Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Welsh Government briefing delivers Six Nations body blow to WRU

By PA
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Wales still face the prospect of playing their home matches in the Six Nations behind closed doors after First Minister Mark Drakeford announced current restrictions must remain in place. Uncertainty continues to hover over the viability of fans attending the clash with Scotland at the Principality Stadium on February 12, while France and Italy also visit Cardiff in March.

ADVERTISEMENT

Only crowds of 50 are allowed to attend outdoor events as the omicron variant of Covid continues to spread and Drakeford insisted there will be no lifting of safety measures for at least another two weeks. “We have to see the tide turn on the Omicron wave. We have to manage our way through the very difficult weeks that follow while numbers are still rising,” Drakeford told a Welsh Government briefing.

“There are ways in which we have learned over the pandemic to make major events organised in safer ways. It’s always been the case that the risks in major events are less at the event itself, particularly when those events are well run as certainly the autumn internationals were.

Video Spacer

England’s Lewis Ludlam guests on RugbyPass Offload

Video Spacer

England’s Lewis Ludlam guests on RugbyPass Offload

“It is how people travel to the stadium, it is how people gather around the stadium, it is how people behave. Not at the game, but around the game. So there are further measures that could be adopted that would help to mitigate those risks.

“Of course, we would all far prefer to be in a position where the Six Nations could go ahead with people watching the game here in Wales. The issue that is under the microscope is whether we can do that safely. Whether the number of people falling ill with the virus is so high that adding further to that risk simply would not be a responsible thing to do.

“I know it’s really difficult when you’re organising a major event and you’re under the pressure of time, but we won’t know that for the next couple of weeks. But we will be watching that very carefully and as I said, as soon as we can make a decision, we will make a decision. But the decision will be made on the grounds of public safety and public health safety. In the end, that has to be the top consideration for the Government.”

The Welsh Rugby Union is exploring the option of staging the Wales home games in England in a bid to generate an income from the Six Nations should the shut-out of meaningful crowds continue. The integrity of the tournament is threatened with significant restrictions in place in Scotland, Ireland and France, while England and Italy are able to host capacity crowds in one of the sport’s most partisan events.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I make no criticism of the WRU for exploring all the options that are available to them,” Drakeford said. “They are a business and as a responsible business, it seems to me that they are bound to look at all the different possibilities that are there in front of them.

“Whether they will choose to go ahead and play games elsewhere with the undoubted risks that would bring, were we to be still in the eye of the storm of coronavirus, I think is a very debatable question. But whether I have any problem with them looking at the options that they have available to them, no I don’t.”

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

B
BeamMeUp 3 hours ago
The Springboks have something you don't have

A few comments. Firstly, I am a Bok fan and it's been a golden period for us. I hope my fellow Bok fans appreciate this time and know that it cannot last forever, so soak it all in!


The other thing to mention (and this is targeted at Welsh, English and even Aussie supporters who might be feeling somewhat dejected) is that it's easy to forget that just before Rassie Erasmus took over in 2018, the Boks were ranked 7th in the world and I had given up hope we'd ever be world beaters again.


Sport is a fickle thing and Rassie and his team have managed to get right whatever little things it takes to make a mediocre team great. I initially worried his methods might be short-lived (how many times can you raise a person's commitment by talking about his family and his love of his country as a motivator), but he seems to have found a way. After winning in 2019 on what was a very simple game plan, he has taken things up ever year - amazing work which has to be applauded! (Dankie Rassie! Ons wardeer wat jy vir die ondersteuners en die land doen!) (Google translate if you don't understand Afrikaans! 😁)


I don't think people outside South Africa fully comprehend the enormity of the impact seeing black and white, English, Afrikaans and Xhosa and all the other hues playing together does for the country's sense of unity. It's pure joy and happiness.


This autumn tour has been a bit frustrating in that the Boks have won, but never all that convincingly. On the one hand, I'd like to have seen more decisive victories, BUT what Rassie has done is expose a huge number of players to test rugby, whilst also diversifying the way the Boks play (Tony Brown's influence).


This change of both style and personnel has resulted in a lack of cohesion at times and we've lost some of the control, whereas had we been playing our more traditional style, that wouldn't happen. This is partially attributable to the fact that you cannot play Tony Brown's expansive game whilst also having 3 players available at every contact point to clear the defence off the ball. I have enjoyed seeing the Boks play a more exciting, less attritional game, which is a boring, albeit effective spectacle. So, I am happy to be patient, because the end justifies the means (and I trust Rassie!). Hopefully all these players we are blooding will give us incredible options for substitutions come next year's Rugby Championship and of course, the big prize in 2027.


Last point! The game of rugby has never been as exciting as it is now. Any of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Argentina, Scotland, England & Australia can beat one another. South Africa may be ranked #1, but I wouldn't bet my house in them beating France or New Zealand, and we saw Argentina beating both South Africa and New Zealand this year! That's wonderful for the game and makes the victories we do get all the sweeter. Each win is 100% earned. Long may it last!


Sorry for the long post! 🏉🌍

12 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Lamb to the slaughter? Italy aim to 'get stuck into' All Blacks Lamb to the slaughter? Italy aim to 'get stuck into' All Blacks
Search