Plus ca change...

There is nothing new under the sun.

Imagine a meeting between Joe Lydon and the management teams of the regions:

"...gentlemen, we have reduced the premiership to concentrate quality players in less teams

Don't you mean fewer?

Look I'm a northerner OK? In less teams to improve the intensity of the competition,

What, by playing less games in a season?

That is why you are here gentlemen. The WRU have paid a team of management consultants six figures to report to me. 'intensity, the salt and pepper of rugby' is a 300 page report that landed on my desk last week and I have to say that the seven figure fee was well worth it. This report contains ground breaking new ideas. The WRU board confidently predict that this is a blue print that other nations will aspire to follow. The idea is simple. In order 'add salt and pepper' (thereby increasing the flavour or intensity) there should be two types of game introduced into the season's calendar:

1 competatively non assigned intermediary matches (CNI)

2 bilateral itinerant intermediary matches (BII)

CNI's as the name suggests would be unfettered by a traditional league or cup structure. They would be played in mid week, not bound to traditional match times of 7.30 on a Friday, anytime really on a Saturday depending on Sky, and 1.30 on a Sunday with the odd Thursday or Monday thrown in if there is some special football on the weekend. The proposal envisages Wednesday evening kick offs. The team found that the joy of winning and having the chance of active (as opposed to passive) participation in a regions front line activity were adequate replacements to the key player motivations of competitively structured games. In common with BII's these games would also provide an alternative income steam for the regions independent if the TV companies, ahahaha, although keep that within this room, we don't want to upset them.

BII are variants to the CNI, where a relationship interface is envisaged on a supra regional basis i.e. regions invite regions from other countries to engage in CNIs here in their off season (the winter in the Southern Hemisphere is coterminous with our summer apparently). The regions would then reciprocate by travelling to play CNI's during their off season. This would lead to annual team building exercises in the off season which can be seen as a valuable part of pre season training as again more players are given stakeholder status in frontline regional activity. These DTEs (Dedicated Teamwork Excursions) are predicted to have a beneficial spin off effect in terms of stakeholder morale at all levels and be mutually beneficial for both sets of participants.

In brief therefore CNIs BIIs and DTEs are seen as the way forward and your, our Union, are fully committed to them. Any questions

[/i]yes. Why have you just paid millions of pounds for somebody to suggest that friendlies and tours would get our squads off their arses and playing...[i]

Sorry if it's a bit subtle, but I believe the regions should be touring Super 15 franchises in the off season and inviting them to tour in their off season and playing friendlies in mid week during the season, all to give squad players game time.