Wednesday 27 August 2014

Welsh rugby peace deal must trigger regional revival, says Dragons boss Lyn ...

Dragons boss Lyn Jones hopes Welsh rugby’s imminent peace deal will usher in a new period of success for the regions and see the return of our exiled stars.


It seems as though the protracted dispute between the WRU and RRW is finally close to being resolved, amid hopes that a new agreement will be signed this week.


After months of acrimony and disharmony, that would be a massive boost for the Welsh game just over a week away from the start of the new season.


Dragons director of rugby Jones hopes the new financial settlement will enable the regions to enjoy the same kind of success that the national side has in recent years.


Asked whether he felt the fractured relationship between the WRU and RRW will improve once the deal is done, he replied: “It can’t get worse, as worse means you’ll go bust. Things can only get better.


“The national side has done quite well while the regions have deteriorated rapidly. One feeds off the other.


“If the regions don’t start picking things up, then the national side will get hurt as well.


“I feel it’s important that out of this new agreement there are things that will help the regions be successful both in the Celtic competition and the European competition.”


Gallery: How the Dragons might line up next season




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Jones also hopes the peace deal will enable Welsh rugby to lure back some of its prize assets, with the likes of Jamie Roberts, George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies having all joined the exodus to France and England of late.


“Over the last couple of years, the lack of investment has led to the Welsh regions deteriorating and all the best players have got up and left,” said the former flanker.


“We need to get those boys back into Wales and understand that then we can look after them.”


He added: “We are a small nation and if we want to challenge for the World Cup, we have to be smarter than other nations.


“It’s about bringing our abilities together to create a vision and a plan and to then implement that. Sadly that hasn’t been there for the last five or six years.”


Jones acknowledges that, in the short term, the long drawn out civil war could well have an impact on Wales’ four professional teams in terms of early season displays.


“I have no doubt the lack of progress in agreeing will put the regional performances back some months,” he said.


“But what has been important is the players have just been doing what they are paid to do, which is train and play and we are looking forward to the start of the season now.”


As for how he has coped with all the uncertainty, Jones said: “If I took to heart exactly what has gone on, it would have stopped me from making signings.


“But I ignored what was going on, simply because I have been in the game a long time and I’ve seen it all happening before.”


Jones is hoping the dispute will finally be resolved this week and that he will then get to cast his eye over the details of the new six-year Rugby Services Agreement.


“I haven’t seen any details of the agreement, but all things being well I am hoping to be briefed in the next 48 hours to see what we will be facing,” he said.


“We don’t know what the detail is and we don’t know what is in front of us and as head coaches we are generally the people who deal with the fall-out of agreements and have to satisfy people’s ambitions.


“It’s a difficult job as you have to win competitions, but hang on, your job description is then to produce talent for Wales and then it’s more than that.


“You have a lot of people to satisfy in Wales and that can be testing.


“What’s important, above everything else as a coach, you are striving to improve the individual and as long as you are honest to that, you won’t go far wrong.”


Article source: https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-two-points-penalties-australian-championship-053111668--spt.html


Welsh rugby peace deal must trigger regional revival, says Dragons boss Lyn ...

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