Neath Rugby Club

[fortysix]

In all the newspapers, the sad plight of this incredible Club has been laid bare. Neath was a hotbed of Rugby, the Tigers werent at their best playing in that cauldron, if any of you have been there... Plus they were the hardest team in Wales... This is what has happened to Neath.
It certainly could happen here ...




Neath’s sad decline laid bare as they face judgment day in court

In dire financial trouble off the pitch, short of players and bottom of the Welsh Premiership, the famous club faces a winding-up order in court on Thursday

[ellis9]

We are nowhere near that much of a mess.

Let's not over exaggerate.

[tigerssteve]

We are nowhere near that much of a mess.

Let's not over exaggerate.

Nor were they three or four years ago. Spent a lot of time there and they were a power house. We aren't there but let's heed the warning.

[RagingBull]

We are nowhere near that much of a mess.

Let's not over exaggerate.

Nor were they three or four years ago. Spent a lot of time there and they were a power house. We aren't there but let's heed the warning.

Please the writing was on the wall ever since Ospreys happened.

Massive difference.

[ellis9]

We are nowhere near that much of a mess.

Let's not over exaggerate.

Nor were they three or four years ago. Spent a lot of time there and they were a power house. We aren't there but let's heed the warning.

You can't compare Neath of 3 or 4 years ago to the current Tigers. That's like comparing Manchester United to Macclesfield Town.

[jgriffin]

Speaking as a Whites fan back in the day, the RFU have been instrumental in shafting grassroots rugby in Wales. Rugby hasn't been the #1 in S. Wales for decades, football has been. So what happens? Creation of regions that finally settles to three good, one poor, teams; corollary being the crash of established teams in those areas: Neath, Swansea, Llanelli, Cardiff and the lesser lights, unless they have a proper sugar-daddy.
Neath was a dour place with dour players (except the Llewellyn brothers who were ace!), but going to the Gnoll was a journey into the hard-as-nails heart of Welsh rugby.
What has done for them is the poverty of the Welsh economy and the rise of football, but above all, the monocular vision of the RFU.

[Dangerous4]

In all the newspapers, the sad plight of this incredible Club has been laid bare. Neath was a hotbed of Rugby, the Tigers werent at their best playing in that cauldron, if any of you have been there... Plus they were the hardest team in Wales... This is what has happened to Neath.
It certainly could happen here ...




Neath’s sad decline laid bare as they face judgment day in court

In dire financial trouble off the pitch, short of players and bottom of the Welsh Premiership, the famous club faces a winding-up order in court on Thursday

The same could be said of our neighbours Coventry, who dominated English rugby for a decade, prior to the rise of the tigers. Theynow exist in comparative mediocrity. This could happen to any club, even ourselves.

[tigerssteve]

We are nowhere near that much of a mess.

Let's not over exaggerate.

Nor were they three or four years ago. Spent a lot of time there and they were a power house. We aren't there but let's heed the warning.

You can't compare Neath of 3 or 4 years ago to the current Tigers. That's like comparing Manchester United to Macclesfield Town.

Which one are we?

[ellis9]

Nor were they three or four years ago. Spent a lot of time there and they were a power house. We aren't there but let's heed the warning.

You can't compare Neath of 3 or 4 years ago to the current Tigers. That's like comparing Manchester United to Macclesfield Town.

Which one are we?

Well I would have thought common sense would prevail but as it hasn't, Tigers are Manchester United and Neath are Macclesfield Town.

[LE18]

You know whats missing on this forum, its a fishing rod and reel Smily.

[DeadlyDunc]

You know whats missing on this forum, its a fishing rod and reel Smily.

Waiting.....

[ellis9]

You know whats missing on this forum, its a fishing rod and reel Smily.

I knew he was joking but it wasn't funny, so I thought I'd just answer normally.

[DeadlyDunc]

[Tiger_in_Birmingham]

This recent killer of clubs like Swansea, Neath, Llanelli has been the expansion of the Pro 14 development league & cup - it has made what was the semi-pros and the second teir sides now effectively the third tier, but only for the part of the season where the A-team competitions are happening. Once the Celctic Cup is over a lot of players will go back to the Welsh Premiership.

Instead of Scarlets having a squad of ~ 40 and 5-10 players playing 'down' in the semi-pros for Llanelli they're now having to call 'up' 10 Llanelli players up to the Scarlets A team to cover their second teir matches - this is leaving Llanelli short of numbers so they're having to call up players from their feeder clubs and the knock on effect continues down further and further. Neath are the same - I believe they've had to cancel their last 2 games because they couldn't get the required number of bodies on the field due to Ospreys calling up a lot of players for the A-team competition.

IIRC the WRU are also reducing club funding from £90k down to £15k over the next few years making it even harder for the clubs to survive in the same towns/cities as regions; they get barely any attendence & no local sponsorship as the regions get it all.

Having said that the attendence for some of the old valleys clubs and the likes of RGC1404 are on the up so this might be the resurgence of 'amateur' rugby that Wales needs; but it is coming at the expense of killing off clubs that probably don't have any right to still be as 'big' as they are given their proximity to a region