Welsh Training Attandence

I heard on the Radio today that they were expecting at least 8,000 fans to turn up for Welsh training today. I appreciate that it is half term and it is a free event, but does anyone else find it slightly disturbing that there are this many people who are willing to watch the Welsh squad go through their paces in training yet all the regions are struggling to pull in attendances like that when they are playing in the Rabo.

Wales are playing well and the brand of rugby is exciting. The Ospreys are doing neither which is why people have stopped going. On top of that there really needs to be some serious marketing and ticketing deals to draw the punters back. When the rugby served up is dire and the expense is prohibitive people prefer to watch it at home.

Well, it's free. Plus they'll get to see all the Welsh players, when you don't even get to see your own region's internationals half the time.

luckless_pedestrian wrote:Well, it's free. Plus they'll get to see all the Welsh players, when you don't even get to see your own region's internationals half the time.

Yeah I appreciate that. It just seems odd, watching people going through trainning drills is not exciting. I would have thought that watching your side playing against another welsh region/irsh province should surely pull more of a crowd than watching the welsh squad practice a few lineouts scrums and set peice moves.

There are plenty of 'Wales-only' fans, though. They probably wouldn't know who 'their' players are anyway.

Good point. Maybe the WRU should say we only sell tickets to internationals if you can prove you've attended a Prem/Regional game this or last season. That would leave the MS over half empty though.

You only have to look at the RBS 6 nations facebook group to see that the majority haven't a clue and have just joined to slate other nations..

ScarletSpiderman wrote:Good point. Maybe the WRU should say we only sell tickets to internationals if you can prove you've attended a Prem/Regional game this or last season. That would leave the MS over half empty though.

SS,

In years gone by you could only get tickets if you were members of your local rugby club or knew someone who was.

Mentioned on the radio in the last hour or so that 13000 turned up ...

If only the regions could average that for games.

yeah sure, if only they were subsidised by the wru to tickets were free

It's half term, and Welsh rugby is on a bit of a high, I'd have been surprised if there hadn't been a very large crowd turn up.

If the bulk of those were children that can only be good in the long term, i'm all for giving the public free access to the squad for these occasions, may help regional attendences too.

The bulk of the 8000 are made up of Lancaster and his 5000 closest freinds!

11,000 showed up apparently.

Why don't the welsh regions do the Saracens/Harlequins thing? i.e. Play the odd game at the Millenium, and charge people a tenner/fiver. I know they don't make a lot of money on these games, but it creates a lot of awareness.

Saracens and Harlequins don't have a large regular following, but they had 82,000 at Twickenham over xmas, just for a Premiership game. Surely some sort of double header with Blues/Ospreys vs Leinster/Munster would get some bums on seats?

Maybe if a region played at 2pm, ona Wednesday, at half term, for free............it would get a few more through the gates.

does anyone know a reason why we dont do the welsh derby matches as a double header...on boxing day? the amount of people who go out for a drink boxing day why not go to watch to games of rugby

GavinDragon wrote:does anyone know a reason why we dont do the welsh derby matches as a double header...on boxing day? the amount of people who go out for a drink boxing day why not go to watch to games of rugby

At the same stadium?

No chance. As a season ticket holder at one of the regions I want to see a boxing day derby at my local place every other year. Like I have done for years

i respect your opinion and as a season ticket holder and payer cant really argue with it or the thousands of other who probably share your opinion...

although i do think its a narrow minded and from a business perspective cutting off what COULD be a big boost to the regions if done correctly..

give an example a fair few thousand go to the swalec finals day at the milennium and thats semi prob...last year 14000 students crammed in to watch the varsity...i think there is potential there

It's the one "marquee" fixture every two years....the local derby at boxing dat. If that's taken away then the whole soul of domestic rugby dies with it.

Peopel are at home on boxing day. I'll be in West Wales. The only people in Cardiff would be Cardiff fans etc.

I appreciate the dea, but it's a non starter.

'its the one "marquee" fixture every two years'.....totally agree they are the games with the best atmosphere the best rugby (usually) why not capitalise on it is all im saying

ok perhaps not boxing day then perhaps another day....tbh if its marketed properly it could be done on a saturday and billed as a national event very much like a current international....

No not at all, because none of the non Welsh fans on here understand the fact that for the Welsh the 6 Nations is like christmas.

Most Welsh people don;t give a toss about club, regional, heinaken rugby, our culture has been brought up to look forward to the 6 Nations.

It's a once a year event where we all end up watching rugby for a few weeks, getting blotto, and celebrate Wales. Once it's over the lights go off on Welsh rugby until next year.

The genuine die hard Welsh rugby fans will go and watch their local club, regardless of what division their in.

I agree Alyn. I just can't see regional rugby ever bringing in big crowds. People in Wales just don't care about club/regional rugby. We will only ever have interest for internationals and the 6 nations

hence if you market the regional games on one "big day" like an internationl you will increase interest

GavinDragon wrote:hence if you market the regional games on one "big day" like an internationl you will increase interest

Have always said I think a double header derby match at the MS would be brilliant, at worst it one home game each that the 'home' side would lose.

I think its worth giving it a go if nothing else.

Chunky Norwich wrote:

GavinDragon wrote:does anyone know a reason why we dont do the welsh derby matches as a double header...on boxing day? the amount of people who go out for a drink boxing day why not go to watch to games of rugby

At the same stadium?

No chance. As a season ticket holder at one of the regions I want to see a boxing day derby at my local place every other year. Like I have done for years

I travel a 120 mile round trip at the moment to watch my region playing at home, I would resent having to travel the length of the country to watch my local side play a home game in a stadium far closer to the opposition than to my region. I appreciate it may well bring in bigger number, but from my point of view that it would be a waste.

Maybe the idea would be to have a game - say Ospreys vs Dragons at the Liberty at say 2pm then a Scarlets vs Blues game at around 6pm in PyS and then put a discount if you buy the 2 tickets together - that way fans from down east or around the further edges of the regions can go to two games at the same time without too much additional travelling - Similarily you could have Blues vs Ospreys at CAP and Dragons Vs Scarlets at the Dave.

Might have the same effect without hugely increasing the travelling for fans

priest,

I don't know if I would go to two games like that but would def stay and watch both games in the Stadium.

But I think anything is worth a try.

I know I'd def watch both games in the stadium, but then I live in Cardiff so it's nothing to me - but if we're trying to develop and appeal to the regions then it's a bit of a trek to travel up from Llanelli for a potential 'home' game in the MS, let alone travelling from Aberystwyth, Milford Haven, Pontardawe or Ammanford where your adding on a lot of additional hassle and hence discouraging these people from attending games.

Smirnoffpriest wrote:I know I'd def watch both games in the stadium, but then I live in Cardiff so it's nothing to me - but if we're trying to develop and appeal to the regions then it's a bit of a trek to travel up from Llanelli for a potential 'home' game in the MS, let alone travelling from Aberystwyth, Milford Haven, Pontardawe or Ammanford where your adding on a lot of additional hassle and hence discouraging these people from attending games.

I am from Milford Haven, and to be honest a Friday night match at PYS is a real pain in the rump to travel to and get back from (don't get me started on the bloody Thurs night matches), and it does discorage folk from going to friday night or any late kick off game. But I think the MS would be a bit too far for most of us from down here.

What do you lot think of maybe having the 'double header' move around the four stadiums? Ospreys V Blues, Scarlet V Dragons at the Liberty one year, then Blues v Ospreys, Scarlets v Dragons at the CCP the next, Scarlets V Blues, Ospreys V Dragons at PYS the following year and then Dragons V Ospreys, Blues V Scarlets at Rodney the year after?

I can understand that Scarlets fans would feel aggreived if they had a home game moved to Cardiff. If you made the Blues and Dragons the 'home' teams it would reduce these travel issues, it could encourage fans from further afield to travel to an away game that perhaps they wouldn't have bothered with.

I also like the idea of a double header going on tour around each region. I would imagine that each region would get close to a sellout with all four Welsh teams playing there on the same day.

Enforcer wrote:I can understand that Scarlets fans would feel aggreived if they had a home game moved to Cardiff. If you made the Blues and Dragons the 'home' teams it would reduce these travel issues, it could encourage fans from further afield to travel to an away game that perhaps they wouldn't have bothered with.

I also like the idea of a double header going on tour around each region. I would imagine that each region would get close to a sellout with all four Welsh teams playing there on the same day.

If they didn't sell out then that would be the death toll for regional rugby. I think to be fair they would be sold out and pretty quick too.

Spidey

enforcer-thats a top idea mate, i didnt think of doing it on a dragons home game, that would actually reduce the ammount of travelling for scarlets fans and cardiff is relatively accesible from gwent...

scarlets fans if your team was away to the dragons would you be happy for them to play at a stadium and would you make the trip if it culd be done as a day out experience etc

I know I would and that does make more sense - but then I live in Cardiff. It's certainly easier to get to than the Dave by Public Transport from Carmarthenshire/Pembroke (though public transport is pretty much rubbish in Ceredigion)

I don't know if having an away match at the MS would draw more folk as such. But I guess if it were (as being discussed on here) two matches for the price of one, then you probably would find a healthy amount of folk from the west travelling to the MS for a day of it.

I remember the first Anglo-Welsh semi-final double header was at the MS and it was a good crack talking and mixing with fans of the other sides around the city before missing the first half of Leicester/Wasps because we had were talking to some Bath fans for too long.