An American once famously claimed to be a time traveler from 2036. No one asked him if Welsh rugby had settled down by then – perhaps it should.
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But perhaps uncertainty is the only certainty in oval-ball sports west of the River Severn.
Currently, we can say that the Welsh Rugby Union is still intent on reducing the number of professional teams by one in the west, and to date neither Ospreys nor the Scarlets raised their hands to voluntarily leave the scene.
What happens next is the start of the season. Then the window for a final decision will start in December and end before the end of the campaign. A rugby summit is also planned for this term, where professional team management, other stakeholders and union figures will meet to “discuss the state of the game”, union director of rugby Dave Reddin said recently. Hopefully the way forward will become clearer.
Just to be safe, it’s probably advisable to fasten seat belts, and the odd bump or 10 is not unthinkable.
Whether this all ends happily depends entirely on who you ask, as happiness in Welsh rugby means different things to different people: there is no one-size-fits-all definition.
In the west, there is mystification as to why the team should leave there. “Historically, we’ve been the two best-performing regions on the pitch and we’ve supplied a lot of players to Wales. None of us can understand the thinking,” said an Ospreys supporter at their training base this summer. In the east there is at least a guarantee of safety.
The union, meanwhile, has cited a ‘brutal economy’ as justification for its cutback plans. “We have some really tough decisions to make,” Reddin told the BBC. “These are problems that we inherited and that have been going on for about 10 years.
“It’s a bit like having a beautiful old house that needs renovation, and it really needs renovation.” The construction analogy offered an open goal to the former Wales center Jonathan Davies, who quipped, “He’s talking about renovating a house. There’s nothing worse than having dodgy builders sometimes.”
Fun and games, although there is no guarantee that all sides will split at the end of the season.
Can we all agree that what Welsh rugby needs is to develop more revenue streams? Removing the toxicity would be a useful start – sponsors tend to think twice before stepping into a war zone or some approximation of it.
Roll for this weekend and the start of rugby. Each region will be hoping to give a decent account of itself in the coming months, and there are events to get excited about.
But as our decade-hopping friend from 2036 could tell you, achieving even a measure of harmony in the game in Wales is not easy.
Roll for this weekend and the start of rugby. Each region will be hoping to give a decent account of itself in the coming months, and there are events to get excited about.
The Ospreys are going back to the future by returning to St Helen’s, one of the grounds they used in the early days of their existence. The stadium by the sea won’t look like the dusty old base from 2005 either. The whole place is being renovated, with a new 3G pitch and ongoing work on new stands. When the multi-million pound project is complete, the stadium should be what the Ospreys have long needed.
Recruiting departments were kept very busy, trying to strengthen squads and cover potentially significant losses.
Sticking with the Ospreys, their 2026-27 squad comes with a golden ribbon tied around it in the form of Liam Wright, Marika Koroibeta, Lalakai Foketi and Lawson Creighton, four new Australian signings, with the quartet joining compatriot Ryan Smith, who made a significant impression last term. Wales international Tom Rogers and the talented Dan John are among the other arrivals.
This contributes to a significant injection of quality.
Veteran Ospreys watchers might feel it is reminiscent of some of the region’s early recruitment drives, including one in 2006 that saw Justin Marshall, Filo Tiatia, Lee Byrne and Nikki Walker make back-to-back regional appearances.
The Swansea owner was so delighted by the news of Marshall’s signing that he ran out of his pub waving his lunchtime copy of the South Wales Evening Post, the way he might have if he’d just read an asteroid was about to hit the Earth – or the Swans had signed prime-time Lionel Messi.
The Scarlets, too, have been busy reconfiguring their squad, welcoming a real boatload of new players to Llanelli.
That was then; this is now. The modern Ospreys needed to be recruited after seeing Jac Morgan, Dewis Lake, Jack Walsh, James Fender and Daniel Kasende head for pastures new, exits that could have caused no small degree of worry. But they have taken measures to counter those departures and look ahead with quiet optimism.
The Scarlets, too, have been busy reconfiguring their squad, welcoming a real boatload of new players to Llanelli. The signings include ex-Wales player Gareth Anscombe and two former Super Rugby players in back-rower Cullen Grace, who arrives from the Crusaders, and lock Tom Allen, who is being hurled from the Hurricanes.
Wales free agent Corey Domachowski, 6ft 9in second-row Alex Groves and qualified Wales full-back Isaac Murray-Macgregor are among the other interesting acquisitions.
Supporters will be hoping that Fletcher Anderson can build on a memorable first season in Llanelli, while Blair Murray, Macs Page, Eddie James, Ellis Mee, Sam Costelow and Archie Hughes make up the region’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it answer to the Red Arrows.
Among those who have walked out are whore Marnus van der Merwe, Alec Hepburn, Rogers, Max Douglas and Jarod Taylor, with Jake Ball retiring as a player.
Many are tipping Cardiff to once again lead the Welsh challenge at the URC, after last season’s sixth place finish. Scott Sio is their main signing, with the hugely experienced Wallaby brought in to bolster the fightback, while Jarrod Evans, Semisi Paea and Le Roux Malan will similarly contribute to the first-team effort.
The main challenge for the Dragons will be to fill the void left by Aaron Wainwright, who has worked minor miracles for them in recent seasons, but Terrell Peita has stepped in and Harrison Keddie is another option at No.8.
It’s hard to imagine a Welsh team playing for silverware, but if it’s possible – and for some it might be a challenge given the off-field concerns – we hope the ride at least proves an enjoyable one.
Catching scrum-half Era Enari from Hurricanes considered a coup and the ultra-consistent Aneurin Owen will be keen to build on last term’s strong form.
While the two Eastern sides have had relatively quiet summers on the recruiting front, continuity can sometimes prove just as valuable as any signing.
But let’s see.
It’s hard to imagine a Welsh team playing for silverware, but if it’s possible – and for some it might be a challenge given the off-field concerns – we hope the ride at least proves an enjoyable one.
Young players such as Carwyn Leggatt-Jones and 6ft 6in, 19 frame Will Evans could be seen at the Scarlets, while 6ft 4in full-back Lewis Edwards could start to break through at the Ospreys. Steff Emanuel is seen as a significant talent in the making at Cardiff, and Dragons fans increasingly see Che Hope as one of the brightest young scrum-halves.
All this and the sight of Steve Tandy trying to push a boulder up a hill with Wales.
His challenge will be to build a team that will be competitive at next year’s World Cup in Australia?
Perhaps we can agree that expectations need to be managed.
Interesting times for Welsh rugby? Some would prefer to call them hard times, or maybe uncertain times or even borderline scary times. But it will be eventful.
