France’s professional leagues continue to attract a mind-boggling array of talent from around the world. England’s Aviva Premiership has signed a new multi-million pound broadcast deal that will take it on to a new financial plane. What of our own Guinness Pro12? This season the league has a new sponsor and for the first time a set piece final. What other steps could make it better? Here’s a few suggestions to think about:
1) Say ciao to the Italians
Best to get the toughest one out of the way first. Inviting the Italian clubs into the Celtic set up was the right thing to do. Enterprising – laudable even. At one stage, a couple of years back, it looked like Treviso might finally break through and become serious contenders. They didn’t and what’s happened since then has been thoroughly depressing. The Italian sides are a mess. The performances have been poor but the lack of unity between clubs and unions or a discernible plan to turn things round is the main concern. High profile players continue to take their talents elsewhere, there’s no recognisable growth in the fan base and there appears to be little appetite for addressing these issues among Italian rugby’s leadership. Is the Pro12 really so strong that it can afford to carry the Italian sides in perpetuity? No. Sorry – and I genuinely am sorry – but the Italians need to go.
2) London calling
Losing the Italians cuts the league from 12 to 10. All the indications from England point towards the Aviva Premiership becoming, if not a closed shop, an increasingly exclusive private members’ club. Why not invite London Scottish and London Welsh to join the Pro12? The English game has treated London Welsh shabbily, Scottish rugby is crying out for a third team to give players a platform and the development costs of including the Exiles would be a fraction of those required to start a new franchise. London as a market has huge potential for Pro12, giving the Irish, Welsh and Scottish diaspora a chance to see their teams at least once a season and making it easier for the Celtic unions to identify and develop young English-based talent. Neither side would let themselves down on the pitch and the other franchises could probably learn a thing or two about club ethos and values along the way. What’s not to like?
3) Daffodil diplomacy
It is a sad but inarguable fact that, in fairy tale of Welsh rugby, the Pro12 has been cast as the wicked stepmother. Many (most?) supporters look east to England and hanker for a return to the halcyon days of fixtures with the likes of Bath, Leicester, Northampton et al. If you were Welsh, you probably would too. Pro12 rugby is seen by many in the Principality as a second prize and a distant one at that. But this is no time for sulking. Everyone needs to work hard to build the Pro12 in Wales. The entry of London Welsh would be a start, a gesture towards the ‘traditional’ fixtures the fans crave. When the Scots and Irish teams travel to Wales they need to take their full squads, always. Some sponsor-backed measures to help supporters travel to away games to improve atmosphere at the grounds would help forge friendly rivalries. Irish and Scottish rugby needs to accept that we need the Welsh perhaps even more than they need us.
4) Smash the unions
The pervading influence of the WRU, IRFU and SRU on Pro12 matters is a comfort and a noose. The Aviva bosses may be brash but most of them are hugely effective champions for their clubs. In Scotland, in particular, the relationship between Murrayfield and Scotstoun and Murrayfield and, erm, Murrayfield, is far too close. Meanwhile, the relationship between union and districts in Wales appears downright corrosive. There’s a better balance in Ireland but some provinces – Munster I’m looking at you here – are punching nowhere near their weight commercially at present. Time to loosen the central grip and let the offspring stand on their own two feet. The people deciding operational matters should be representatives of districts, provinces and clubs, not unions. By all means set up a non-executive board of union placeholders to provide oversight but let the people at the sharp end run the business.
5) A home of our own
At the moment Pro12 rugby shares its offices in Dublin with the Six Nations and the British and Irish Lions. Staff work across all three bodies. The IRFU’s HQ is round the corner. Board members are appointed by the unions. It’s all just a bit too cosy. The English and French league models have their flaws but our league would benefit from a bit more distance from the rugby establishment. Some distance from the blazers would organically lead to more original thinking and a greater sense of independence among the Pro12 executives. Cardiff would be a good base, bearing in mind we’re trying to make the Welsh like us.
6) Let the kids play
The Pro12 chiefs need to ensure potential is nurtured with scrupulous care if the league’s long-term future is to be secure. The most effective way of developing and blooding young talent is for youth players to be reared through the professional ranks. An under-20 Pro12 league, running parallel to the senior league, should be a stated aim. I’m not blind to the cost or logistical implications of this but the sooner we can get our best youngsters playing in a more competitive environment, the better.
7) Lose the cringe
Pro12 rugby isn’t perfect but it isn’t awful either. It’s a different brand of rugby to the English and French domestic game, with less focus on the set piece, but all the better for that. Time to stop cringing about what we’ve got and celebrate it. Glasgow’s recent draw with Leinster is a prime example of the entertainment that can be had.
8) Respect the fans
A Pro12 play-off final at a neutral venue isn’t a bad idea, per se. The way this year’s event was announced was a thundering disaster – a story leaked to the local paper in Belfast followed up by a brief announcement on the Pro12 website and little information about ticketing. The fans deserve better.
9) The justice league
An unhealthy amount of time is spent debating the merits of individual Pro12 referees. Having spoken to fans of sides in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, however, the consensus view is that Pro12 refereeing standards are poor and the current set up, where each union provides a certain number of referees, is unsatisfactory. The most effective way to improve standards would be to end the current system of each union providing a quota of referees and touch judges and creating an elite pool irrespective of national origin. The elite refs could start in the under 20 league and work their way up. Referees would be sent up to the international panel via the Pro12 rather than their individual union. And would it really be so different? Two of Scotland’s three Pro12 referees are Irish!
10) Longer season
In round 16 of this year’s Pro12, six of the seven top teams in the league played each other. They shouldn’t have. Each side was so riven by call-offs that it rendered the whole thing farcical. Leinster vs Ospreys should have been a thunderous clash in front of a big Liberty crowed. Instead it was a niggly, stop start non-event with both sides shorn of key players. Glasgow barely got a team out against Munster, who were under strength too. Ulster and Scarlets did a little better and – surprise , surprise – produced the best game. Why should fans take the competition seriously if the organisers don’t? The season should be extended a week on either side to reduce the number of games played during the six nations, in particular.
11) Straight Six
The sides which finish in positions one to six in the Pro12 should qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup. Where they’re from is irrelevant. The new ERC Cup is tougher, meaner and leaner than before. No room for Pro12 passengers or token gestures. If your team doesn’t make it then they need to be better.
12) Anyone for Currie?
I’d love to see the Pro12 champs take on the Currie Cup winners at the start of our season/end of theirs. It’d be fun and raise the Pro12’s profile. Okay, this one’s a long shot. I’ll give you that.