" Fears Cardiff City's success will hurt Welsh rugby "

" Fears Cardiff City's success will hurt Welsh rugby "
Thursday, April 18, 2013



Former Wales captain Mike Hall says Cardiff City's promotion to the Premier League is a huge threat to regional rugby and Cardiff Blues in particular.

Hall, a former Bluebirds board member, fears rugby will not be able to compete with the interest in Cardiff's rise.

"They are on opposite ends of the scale at the moment," said Hall.

"The Premier League is a worldwide brand but Welsh rugby, sadly, is still bogged down in battles between the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions."

While Cardiff are preparing to quadruple their revenue from a current £20m to £80m next season, the city's professional rugby side will be operating on a £3.5m salary cap.

A lack of finance has resulted in the loss of a host of top players from all four Welsh regions, who are at loggerheads with the WRU over how to fund the regional game.

"You almost feel you want to bang some heads together and say 'boys wake up' because regional rugby is dying on its feet at the moment," Hall told BBC Radio Wales.

Ospreys noticed a sharp decline in attendances in the first season of Swansea City's promotion to England's top division in 2011.

Crowds at the Liberty Stadium home they share with the Swans are up by an average of 2,000 this season, but they are dwarfed by the attendances of their joint tenants.

Swansea have only twice failed to attract more than 20,000 for league games this season. The average Ospreys attendance is just over 9,500.

The difference between Cardiff Blues and the city's football club is even starker.
While the Blues have played in front of an average of less than 8,000 this season, the Bluebirds attract almost 23,000 fans.

Hall believes even fewer people will chose to watch the Blues next season when the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea visit the Welsh capital.

"There's only so much money around in the economy, in south Wales especially," Hall told BBC Radio Wales.

"When you decided to spend your pound, are you going to watch [Robin] Van Persie, [Wayne] Rooney and [Frank] Lampard or are you going to watch regional rugby in empty stadiums?"

Blues director of coaching Phil Davies, though, believes they can benefit from Cardiff's success.

"I know the buzz it has brought to Swansea with the Swans being in the Premier League so hopefully it will have a real positive effect," said Davies.

"It will really bring sport to the forefront of people around this area. Last Saturday was hopefully the sign of things to come with us getting 10,000 and them getting a 20,000-odd capacity to watch them in the Premier League."

Hall played a role in persuading the Blues to move from their Arms Park home to join the Bluebirds at the newly built Cardiff City Stadium.

After ground sharing for three years, characterised by dwindling crowds, they returned to their traditional home for this season.

And Hall said: "It's a huge backward step to go back to the Arms Park. It's a dilapidated stadium and we've all seen the state of the pitch.

"There's no proper corporate facilities there. I think everybody thought that moving back there was going to be a panacea for all the ills, it's simply not right.

"It was never the infrastructure that was the problem, it was the product. Unless they get that right they're going nowhere."

Source: bbc.co.uk

Good, f**k off rugby!

bollocks to the rugby....


whole set up is a f*cking mess anyway.....

I really couldn't care less to honest

I care, and am loving every minute of it

And you chaps would be the reason rugby fans believe football is for idiot yobs then?

Rugby is part of the welsh identity just like blue is to ccfc. The irony is you welcome the potential loss of rugby and bet you moaned like f**k about playing in red, laughable.

Personally I like both sports and believe both can prosper, if city's like Leicester can manage it why can't we?

I bloody hope so, especially if it cuts all those programmes BBC Wales push out on a Sunday!

And you chaps would be the reason rugby fans believe football is for idiot yobs then?

Rugby is part of the welsh identity just like blue is to ccfc. The irony is you welcome the potential loss of rugby and bet you moaned like f**k about playing in red, laughable.

Personally I like both sports and believe both can prosper, if city's like Leicester can manage it why can't we?

I don't like rugby.
Why should I care?
Whats wrong with welcoming the loss of rugby, when I don't like it and my football club would benefit from it?

And you chaps would be the reason rugby fans believe football is for idiot yobs then?

Rugby is part of the welsh identity just like blue is to ccfc. The irony is you welcome the potential loss of rugby and bet you moaned like f**k about playing in red, laughable.

Personally I like both sports and believe both can prosper, if city's like Leicester can manage it why can't we?

I don't like rugby.
Why should I care?
Whats wrong with welcoming the loss of rugby, when I don't like it and my football club would benefit from it?

What would your football club benefit from with demise of rugby in Wales you plonker?

Narrow minded view IMO, but if we all thought the same way life would be boring so never mind.

And you chaps would be the reason rugby fans believe football is for idiot yobs then?

Rugby is part of the welsh identity just like blue is to ccfc. The irony is you welcome the potential loss of rugby and bet you moaned like f**k about playing in red, laughable.

Personally I like both sports and believe both can prosper, if city's like Leicester can manage it why can't we?

I don't like rugby.
Why should I care?
Whats wrong with welcoming the loss of rugby, when I don't like it and my football club would benefit from it?

What would your football club benefit from with demise of rugby in Wales you plonker?

Narrow minded view IMO, but if we all thought the same way life would be boring so never mind.

The reason the club would benefit is because of the original post.
Only so much cash to go around, and so if it goes to the club, it ain't going to rugby. (you plonker)
Anyway, back to this sentence ..."And you chaps would be the reason rugby fans believe football is for idiot yobs then? "
Don't care what they think as they are getting fewer and fewer anyway.

As I said in my previous post, narrow minded in my view.

whilst there is limited money hardcore rugby fans won't convert to football same as you would not convert to rugby so it makes city f**k all really.

I maintain there is room for both.

As I said in my previous post, narrow minded in my view.

whilst there is limited money hardcore rugby fans won't convert to football same as you would not convert to rugby so it makes city f**k all really.

I maintain there is room for both.

Here is a quote from the OP, who has been at the top in both sports in Cardiff..


"Hall believes even fewer people will chose to watch the Blues next season when the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea visit the Welsh capital.
"There's only so much money around in the economy, in south Wales especially," Hall told BBC Radio Wales.

Do you think he means they are going to sit at home sulking, or do you think he means they are going watching CCFC?
Football is by far a bigger product worldwide and it is still snowballing. (narrow minded or not)
We have had the Welsh media stuffing rugby down our throats for years...Bollocks to rugby.

Rugby out !.. Rugby out !.. Rugby out !!

Well this particular chap is jolly pleased to see the Egg-chasers struggle. Especially the arrogant, holier than thou Welsh egg-chasers. Good riddance.

Nice to see Mike Hall being very clear about where his loyalties lay, the f*cking cuckoo in the nest.Seems like he would have wanted the grunters to stay at CCS.
Not against rugby as such but I can remember how much the rugbyites, the Western Mail and the general Cardiff establishment used to laugh at and look down their noses at CCFC in the 70's/80's etc
Now I say. f**k you.

I don't think it will make a difference there's only so many people who can get tickets for our games.

I went to Samoa vs Wales back in November and the whole experience just weren't for me. And if that ent good enough then club rugby might be worse.

I enjoy watching rugby on the television if its International, but club rugby in Wales is slowly going down hill.

welsh rugby at the millenium stadium is an event, a day trippers day out, my wife has been a few times with girls in work, its a daytrippers piss up, as you can see from the blues playing at the ccs, its a joke. the capital rugby team cant fill 1 third of it, football is the no 1 sport in wales

have we become so big for our boots that we laugh at cardiff/blues only average about 8,000......not so long ago we had crowds well below that......like it or not rugby in cardiff brings in much needed income to the city....

If only this happened 40 years ago so we could take the piss out of our biased teachers!

Rugby? Ya kidding sir....it's shite!

Get real Mr Hall
he said Rugby fans will go watch Cardiff City instead of the rugby especially when they play the big teams

NEXT SEASON IT SOLD OUT, I assume the 2,000 game tickets that will go on sale will be Database fans only ?

The Blues should play all home games on a Saturdays KO @ 2.30pm when City are playing away.
i`m sure they would get 10,000 most games

have we become so big for our boots that we laugh at cardiff/blues only average about 8,000......not so long ago we had crowds well below that......like it or not rugby in cardiff brings in much needed income to the city....

A rare voice of reason