Cracking the Code

I have often bemoaned the Welsh public for the failing to transition the passion they have for the international game to regional rugby. With the Six Nations on a fallow weekend, Ulster managed to attract a crowd in the region of 15,000 for their Pro 12 fixture against the Scarlets. Conversely the Blues only managed a crowd 1/3 of the size for Leinster's visit to the Arms park.  I accept that at regional level, attendance and more so a lack of, is a complex issue. There exist a hybrid of political, social and economic factors that dictate why rugby fans in Wales, don't, won't and in some cases can't, flock through the turnstiles.  Having never really had professional rugby on my door step, it is easy for me to criticise both the fans and the marketing departments for their collective inability to create a magnetic pull around regional rugby. A force that would not only drive attendance but also player retention. Undoubtedly money is a primary motivator for play...

A six nations Saturday is an entirely different experience at GMT+11. I awake at 3:18am, exactly 22 minutes before the alarm is due to sound. I would love to attribute the early get up to a Christmas morning like excitement. On reflection, I think it was more the noise of neighbours returning home from the boozer. I am sweating. I doubt anyone in Cardiff is sweating, excluding the players going through their pre match rigours, oh and Dai Baselayer. If you know Cardiff on match day, then you know Dai. Dai likes to showcase his guns in a pro fit Under Armour Wales jersey. However, Dai's no fool, it gets cold in the stadium, he knows that, he puts his Baselayer on. Unfortunately for Dai, his friends have a preference to spend a notable portion of their Mikey Rayer (all dayer) in the sub Saharan climate of Walkabout. Dai sweats, the baselayer is soon saturated, but he has a cold strongbow, he is happy. Meanwhile in Sydney, escalating personal sweat levels persuade me to roll out of...

Plenty has happened in the 10 or so months since Rory  Kockott triumphantly leathered the ball into the Twickenham night  to leave England just a score short of first title under Stuart Lancaster, whilst simultaneously giving Ireland their second title on the bounce.  With  the exception of Scotland,  it is unlikely that any   of the  RBS  six  will have walked into their spring camp buoyed by events of the autumn. Sure, for some the Rugby World Cup was a tale of the valiant effort and could have  beens . However, the lack of tangible return from the Northern Hemisphere's elite unions will put the 'brand' of rugby played in this season's Six Nations under the microscope.  So ,  what of the first weekend? First to  Murrayfield ,  where the spotlight was on the new English regime , w ho ,  despite the World Cup shortcomings ,  entered the tournament as favourites ;   possibly due to   pu...