Scarlets coach Nigel Davies wants Welsh regions rethink
Nigel Davies admits his thoughts on regional boundaries are controversial
Coach Nigel Davies wants a change in the Welsh regions' boundaries in order to increase player numbers in the Scarlets' geographical area of control.
He believes the Scarlets are disadvantaged by having around 6,000 registered players on their patch, compared to neighbours Ospreys' 12,000.
"I think in the long term that really needs to be looked at because there's an unfair balance there," Davies said.
"Maybe - and this will be controversial - we have to look at the boundaries."
Those boundaries were set when the original five regions were formed from Wales' leading club teams ahead of the 2003-04 season.
The Llanelli club side threatened legal action against the Welsh Rugby Union, which wanted the new regional teams to be amalgamations of club sides.
Both Llanelli and Cardiff RFC won 'stand-alone' status as respectively Llanelli Scarlets - although the 'Llanelli' part of the name has since been jettisoned - and Cardiff Blues.
Neath and Swansea merged to become Neath-Swansea Ospreys - now just known as Ospreys - and likewise Pontypridd joined forces with Bridgend under the Celtic Warriors banner.
Further east, Newport Gwent Dragons' birth was marred by in-fighting as Newport and Ebbw Vale briefly married and hurriedly divorced.
A year later, Warriors backer Leighton Samuel handed control of the team to the WRU who, under the advice of then-chief executive David Moffett, put the franchise into liquidation citing rising debts.
Moffett had always argued that Wales could sustain only four regions.
Between them the Blues and the Ospreys shouldered the geographical responsibilities left by the Warriors' demise.
Pontypridd and associated clubs were merged into the Blues region while Bridgend and its area fell into the Ospreys' remit, significantly increasing the number of clubs and players in both remaining regions.
Nigel Davies (second from right) wants "equity" with rival coaches Paul Turner, Sean Holley and Dai Young
Since then the Scarlets have significantly cut back their commitment to include north Wales in their region and pinned their hopes of financial security on new home Parc y Scarlets, which was opened in November 2008.
However, attendances have not hit targets, prompting fears of further financial troubles after being dogged by money issues since the game went professional in 1995.
Now head coach Davies has worries on the long-term development front.
Although backing the fledging north Wales region - that this week was relaunched by the WRU under the new moniker RGC 1404 - Davies says the move is cause for fresh debate over regional boundaries.
North Walians Rob Higgitt, Rob McCusker and Andy Fenby are current Scarlets, but he accepts each of Wales' regions now has the right to seek out north Wales' top talent.
He also accepts the Scarlets' efforts to develop rugby in north Wales have not been entirely fruitful.
"We've obviously tried to do it with varying degrees of success," the former Wales captain and centre told BBC Sport Wales.
"It's been difficult, I think, due to the geography and the financial resources to do it properly.
"And obviously now north Wales has been set up as a development region, which almost sets them apart a little bit from ourselves, but we are still very keen to continue some of the links we have in north Wales.
"I think it raises a larger - far larger - question in terms of the break-up of the regional game in Wales, in terms of player numbers in the various regions.
"And I think in our region we have something like 6,000 registered players and, for instance, in the Ospreys region you've got something like 12,000 registered players... which means that there'll be a lack of parity moving forward.
"But also there will be a lack of opportunities for certain players where they could have opportunities in other regions.
"So I think that needs to be looked at. It's a fundamental question and it's not going to be answered overnight, but it's an issue that needs to be addressed."
Asked if player recruitment was simply a matter of market forces, Davies replied: "Not really.
These are things that we can't ignore and if we do ignore they will have consequences
Scarlets boss Nigel Davies
"I think obviously market forces in terms of bringing quality into your team is important, but in terms of the player base that you work within that's very much historical.
"I'm not too sure on how the region are looking at it, but I'm a firm believer that the north of Wales does need its own identity.
"That will only help grow the game in Wales and the north of Wales and means that we have more player numbers in the whole of Wales to choose from.
"So I'm a firm believer in that. How that's eventually going to work with ourselves, I'm not so sure.
"I think what we need to do to balance that out is to understand what the player base in Wales is and how that breaks itself up throughout the regions in order for us to move forward with reasonable equity."
However, Davies would not be drawn on how any alteration of the regions' respective areas of control could come about.
"Listen, it's early days yet, these are just discussions," Davies added.
"These are things that we can't ignore and if we do ignore they will have consequences."
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