By David Williams
Welsh rugby fans have been warned not to cling to “false hope” that the sport is about to return any time soon.
Football may be limbering up for its re-appearance on Wednesday night when the Premier League kicks-off again behind closed doors, but rugby is not on the same trajectory according to Pontypool after they took part in a video conference for clubs with the Welsh Rugby Union.
Pooler – who were dominating the Championship once more before the shutdown arrived in March with their league eventually cancelled – have given a frank and transparent update to their supporters which will cool any expectations for a quick resumption, even as many other professional sports start to stir.
Writing on the club’s website, Pooler chairman Ben Jeffreys has urged supporters to be realistic about when rugby might return and stressed they have no current plans to offer ticket packages for next season.
With the Guinness Pro 14 having only tentatively pencilled in an August return and the wider powers in the sport discussing major restructuring following the current shutdown, Jeffreys told fans: “To behave as though rugby will be resuming any time soon by making a raft of announcements would be irresponsible.
“I feel it is more important to be transparent with you at this stage, rather than offer false hope.
“Based on the information provided to us by the Welsh Rugby Union this evening, it is clear that Welsh club rugby will not be resuming for a prolonged period of time.
“It is also clear that when we initiate the process of returning to play, the way in which we operate will be very different to what we have become so accustomed to in recent years.
“Sadly, I fear we all need to be realistic in accepting that we will be faced with a ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future. There is clearly a long road ahead.”
Despite their fall from the Welsh Premier to the Championship, Pontypool have always maintained a sizeable and loyal following.
But with the start date for a rugby comeback still uncertain and the issue of crowds being allowed in yet to be resolved, the club are not keen to sell tickets.
They added: “Because of the current uncertainty as to when rugby can safely resume operations, we do not feel it would be appropriate to sell any form of ticketing packages for next season at this moment in time.
“We currently have no information regarding what our league structure will look like and whether any fixtures will need to be played behind closed doors, which makes formulating a fair pricing structure prohibitive at this stage.”
Hopes that a swift agreement on a new global season might allow other cards to fall into place lower down the food chain have been dashed.
The unions and club bodies that have been holding talks failed to reach any agreement on Monday night – other than to keep talking.
Clubs and the unions were unable to reach agreement over the completion of this season’s outstanding international matches in October, including the Six Nations.
Clubs in England and France have raised objections to World Rugby’s proposals to realign the global calendar, including moving the July window for international matches to October and pushing the start of the Six Nations back from February to March.
A statement released by World Rugby on Monday confirmed that the forum had enabled a “frank exchange” of views and that “in the absence of absence of full alignment” there would have to be further discussions.