Jiffy urges Welsh rugby bosses to ‘stop arguing, stop failing youngsters’ and execute radical new plan

Jonathan Davies has called on the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions to stop arguing with each other and focus instead on implementing a plan to get the game in Wales back on track.

The legendary fly-half claimed that the nation’s talented youngsters have been failed with a lack of resources being put into the age groups while the regions have been largely neglected, putting the future of Welsh rugby at risk.

Jiffy admitted that Wales’ success on the pitch in recent years had been “covering a lot of the cracks” which were forming off it, with the problems faced by the regions set to catch up with the men’s national side.

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His comments come after the WRU laid out the most radical shake-up of Welsh rugby since the birth of the regions in 2003, with interim WRU performance director Huw Bevan announcing a new 10-year development plan for players aged 14-24 to greatly enhance the quality available to the regions and the national team and provide, in short, “more players [and] better players”.

Appearing on the TWS Sport podcast, Jiffy called on rugby bosses to “work together” and produce a collective plan to improve the quality of coaching and player development as well as the union’s finances.

Quizzed on Welsh rugby’s turbulent year, the 60-year-old said: “It’s desperate at the moment. We’re not winning anything. I think because Wales have done so well over the last decade or so it’s covered a lot of cracks.

“The Welsh Rugby Union neglected the regions. and neglected the game in general. We’re not a very affluent region, we’re not rich in a rugby sense. But we need to work together and there needs to be a plan, a development plan, a coaching plan, a financial plan. If we get that in place then everyone knows what they’re doing.

“Rather than everyone arguing with each other and falling out, Wales and the four regions need to harmonise and look at it collectively. That’s the way forward.”

Stressing the need for a youth-focused plan, Jiffy added: “There’s a lot of young talent in Wales but unfortunately I think we’re failing them because of the lack of resources being put into the younger age groups and the regions. That eventually will catch up with the national side.

“You have to look at the regions and develop young players that come through, make sure the regions are strong and the age groups are strong. We need to get young kids playing and moving up with good coaching, that’s the future. We definitely have to look at that and have a pipeline and a strategy, a plan.”

With the focus of the conversation then turning to Wales’ chances at this year’s World Cup, Davies conceded that there would be “tough times” ahead for Warren Gatland’s side. However, he backed them to win two crunch games, against Fiji and Georgia, in the pool stages and make it through to the knockout stages. Wales will also face Australia and Portugal in Pool C.

“There are always peaks and troughs, you’ve got to enjoy the good times and work through the bad times,” he said. “There will be tough times over the next few years for Wales.

“But with Warren Gatland, they’ve got to focus on two games now, Fiji and Georgia. If they can win those two games they’ll be in the quarter-finals and they might play England then. This time they’re spending together 1687296429 is very important pre-World Cup.”

The changes announced to the men’s pathway earlier this month will see efforts made to maximise the potential of those aged 14-15, which with more than 5,000 teenagers falling into that bracket is one of the biggest cohorts of players in the country, and turn them into professional players of the future.

To do this, new WRU boss Bevan explained that this stage would be development-focused, with players then fed into the junior academy system, supported by the regions, as they approach the aged 16-18 phase. The national schools and colleges league is also set to be revamped, while from ages 18-24, players will be in senior academies and getting a full service from the regions.

Outlining the changes he was implementing, Bevan said: “At academy level a certain amount of money will be committed to player contracts at senior academy level and a certain amount of money will need to be committed to providing the services and staffing to support the high-quality programme they will be expected to deliver.”

Similar to Jiffy’s sentiments, he added: “My approach is to be collaborative, we are all in this together and we must all do better together. Ultimately, though, there is an expectation with the funds being provided to the regions – this has been done in conjunction with the PRB [Professional Rugby Board] – that we need to be better at maximising the resources. We need to provide a better service than we’ve previously been providing.”