The introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales occurred prior to the start of the 2003/04 rugby union season. By the end of January 2003, six of the nine clubs in the Welsh Premiership agreed on a plan that would see 4 regional franchise, with each club holding 50% of a franchise. North Wales was nominally part of the Scarlets' region at the introduction of regional rugby. | Live Rugby Features | ESPN Scrum", "Special report: The story of Welsh rugby attendances in the regional era", "Damning report questions survival of Welsh rugby regions - BBC Sport", "Heineken Cup row: Welsh regions opt for Premiership over their union | Sport", "Newsroom | Welsh Rugby Union | Official Website : WRU Statement", Snelling Sevens (Welsh seven-a-side tournament), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Introduction_of_regional_rugby_union_teams_in_Wales&oldid=953130674, Articles with dead external links from July 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Fed from all North Wales clubs (initially using players from the south), This page was last edited on 25 April 2020, at 21:07. The details were submitted to the Heineken Cup organisers, ERC, by the 2 April deadline, and the process of setting up companies to own the regions began. Supporters of Pontypridd RFC for example may find it difficult to get behind their regional side Cardiff Blues, who share colours, name and a stadium with traditional rivals Cardiff RFC. competitions. The introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales occurred prior to the start of the 2003/04 rugby union season. As a means to develop rugby in the area, the WRU established RGC 1404 in 2008 as a north Wales representative development side, based in Colwyn Bay. From this date, Wales was represented by a smaller number of regional teams in both the Celtic League and European Cup competitions, where previously the top club sides were entered into them. In a bid to get some of the non-Premier League clubs to support the changes, the Union announced that the Premier League would be expanded to 16 clubs under the new proposal, which would result in a number of teams being promoted from the division below. [1], In September 2002, the WRU and the clubs that made up the Premiership agreed to discuss and decide on a future structure for the game. Since the demise of the Celtic Warriors left the South Wales Valleys, traditionally a heartland of Rugby, without a representative team and that has led to a huge part of the country being left disenfranchised from top level rugby. [16] While average attendances at all the Welsh regions have steadily grown since 2003 and are generally higher than the Scottish and Italian teams with whom they share the Pro14, they are far behind those at the Irish teams and are generally lower than in the English Premiership and French Top 14. Originally consisting of five teams, there are currently four regional sides in the RaboDirect Pro12, after the Celtic Warriors were wound up in 2004. [4] The locations of the four regions, and the proposed feeder clubs were as follows: The proposal was rejected by the Premier League clubs, who had expected five 'superclubs' to be formed made up of partnerships between existing clubs. RGC 1404 have their own academy and have contributed players to the national U-20 side. More than 68,000 fans watched the four Welsh regions battle out Judgement Day IV at the Principality Stadium. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Rugby union in Wales is governed by the Welsh Rugby Union. Two plans had been drawn up with the partnerships arranged as follows: The clubs were unable to agree on which plan they wished to submit as their preferred alternative to the WRU's provincial system. His replacement, Steve Hansen, also had coaching experience with a regional franchise in New Zealand, the Canterbury Crusaders, and he also advocated the regional structure.
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