is still unattached next season, and Ian Evans deal with Toulon is rumoured to be off too, so maybe there is shuffle room. 4 cc players, four regions?

Can't see the PRL agreeing. How would it work with salary cap, etc? If not deal happens then the WRU will have to put new teams in the pro12, SW can play for one of them.

They can put new teams in the Pro12 but not the European cups, as the regions are signatories.

So? The Regions would have 6 games, the WRU teams would have 22 games.

Also, if the regions don't agree to play centrally contracted players I imagine they will rip up SW contract (with his agreement) and he'd resign for Blues (or somewhere else)

The WRU couldn't find 4 extra teams to put in there anyway. The Irish and Scottish Unions wouldn't be too happy about it.

They could tear up the contract, but SW should have just signed for the blues originally. He just wants more money and to play less games, absolute mercenary