The Scarlets became the first Welsh team to win a major cross-border title last season and were once again our standard bearers in Europe with a quarter-final place in the Heineken Cup. While they will be hoping for a victory over London Wasps at the start of their campaign, they also know that bigger and more meaningful challenges will lie ahead of them in the 2004/2005 season as they attempt to defend their Celtic League crown, battle for glory in the Heineken Cup and set their sights on taking the Celtic Cup to Stradey as well.
There is much for our four Regions to play for, not least the three automatic qualifying places in the Heineken Cup for the 2005/2006 season. They will once again be up for grabs to the top three Welsh finishers in the Celtic League, a competition that is growing in stature and fast turning into a vital tournament for the professional sides in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
The best players from our Regional sides will once again step up into the national side coached by Mike Ruddock. What a season the Welsh team has ahead of it with six terrific Tests at the Millennium Stadium to look forward to, as well as trips to Scotland, Italy and France.
First up in the Lloyds TSB Autumn Series will be the newly crowned Tri-Nations champions South Africa. Romania and Japan will challenge Ruddock’s men on Friday nights during the series, while the game against the mighty All Blacks will see the return of Graham Henry and Steve Hansen to Wales.
Every one of the 242 member clubs is now contained within one of our four Regions and the new pyramid structure will allow the Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets to clearly identify the talent in their area. If the Celtic League and Heineken Cup are the finishing schools for our professional players, then the WRU Premier League, Konica Minolta Cup and Lloyds TSB National Leagues are the breeding ground of the young professionals. There will be 17 teams in the Welsh Premiership this season in what looks like being a great competition.
They will be joined by the Lloyds TSB National League teams in the Konica Minolta Cup to give our ‘Community’ clubs the chance to have a go at the ‘Semi-Pros’.
It all adds up to a well defined season of opportunity for every club in Wales. There are significant titles and trophies on offer at every level of the game, but I hope that everyone will keep uppermost in their minds that the needs of the Wales National Team are of paramount importance. Everything we do at Regional and club level should be for the benefit of our national side.
Then, perhaps, we will be able to continue our rise up the International rankings.
