Peace and Disharmony

Hurray! News is slowly filtering in about peace coming through from Wales. The Welsh Regions and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) are close to finalising their participation agreement for the foreseeable future, and with the Guinness Pro12 due to start in a week's time, I imagine that everyone will be breathing a sigh of relief. Some will say the accord has come too late, with some of Wales' biggest stars leaving for more stable opportunities in France and England over the last two years, but with the World Cup just over a year away, there's no better time than the present.
Details are still thin on what the agreement has come to, but the gist of the whispers are about contracts and playing times. Specifically, the introduction of duel registration between club and country, and the agreement to release the Welsh national players for tests outside of the IRB test window. The duel registration suggestion appears to be modelled after the agreement the Premiership holds with the Championship in England, where the parent club (e.g. Northampton or Saracens) loans the player to the other club (e.g. Mosley or Bedford) who then pay the salaries, with top ups from the parent. As a result, the parent club has some say over when the player plays. They cannot force the player into the match day squad, but they can withdraw the player to come back home to play for them instead. It works in England to strengthen players on the fringe of making the Premiership and develops their skills. Indeed, it's worked brilliantly for players like Marland Yarde and Mako Vunipola. The provision that seems to be written into the Welsh structure though can stop a player from playing at all for the club, even when the national team isn't playing. This has annoyed the regions in the past, hence the stubborn refusal to play any centrally contracted players and the reason Sam Warburton has not played for Cardiff during the pre-season friendlies. Would the Welsh be better to emulate the Irish structure which has worked fantastically well for the Provinces and the Irish Rugby Union over the professional era? For those who are unsure about what the Irish do, here's the basics.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) set down guidelines for each of the provinces, which changed in 2013. The provinces of Ulster, Leinster and Munster are allowed one player per playing position (total 15) that is not Irish qualified. The rest of their squads must be qualified to play for Ireland, or be potentially allowed to play for Ireland by being uncapped by any other nation. Further, any injury replacements  must be eligible to play for Ireland. This allows for the constant development of Irish talent in the provinces, particularly in key positions, like the front row, and means that players all have a chance of making the Irish national team. The most important aspect, though, is that all players in all provinces are centrally contracted to the IRFU. Now, as for why Connacht is exempt from the foreign player policy, my guess would be that historically, Connacht has been used as a breeding and blooding ground for Irish players who are then snapped up into the other three provinces. They therefore would need more positional cover and would need to look outside of Ireland to fill their squads. However, the structure for the Irish provinces and the Irish national side is hugely positive, and that is because the IRFU and the provinces work together, under a single umbrella marked "Irish Rugby."
If the Welsh Regions were ever able to work together with the WRU, they could have had a very similar structure to the Irish and therefore kept most of their recently emigrated players out of England and France. But sadly, they have been at loggerheads for so long now, any peace at all would be a huge relief. Perhaps the biggest restraint the Welsh have put on themselves is the salary cap. None of the other nations in the Pro12 have a salary cap, or at least one that is made public, and this, I think, is a reason why the central contracts annoyed the regions so much. They couldn't afford to keep their stars from leaving, and with the Union waving their cheque books around, but only targeting six players, it would have grated against anyone who is trying to run a business. Hopefully though, we should see something come of the year long spat, and we can finally put it all to rest.
Now, the disharmony. Reports have come out from various sources saying that the Premiership will play on during the World Cup in England next year if the Premiership clubs are not compensated for the time the clubs are shut during the tournament. Premiership Rugby have asked for £14 million from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), to be divided between the twelve clubs in the Premiership at £1.2 million each. The RFU have responded with a reported offer, as published in The Rugby Paper, of £6 million. Now, this has all come about because the IRB and the RFU did not consult with Premiership Rugby over the bid for the World Cup. Is it just me, or is this all a bit ridiculous?
The IRB guidelines state that no elite club rugby will be played during a World Cup, in a bid to make the World Cup itself the biggest rugby showcase being played. And damn right, it should be. The Saracen's chairman, Nigel Wray, has said that "There is no question that we would ever stop a young man playing for his country in a World Cup but what the RFU shouldn't do is take advantage of that fact." This is a good point, but it seems to be making things awkward for the players. Because whilst they're away on international duty, if summoned by their respective countries, the squads left behind are weakened. Nowadays, this isn't as much of a problem, as some squads are so rich in depth with academy players, they can support two teams. But if we look at Northampton as an example, and use last years Elite Playing Squads as a guideline, we will see that a squad of 42 players, academy included, at a minimum 13 of them will be called into their country's team, with at least four others on the injury shortlist. This would make the Premisership so much less of an inviting prospect whilst the World Cup is going on, with thousands of fans already booking their tickets for the big event. Three of the pitches regularly used in the Premiership are being used to host international games (Sandy Park, Kingsholm and Twickenham) and how will the fans feel if, whilst at the Stoop, for example, they can hear the roar of Twickenham with England playing against Australia or Wales?
There are three possible solutions, as I see it.

1. The RFU pays the Premiership what they want, there's some harmony, with undertones of annoyance, everyone gets on with what they're doing.
2. The RFU refuses to pay the compensation and the Premiership goes ahead. Audiences will be lower, and when the RFU comes to address the new agreement with the Premiership, nobody is particularly happy with the other party.
3. (And this is my suggestion) The RFU and the Premiership compromise. If the RFU are unwilling to pay the full amount, then the Premiership supports the compensation given by the RFU with the LV cup, which is played during the week. 

Now, from my point of view, I'd say option three is the best option. And I realise how it sounds, seeing as I've just thought of it, but bare with me. The LV cup is a great way of getting the younger players experienced at playing fully competitive rugby, and by playing it during the week, Monday to Thursday, there is a great opportunity for the RFU, Premiership Rugby, the WRU and Regional Rugby Wales to make some more money. The World Cup matches are being played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday. So why not offer the rugby mad fans of the world something they all want to watch? More rugby! People are flying into this small island nation to watch the greatest game on earth being played in its native land. They're going to places like Cardiff, Exeter, Gloucester, Leicester and London, places which are steeped in rugby history. Even Birmingham and Milton Keynes is only a short drive or train journey to Northampton or Barnet. These people are here for rugby. So give them rugby. Give them a taste of Premiership standard rugby, at a discounted price, and let them see some derbies. Ok, there may need to be some fixture adjustments, but if you could arrange to see a Bath v Gloucester game at Kingsholm, wouldn't you want to stay in Gloucester a couple more days?  Or a Northampton vs Leicester game at Welford Road or Franklins Gardens? We broadcast these fixtures across the world, and now we could use the fact that people from across the world are here, in England, and they want to watch rugby. They will feed into the local economy, support the clubs, perhaps even arrange buses to take them on a tour of London to see the four London clubs play at home. It can be done, and frankly, it should be. Then we can all come to the table in 2016 happy and ready to do some sort of deal.