Playing best wings in the world excites me
'Dream come true'
Bordeaux are heavy favourites to progress against Ulster after Yannick Bru's side finished as top seeds after the pool stages. After a disappointing first half of the season, Ulster have now won their last three matches in the United Rugby Championship and Ward believes that momentum will help his side in France."We know going into this weekend that it's a huge ask and a huge task, but we want to give a good account of ourselves for 80 minutes," added Ward."We showed the last time we played them here, we were ahead after 60 or 65 minutes. If we can carry that through for 80 minutes, then we will be in a nice spot." After taking the long road to Ulster's first team through Ireland's rugby sevens programme, Ward, who is the son of former back row Andy, says playing for his home province "was always a dream"."For that now to be a reality is really special. "It was a dream come true getting my first cap, and now I've got a taste for it I really don't want it to end anytime soon."
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Wales Online
2 hours ago
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The nuclear button has been pressed but WRU must now get out of the URC
The nuclear button has been pressed but WRU must now get out of the URC The WRU has laid its cards on the table with a radical plan. Steffan Thomas looks at the potential holes in it Picture shows (from left) Richard Collier-Keywood, WRU chairman, Dave Reddin, WRU director of rugby and elite performance and Abi Tierney, WRU chief executive (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd) The Welsh Rugby Union hit the nuclear button yesterday when it put forward proposals to cut the number of professional teams in Wales by half. A formal consultation process will begin in September where the WRU will consult with a number of key stakeholders including the current four professional clubs - Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - along with supporters, present and former players and the Welsh Rugby Players' Association. The WRU believe radical change is needed to drag the game in Wales out of the doldrums along with providing the platform to win the Six Nations and become "genuine wild-card World Cup winners" in the future. But a reduction to two teams is the WRU's optimal option; this could change during the consultation process where there is likely to be significant kick-back. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. After a press conference which lasted well over an hour at the Principality Stadium yesterday and a document of more than 100 pages there remain questions which need answering. Steffan Thomas has been through the document to pick out the key points, issues and questions, as he sees it. What is the optimal solution? The optimal solution focuses on two clubs with a men's and women's team. Each squad will consist of 50 senior players and operate with playing budgets of £7.8m, while there will only be room for two non-Welsh qualified players in each side. It favours a heavily centralised system in line with the New Zealand model. In terms of the ownership model the WRU wants control of all rugby operations with the current investors taking charge of the commercial element of the club. In its own words the WRU wants "unified management and contracting of all elite players (professional men's and women's teams, national team and national academy) to align decisions on selection and talent development with players and clubs". The union insists "that PRA-style arrangements are a particularly challenging choice due to an inherent mismanagement between stakeholder objectives". In other words there is a significant lack of trust between the WRU and the four professional clubs with both parties often pulling in different directions. The WRU sees this as an opportunity to "optimise collaboration" if it can seize control of all rugby operations. Controversially it wants to build a new national campus and base the two professional clubs there. In terms of players development the main point put forward is the return of a national academy-style system and significant investment being poured into Super Rygbi Cymru. The idea behind the two-club scenario is to concentrate talent which in turn creates more competition for contracts and starting places. It's a case of elitism on steroids, with the aim of driving up standards on and off the field. Is there likely to be pushback during the consultation and what might change? Having spoken to numerous high-ranking sources within the game there will be significant pushback. Clearly clubs are going to be fighting for their lives and the first priority will be survival. On that note we do not yet know whether the WRU will simply scrap two teams or create two new entities with new branding. Under the proposed optimal system private investors are still required to pour in £17m, which amounts to £1m a year. But why would any private investor want to pour money into a club if the WRU have complete control over player contracting and development? The original PRA25 involved circa £125m worth of WRU funding over five years, while their new 'optimal solution' of two teams results in £94 worth of WRU payments. But where is the remaining £26m? That has not been accounted for but may well be kept back to invest into a new national campus, the SRC and academy system. There will also be significant investment into improving the women's game, while competition income will likely decrease with a reduction of teams, as might broadcasting income. They have also spent £6m on a roof walk, while the cost of assuming ownership of Cardiff also has to be taken into consideration There is £121m worth of investment with the three equally-funded club solutions and £116m if they go to three teams under a tiered funding model. Private investors are required to put in £25m if it's four teams, £21m with three unequally funded teams, £21m with three in a tiered funding model and £17m if they reduce to two. The academy budget per club is £800k in every mode. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free They are now also proposing a salary cap of £7.8m-£8m in the optimal solution which is only marginally better than where they are now. This is close to the Gallagher PREM cap but short of some of their competitors in the United Rugby Championship. It seems they are hoping to drive a harder bargain with Welsh talent with limited number of overseas player spots at clubs in England and France. This is likely to be enough to be significantly more competitive if talent is concentrated into two teams, although to really compete in the latter stages of the Champions Cup it will need to be higher. Another area where there will certainly be a significant amount of pushback is with the idea of having two teams training at the same national campus. The WRU's director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin was quick to stress both teams would have separate team rooms at the facility and different identities. But there are many within the game who believe this is anti-competitive, with professional sport all about different styles and cultures. Union-owned sides allow for far greater control from the national coach and potentially greater cohesion in terms of on-field partnerships and playing styles, especially if the majority of the national squad are concentrated into two teams. But it is arguably not the job of the WRU to own and control its teams, but rather to facilitate the growth of the game in Wales. Union-owned teams are arguably anti-sport and is one of the reasons the URC is an inferior competition to the French Top 14 and the Gallagher PREM. Can the new 'optimal structure' win over supporters? This remains to be seen but the reaction has not been a positive one on social media. Wales has a club-based history and it is a very tribal nation so the very idea of creating two new teams is not going to go down well. There were hints during the media interviews this week the WRU saw the SRC as the "heritage league" where tribalism can thrive and old rivalries can continue. While this has not been confirmed they may prefer to have an East and West team playing in the professional game with the current four clubs downgraded to SRC level. Reading between the lines they may view a fan supporting east Wales the same as a Cardiff fan now supporting Wales. If they can be successful and challenge for silverware then they will attract supporters. But this is highly unlikely to get buy-in from current supporters of the four professional sides, with traditional club branding more likely to attract fans. Welsh rugby's tradition is rooted firmly in the club game. What competition will they play in? A reduction to two teams playing in the URC would be a complete and utter disaster because it is a competition which Welsh fans have never truly bought into. The vast majority of Welsh fans would much prefer to face the likes of Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs and Leicester Tigers on a weekly basis. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here. It would be transformational for the Welsh game and a leading figure at a Welsh club told WalesOnline this week an Anglo-Welsh league would result in its commercial income rising by at least £3m. The WRU insist they are committed to the URC but if it really wants to deliver an 'optimal solution' it has to be in an Anglo-Welsh. Anything else is sub-optimal. According to numerous people within the upper echelons of the game PRL might expand to 12 or 14 teams but would only consider two Welsh teams. Article continues below It is worth noting teams who are owned by a governing body or has significant union control is unlikely to get accepted into an Anglo-Welsh league. Like it or not radical change is required to drag Welsh rugby out of the doldrums and unlike what some fans have been saying this is not a knee-jerk reaction. But it has to be the right change and the WRU's 'optimal solution' leaves a lot to be desired.
