How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

[ccfcbluebird]

So what do we think of this?

The battle for the heart of the nation.

How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

https://nation.cymru/opinion/out-of-...ed-by-the-faw/

[bobh]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

Good article, but I thought it finished too soon

[cyril evans awaydays]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

So what do we think of this?

The battle for the heart of the nation.

How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

https://nation.cymru/opinion/out-of-...ed-by-the-faw/

Wouldn't it be easier if you were more open about why most of your posts are nation.cymru articles? It's almost like you had some vested interest in the number of clicks!

[life on mars]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

I think it always has been , in term of participation and club football footy has always had the upper hand its great to see the Welsh side join the party .

My stepson attended both rugby and footy internationals this year , he is a rugby fan , he was struck by how better the whole experience was at the footy , his words were its was full of footy fans , unlike the Rugby event .

In my view Welsh Rugby has a slight snobbish approach to it driven by politicians , media , celebrity , business sponsors , booze and hospitality freebee 's , the hospitality brigade view footy fans thug lager lout .

They need to look at its local club rugby mechanisms as it suffers for low attendees , older fans , and is generating enough young interest and ironically has club house environments serving cheap booze can put some parents off ,.

its like there are Rugby sports , real club rugby and posher hospitality /event wugger event which speak volumes and explains a lot


Football is a far better fan game and more entertaining .

[JamesWales]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

It's a good article and I like that it starts by clarifying that he likes both sports - too often it adds to some perceived sporting divide instead of trying to bridge it

I dont really agree on a any political alignment within welsh football fans but I do sense a real coming together the likes of which simply didn't happen 10-15 years ago. It seems akin perhaps to Celtic it Rangers in how fans will unite over things and icons associated with the clubs that day to day don't affect them.

It's interesting to point out the fashion and music element. FAW and fan groups have done well on that and the WRU do feel behind the curve. Ironically it was the opposite about 10 years ago. Jonathan Ford seemed to achieve a lot

Right too about the enjoyment of the game. I did take my kids to Wales v Fiji for a fiver and it was great but generally the atmosphere is staid. They could introduce standing on a part of the lower tier tomorrow and transform it, but they don't.

Most of all though I think it's the simple winning combo of fair priced tickets and a winning team. Unfortunately, I can see Wales football playing before 15,000 again in a few years if the team underperforms

[Wales-Bales]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

An excellent and relevant article highlighting the good work done by the Welsh FA for the benefit of the fans. The Red Wall is truly a thing of beauty.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

There has always been a degree of complacency in Welsh Rugby as if it didn’t have to work to maintain the somewhat dubious claim that it was “the national sport of Wales”, it was just taken as a matter of fact.

I don’t pay anywhere near as much attention to Welsh rugby as I used to and one of the reasons for that is that the product is far more unattractive these days. Another word I used to associate with Welsh rugby was flair, there was a Welsh way of playing which cried out that wit and talent could overcome a bigger, physically stronger opponent and often it did.

Last weekend Italy scored what could once have been called a Welsh type try to beat us. It was in complete contrast to the clod hopping, muscle bound and predictable stuff we saw from the Welsh team that day (and I’m talking backs as well as forwards there). Flair is one of the last words to come to mind when I watch Wales play now and, although I acknowledge that Warren Garland did a good job, it applied when he was coach as well.

Rugby has an unattractive, and ridiculously expensive, product and it seems to me that people attend games now as a matter of habit - that’s in complete contrast to a football team which is great to watch as fans and team feed off each other. To be fair to Rob Page as well, Wales have played in a more attacking manner in big games lately - again in contrast to the rugby team.

Four days after the event, there’s still a sense of wonder about Bale’s free kick, a sense of wonder that you don’t get, or at least I don’t, with the rugby team. Okay, Bale is something of a freak and the time is quickly coming when he won’t be around any more, but, coming up behind him, are a lot of talented young/youngish attacking players who may not be in Bale’s class, but should make a reputation for being skilful and clever international footballers in their own right because they have the flair Welsh rugby lacks currently.

[Wales-Bales]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

Okay, Bale is something of a freak and the time is quickly coming when he won’t be around any more, but, coming up behind him, are a lot of talented young/youngish attacking players who may not be in Bale’s class, but should make a reputation for being skilful and clever international footballers in their own right because they have the flair Welsh rugby lacks currently.

Brennan Johnson is the closest thing we have to Bale, according to Rob Page.

[Rjk]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

Brennan Johnson is the closest thing we have to Bale, according to Rob Page.

we've got a group of talented young players, but the chances are none of them will be able to replicate the success of Bale or even Ramsey. when they retire there will undoubtedly be a period of getting used to life without them.

if any of them do make it to the very top of the game then great.

[Cleve van Leef]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

There has always been a degree of complacency in Welsh Rugby as if it didn’t have to work to maintain the somewhat dubious claim that it was “the national sport of Wales”, it was just taken as a matter of fact.

I don’t pay anywhere near as much attention to Welsh rugby as I used to and one of the reasons for that is that the product is far more unattractive these days. Another word I used to associate with Welsh rugby was flair, there was a Welsh way of playing which cried out that wit and talent could overcome a bigger, physically stronger opponent and often it did.

Last weekend Italy scored what could once have been called a Welsh type try to beat us. It was in complete contrast to the clod hopping, muscle bound and predictable stuff we saw from the Welsh team that day (and I’m talking backs as well as forwards there). Flair is one of the last words to come to mind when I watch Wales play now and, although I acknowledge that Warren Garland did a good job, it applied when he was coach as well.

Rugby has an unattractive, and ridiculously expensive, product and it seems to me that people attend games now as a matter of habit - that’s in complete contrast to a football team which is great to watch as fans and team feed off each other. To be fair to Rob Page as well, Wales have played in a more attacking manner in big games lately - again in contrast to the rugby team.

Four days after the event, there’s still a sense of wonder about Bale’s free kick, a sense of wonder that you don’t get, or at least I don’t, with the rugby team. Okay, Bale is something of a freak and the time is quickly coming when he won’t be around any more, but, coming up behind him, are a lot of talented young/youngish attacking players who may not be in Bale’s class, but should make a reputation for being skilful and clever international footballers in their own right because they have the flair Welsh rugby lacks currently.

Very well put TOBW :thumbup:

[Wales-Bales]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

we've got a group of talented young players, but the chances are none of them will be able to replicate the success of Bale or even Ramsey. when they retire there will undoubtedly be a period of getting used to life without them.

if any of them do make it to the very top of the game then great.

Yeah, but there will be more of them, and no defenders will want to see James, Johnson & Matondo running towards them at full pelt.

[Rjk]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

the pricing is a massive issue in the rugby, for me and 3 kids to go to the Austria game the other night it cost £45 all in.
for equivalent seats for a 6 nations game I guess I'd be looking at £250+

[Pearcey3]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

The WRU seem to be very badly run and out of touch. The ticket prices are excessive and putting people off. Everything seems stale and staid.
Meanwhile the FAW have listened to both players and supporters. They have avoided the mistake of cashing in on the team’s success by switching games to the Principality. They have kept ticket prices very reasonable and bought into the culture of the Red Wall. It’s been brilliant and this is without doubt a golden age for the national team.

[goats]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

Brennan Johnson is the closest thing we have to Bale, according to Rob Page.

Nico Williams looks decent too, I doubt any of them will get to the dizzy heights of Bale, but maybe we will have a 5 or 6 really good players as opposed to one or two superstars and a smattering of ok players

[City123]

Re: How football is teaching rugby lessons it urgently needs to learn

It's a good article and I like that it starts by clarifying that he likes both sports - too often it adds to some perceived sporting divide instead of trying to bridge it

I dont really agree on a any political alignment within welsh football fans but I do sense a real coming together the likes of which simply didn't happen 10-15 years ago. It seems akin perhaps to Celtic it Rangers in how fans will unite over things and icons associated with the clubs that day to day don't affect them.

It's interesting to point out the fashion and music element. FAW and fan groups have done well on that and the WRU do feel behind the curve. Ironically it was the opposite about 10 years ago. Jonathan Ford seemed to achieve a lot

Right too about the enjoyment of the game. I did take my kids to Wales v Fiji for a fiver and it was great but generally the atmosphere is staid. They could introduce standing on a part of the lower tier tomorrow and transform it, but they don't.

Most of all though I think it's the simple winning combo of fair priced tickets and a winning team. Unfortunately, I can see Wales football playing before 15,000 again in a few years if the team underperforms

Really? I think the political element is quite overt amongst the Welsh support, particularly the hardcore. Just look at the songs that get sung and the people associated with the team, there's a very strong strand of Welsh nationalism running throughout the fans at the moment and has been for a while

That isn't to say every fan of the national team is a raving nationalist, but I don't think you'd have to look far to find one in the Canton Stand