Welsh International Success Disguises Domestic Unrest

by Dugald Skene

With the current Welsh push for grand slam glory firmly in the minds of most at the moment, it is easy to miss the seemingly constant headline coming from Welsh club rugby at the moment: “[Insert current international welsh player name here] agrees move to [insert wealthy French Top 14 team here] from next season”.

It has only been a week since I blogged about the latest move from Blues and first choice Wales prop Gethin Jenkins moving to Toulon.  This week it’s Ospreys and Wales hooker Huw Bennett who has agreed a move to Lyon from the beginning of next season.  These two add to an ever-growing list of current first choice and back up Welsh players who have agreed or already made moves to the lucrative French league.

·         Mike Phillips – Bayonne
·         Lee Byrne – Clermont Auvergne
·         James Hook – Perpignan
·         Aled Brew – Biarritz

There are also ongoing rumblings that Alun Wyn-Jones is wanted by Perpignan.  Richie Rees and Luke Charteris are also linked to French clubs and Alex Cuthbert has been linked to Premiership club Northampton.  Hooker Rhys Thomas has also agreed his move to Wasps.

Huw Bennett is the latest Welsh player to agree a

move away from the Regions

The principal reason for Jenkins switch is unsurprisingly financial and I think clearly avoidable.  In his statement, he declared that the Blues “…couldn't pay me while I was fulfilling international commitments and so I felt I had no choice”.  This sums up a long standing issue for the Welsh internationals who do not get paid by their clubs whilst on international duty. 

With the Autumn test series and the RBS 6 Nations meaning a player could be unavailable for their club for a minimum of 8 tests (more for a World Cup), clubs are only prepared to pay their players for the games that they can play.  It means that these top players are only earning around, say, 60% of what they could. Alternatively, the players are losing out on 40%.  The more lucrative French clubs are prepared to pay that difference while the players are away, meaning it’s a bit of a no-brainer for the players who are offered a move there.

The clubs in New Zealand hold a similar stance to those in Wales, but the national union pays the difference on the players’ contracts to keep them playing in New Zealand.  I understand and sympathise with the regions’ stance on ‘paying when you play’, but I think the WRU have to look at New Zealand’s example and fulfil the contracts of their players in order to keep them from moving on.

With the imposed salary cap coming into force from next season, I can only see the situation in Wales getting worse.  The cap will mean that there will be no room at all in players contracts for payment while they are called away for international duty.  The WRU has worked closely with the regions to agree the salary cap but should take the responsibility to pay its players while they are representing their country.

With such amazing young talent like Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jamie Roberts still plying their trade in Wales, every effort should be made to keep them there or risk the potential collapse of the national game.