Dawes downbeat about Welsh rugby future

Former Wales captain John Dawes sees no end in sight to the problems affecting the sport. The Welsh Rugby Union board will discuss a notice received from the member clubs tonight for an extraordinary general meeting to be convened, which could lead to a vote of no confidence in the entire management structure of the WRU.

The disenchantment stems from the sudden departure of national coach Mike Ruddock, and the fact that the man many would like to see as his successor, Llanelli coach Gareth Jenkins, has stated he would not work under the current WRU management.

But Dawes, who captained Wales in their golden era and led the Lions to a series victory in New Zealand in 1971, expects there to be little tangible change at the top.

“At the end of the day, I doubt if anything will happen,” the 65-year-old said.

“If you look at all the other happenings within the Welsh Rugby Union down the years where they have investigating committees into this and into that and you have a report, at the end of the day we just plod on knowing that a few years down the road, we will have another catastrophe and that’s the way we seem to exist.”