Spreading the talent

[Sandydragon]

If we want the vast majority of our best players to be playing in Wales, then the clubs need to be able to field them in competitive matches as much as possible. Its not much incentive to lose a significant number of players when you have a number of crunch matches to play. Even with dual contracts, there is still the WQ quota and the disruption caused to the team.

The more I look at this the more Im convinced that we need to rip up the NH season and start again.

[Ross. S]

I wonder if an NFL style "draft" System would work? The WRU could run all the accademys, regions would pay towads them too, and every year they get to pick players. The regions would get picks inverse to their pro12 ranking so the weekest side gets a chance to pick the strongest players from that pool.

Before the "I want to play for my home town team/region" lot start, players don't seem to have an issue when French or English teams are waving cash at them, they're "professional" sports men then and need to follew the money because its a very short career.

[Tre]

I wonder if an NFL style "draft" System would work? The WRU could run all the accademys, regions would pay towads them too, and every year they get to pick players. The regions would get picks inverse to their pro12 ranking so the weekest side gets a chance to pick the strongest players from that pool.

Before the "I want to play for my home town team/region" lot start, players don't seem to have an issue when French or English teams are waving cash at them, they're "professional" sports men then and need to follew the money because its a very short career.

I don't know how it would work in reality, and given we're in a cross border league I think it probably only serves to punish success and eventually drags the better sides down to the level of the Dragons.

[Mikeyv]

Is that the Dragons that finished above Cardiff in the league and the european cup last season?

[Tre]

Is that the Dragons that finished above Cardiff in the league and the european cup last season?

That's them!

[Eugene Wrayburn]

If we want the vast majority of our best players to be playing in Wales, then the clubs need to be able to field them in competitive matches as much as possible. Its not much incentive to lose a significant number of players when you have a number of crunch matches to play. Even with dual contracts, there is still the WQ quota and the disruption caused to the team.

The more I look at this the more Im convinced that we need to rip up the NH season and start again.

There are no crunch matches in the Test periods. if you can't manage your squad and still get into the top 4 then you probably just arebn't very good. The history of the league suggetss that you want as many players of the highest quality as possible in order to win it and if you lose them for a few weeks then so be it.

By all means look at the structure of the NH season again, if you start by recognising that the only way to have less overlap is to have less rugby.