Phillips was speaking at the launch of the Principality Premiership at Eugene Cross Park, the home of champions Ebbw Vale and emphasised the Union’s desire to ensure the Premiership is a ‘vibrant, competitive, well-supported league that provides top level rugby opportunities and is the vehicle to develop and retain players, coaches and match officials for elite Welsh rugby’.
The Principality Premiership kicks off next weekend in a new-look, 16-team format. The league, which welcomes promoted Championship sides Bargoed, Merthyr, RGC and Swansea, will split into two tiers at the half way point of the season, the top eight in a race to get into the semi-finals and final to challenge Ebbw Vale for the title. The Tier Two teams will also have play-offs to determine the Tier Two winner. The league will be ring-fenced for two seasons to aid the development of potential professional players by removing the threat of relegation.
Martyn Phillips said, “The Principality Premiership is a critical part of our player, coach and club strategy and in line with the new format and ring-fencing of the league, we have a three year strategic plan for the division developed in conjunction with the clubs.
“The Premiership is a breeding ground for future professional players and we need to ensure those players, and developing coaches and referees, can progress in a high performance environment. We are adopting a collaborative approach to marketing, ticketing and commercial deals, and as with all levels of the game in Wales, we want to attract more supporters, more often and also invest in club administrators to ensure we safeguard the future sustainability of these historic clubs.”
The new structure:
– The 16 teams will play each other either home or away in the first 15 league weekends of the season, after which the league will be split into Tier One and Tier Two.
– The eight teams in Tier One will play each other once, with the top four teams entering the semi-finals for a place in the Principality Premiership final to become 2016/17 champions.
– The eight teams in Tier Two will also play each other once before the top four of that group enter the Tier Two play-offs to
WRU Head of Rugby Performance Geraint John said, “We hope the changes will add intensity to an already competitive league. The first 15 rounds of the season will add jeopardy to the division with all clubs vying to reach the top eight for the second half of the season. And, with only eight teams in the fight for the play-offs, I expect to see a significant step-up in standard in all Tier One matches. Tier Two clubs will also be looking to prove a point and finish as high as possible in the table order to gain momentum for the following season.
“We know that the Principality Premiership has produced countless professional and international players since its inception 13 years ago. In order to improve the standard of regional rugby, we need to increase the quality of the league that underpins it, and we hope these changes will assist the clubs in their undeniable efforts to produce quality players and coaches.”
Along with producing regional and international players, the Principality Premiership has now also helped produce two Olympic medallists.
James Davies played his rugby almost exclusively in the Principality Premiership for Carmarthen Quins and shone for Wales Sevens for a number of seasons before breaking into the Scarlets squad, while Brynmawr and Ebbw Vale product Sam Cross appeared in the first Foster’s 7s in 2013 for Wales Students before being picked up by Wales Sevens and Newport.
The pair were integral to Team GB’s impressive run to the Olympic Rugby Sevens gold final before succumbing to the power of Fiji last week and returning with silver medals.
Sam Cross said, “Sevens has been incredible for me, culminating in an Olympic silver medal and the Foster’s 7s kick started the whole process. The tournament is a fantastic way to test yourself in a competitive sevens environment against the other Premiership sides and I’m looking forward to seeing how the clubs get on this weekend.
“The Principality Premiership has proved an integral part of my development and has also been a great stepping stone towards my sevens career with Wales and going onto win an Olympic silver medal with Team GB in Rio this summer.”
Graeme Yorston, Group Chief Executive at the Principality Building Society, said:
“As Wales’ largest building society we have always been proud of our Welsh roots and in our 12th year of sponsorship for the Principality Premiership we continue to show our commitment to the culture and heritage of Wales through our support of our national sport.
“This is an exciting time for the Principality Premiership, with the addition of four teams and a revamp in the format. It will no doubt make the league even more competitive than ever. It is also an historic time for rugby in North Wales with the promotion of RGC 1404 to the Principality Premiership which is another important progression for the game in Wales.
“Last year saw another strong season from all our clubs. Their hard work alongside the structure that has been embedded at grassroots level, will no doubt help the Welsh game to flourish in the future and produce more stars for the regional and international stage.”
Nigel Davies’ Ebbw Vale will launch the defence of their Principality Premiership title at Parc y Scarlets next weekend, followed by a trip to Sardis Road, the venue of their emphatic Grand Final victory last May.
Davies said: “The first 15 rounds of the season will be like a mini-season in itself and if you don’t get momentum early on, you’ll be on the back foot and find it difficult to stay in the top eight when the league splits.
“It’s going to be a tough start, Parc y Scarlets and Sardis Road are always difficult places to go but we expect everyone to raise their game against us as champions this season anyway. We did well away from home last season, and we will just have to back ourselves to get off to a good start.”
Davies is confident he has the right balance in his squad to launch a staunch defence of the title, with Damien Hudd still at the helm.
“The big strength of the team is its togetherness and we’re really pleased that the majority of the squad has stayed together. We’ve added some strength and we’re happy with the balance of the side. Damien had such a great end to the season and winning Player of the Season, he’s been like a 19 year old around pre-season training. You need leaders at every level of the game and Damien has such fantastic leadership qualities.”
After travelling to Cross Keys for their first Principality Premiership fixture, last year’s Championship winners Merthyr will look forward to hosting Cardiff at the newly redeveloped Wern Sports Park, also complete with artificial pitch.
Merthyr head coach Lee Jarvis said, “While we know there’ll be no easy games, we’ve got to be confident of competing with the top sides having developed on and off the field for this moment.
“Cross Keys, first up, will be tough. They are been at the top of the Premiership for a number of years now so we will need to be ready. We are then looking forward to new home games at our redeveloped ground with Cardiff and Bedwas the first league visitors.”
