By Steffan Thomas
Paul Turner believes a development Anglo-Welsh league would help solve the annual Welsh identity crisis on the eve of the Six Nations.
For the fourth year in succession, Welsh rugby will have no representatives in the last eight of the Heineken Champions and none in the last 16 this season following tournament changes introduced to streamline the number of matches during the pandemic.
In fact, in the past decade, only the Scarlets in 2018 and Cardiff Blues in 2012 have made the last eight of the main tournament and this year’s attempts in both the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup have been weaker than ever.
The Ospreys, Scarlets, Cardiff and Dragons have played 11 games and lost them all, a miserable backdrop to the gathering of the Wales squad members on Monday morning to begin the defence of their Six Nations trophy under Wayne Pivac.
But Turner – the former Wales outside-half, who has coached at the highest level in both Wales and England – reckons there needs to be the start of an alignment of the domestic structures of the two countries.
He wants the English Championship clubs and the semi-professional Welsh Premiership sides to form an Anglo-Welsh competition.
Now head coach of Ampthill, the Bedfordshire club who are currently enjoying their third season in the English Championship, Turner also spent six years at the Dragons.
Now this is what you call a defensive try
Ben Curry does remarkably well to turn the ball over and pop it up to Bevan Rodd who storms through the gap and finds an incredible pass to Aaron Reed who is pace personified
Great try from @SaleSharksRugby!#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/AmHt1ul5ZX
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 23, 2022
The 61-year-old is concerned at the lack of funding the Championship is getting and believes the ring fencing of the Gallagher Premiership has relegated England’s second tier from the professional game, and into the community game.
“I think an Anglo-Welsh competition would be beneficial for both the Championship clubs, and the Welsh Premiership clubs,” he says.
“It would obviously be a semi-professional competition. In England PRL run the Premiership, and the Championship is currently being thrown under the bus in a similar position to what the Premiership had in Wales.
“I think, initially, it would have to start as a cup competition to see if it’s feasible from a cost, and travel point of view.
“Up until last season we were getting £600k funding for each club and that’s now been cut to £150k. We’ve been thrown down into the community game.
“Ealing will go up this season, and then clubs from the National One will come into our league so the Championship will be the top of the community game, rather than the second tier of the professional game.
“What I’m getting at is if I had a piece of paper, I could write down a new formation of the league after next season it would involve an Anglo-Welsh league or cup combined with the semi-professional Welsh Premiership clubs.
“The other Championship clubs would be interested, but the problem is we don’t govern our own league. Our competitions are being run by the RFU, and even though I understand that Covid has hit everyone’s finances hard we still think the potential of an Anglo-Welsh league would work better.
“It’s just like forming a fantasy league, but the governing body says you can’t do it.”
Paul Turner Signs New Deal As Ampthill Get Ready For The Big Time
Back in his homeland, Turner believes the Premiership has been neglected by the Welsh Rugby Union.
He is of the belief it should be used more effectively as a development tool feeding up to the four professional sides.
“The Premiership in Wales should have been the jewel in the crown, but it should have been governed by the regions,” he says.
“Even going back to my time coaching with the Dragons in Wales, the Premiership has been neglected.
“Even at that time 10 years ago players were leaving to play their rugby in the English championship rather than play their club rugby in the Premiership.
“One good example would have been Cory Hill leaving Cardiff to play for Moseley, and it was a good stepping stone for him to go on and play for Wales.
“Unless the Premiership gets sorted out working hand in hand with the regions, then this is going to happen. At that time there was a lot of non-productive players still plying their trade in the Premiership.
.@ioanlloyd10 has the pic.twitter.com/87MJL2oWS4
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) January 23, 2022
“Up to 50 per cent of this current England squad for the Six Nations have come through either the Championship or the lower leagues.
“It’s nowhere near as efficient a system in Wales, and it needs to be a lot better.”
There are several Welsh players currently being sent out on loan by the regions to the English Championship clubs.
Turner’s Ampthill has benefitted from this with Ospreys scrum-half Harri Morgan currently in their side while previously they have had the likes of Tomi Lewis, Joe Roberts from the Scarlets, and Sam Costelow while he was at Leicester Tigers.
And Turner believes the Championship is a good development tool the Welsh regions are currently right to exploit, but he believes an emphasis must be put on making the Premiership better.
“The Championship is currently a higher standard than the Premiership, so I understand why they sent young Welsh players on loan here.
“They learn a lot of skills, get exposed to a good standard of rugby, while it also a very physical league to play in.
“A lot of Welsh players have successfully used the Championship as a stepping stone to achieve their ambitions back home in Wales.”
Finally Tom Roebuck gets his football try
After a couple of bites at the cherry the winger’s footwork pays off to touch down @SaleSharksRugby‘s sixth try of the match #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/WN2sMZg2BN
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 23, 2022
After the Scarlets had lost 52-21 at home to Bristol bears on Friday night, the Ospreys crashed to a seven-try 49-10 defeat to Sale on Sunday.
The Ospreys were outclassed from start to finish and also lost flanker Sam Cross to a serious knee injury at the end of the first half.
But head coach Toby Booth took heart from the try-scoring performance of the debutant Harri Deaves in the back row.
Booth, whose side were missing a number of key players, said: “Sam is in a brace and on crutches and had to have gas and air on the pitch, so it looks like a knee ligament injury.
“Harri Deaves had an impact on the game and that point of difference was encouraging for him and us. But we didn’t do enough well enough for long enough and ultimately the physics took its toll.”