We need to talk about the Dragons.
Yes, we’ve been here before... and we’re back again.
Dean Ryan’s side are currently one win from seven and picking up the pieces after back-to-back dismal performances.
They lost 30-14 to Edinburgh and 33-14 to Glasgow in recent weeks. The showings were alarmingly similar in so far as they looked rudderless at times and lacked any sort of potency or discipline.
Frankly, they never looked like winning either contest and were lucky to come second at Scotstoun.
So after almost five years of Welsh Rugby Union ownership, it begs the question 'where are we going with this?'
Because right now, nobody is winning. Not the fans, not the players themselves and not the WRU.
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The WRU are footing the bill – operational costs were £7.9million in the latest annual report – and their continued involvement raises questions in the eyes of some over fairness to the other three, independent professional teams.
The Dragons’ playing budget, though improved on years gone by, is still believed to lag more than £1m behind Cardiff, who are the next lowest, and more than £3m behind the Scarlets, who have the largest budget in Wales.
The WRU may be covering the overheads, but while the level of investment in the region might be enough to sustain it, it falls short of where it needs to be in order to bring about any sort of progress.
The closest the region have come to a winning record in the league since the WRU took over is their six wins out of 16 last term. But two of those came against a Glasgow side which was a shadow of its former self and one against Edinburgh, whose head coach Richard Cockerill was on the way out.
This year, the United Rugby Championship is much-improved. There are very few, if any, straightforward matches but the Dragons’ shortcomings are being exposed on and off the pitch.
On paper, the starting XV is formidable and the players selected in recent weeks have been good enough to compete, with matchday squads boasting a number of internationals.
The performances have been hard to explain based on the names on the team-sheet but, just like winning is a habit, so is losing.
The team has lost more games than they've won every season for the last 16 years. That sort of history seeps into the fabric of an organisation, it infects everything, and it becomes difficult to create a positive environment that in turn facilitates success.
There is also the fact the squad is so thin in a number of positions. They are always only a handful of injuries away from not being competitive.
This brings us back to our point regarding investment.
There is now a growing sense for some that the way for the Dragons to reverse their fortunes is to be taken into private ownership.
This is where current chairman and Just Eat co-founder David Buttress enters the equation. Buttress’ intentions to take over the region were put on hold by the Covid-19 pandemic but are appearing on the horizon again.
There are no guarantees that private ownership is the silver bullet. There are also no guarantees it will see the Dragons’ playing budget skyrocket. That, of course, will be up to the investor.
But it would realign them with their independent rivals and remove the WRU tie-up.
Private backers would surely not tolerate the status quo. They would not sleep-walk through five years of stagnation. They would understand that improvement requires adequate investment and that is a start.
When director of rugby Dean Ryan says he doesn't have the "resources" to compete in the league, would he not be more likely to get some change out of a private investor than the WRU?
There would also be hope that becoming an independent business, with a new owner who has a fresh vision, might make it easier to recruit.
Yes, the region has a number of current Welsh internationals but they need to be supplemented by individuals of sufficient quality who are going to be there week in, week out.
Convincing that type of player to come to Rodney Parade at present is not easy.
Buttress is proceeding with caution, as he probably should, because in my view the WRU’s leadership in recent times has been erratic. Buttress went as far as branding the way the game is governed in Wales as "amateur" in an exchange on social media this week.
National dual contracts came and went, altering the way Wales' elite players were contracted in the blink of an eye. Payments to each of the four regions fluctuate on an annual basis.
The Dragons also have to deal with a £4.5m loan from the WRU to cover the shortfall in payments from the Union amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
I can understand Buttress’ hesitancy. He will not progress with the takeover until he gets clarity over the levels of funding the Dragons can expect over the next three years.
The Dragons have been kept going by the WRU but in my opinion they are going nowhere. Private ownership won’t cure all of the region’s problems, but I feel it's the first step in the right direction.
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