As I sit here, writing this, it is less than 90 minutes until the start of the 2018/19 Rugby season in the Northern Hemisphere. The Pro14 & the Gallagher Premiership both return, I’ve got the Pumas vs Western Province on in the background as I type. I feel excited in ways that I haven’t felt in a long time.
Rugby has been a bit of a release for me these last couple of years. It’s always been one of my main sports, I’ve had years where Rugby is my preferred sport, I’ve had years where Soccer has been my preferred sport, it goes with being somebody brought up in a rugby family from the South Wales valleys. It also delivered my greatest sporting experience with following Wales in Euro2016, something that will stay with me for live.
Rugby though, was what I missed most while I spent 18 months in London (I returned to South Wales in November of last year). Whether it was looking forward to the text from my dad about how Abercarn had got on that weekend, watching the Pro14 on TV or the BBC iPlayer, or trekking across London to watch London Welsh, rugby was the thing that helped me stay connected to home.
The Gallagher Premiership will inevitably get attention from me, but my main focus at the professional level will be the Pro14, particularly the Dragons. With the way the fixtures have fallen for the new TV deal, there will be days when I rush from watching Abercarn play in Division 2 East & head down to Rodney Parade and watch two games in a very short space of time.
My Virgin box has been set up and I’ve got both tournaments along with the Currie Cup & the Mitre 10 Cup set with series links. People have criticised the decision to take the competition to Premier Sports and I can understand the frustrations at yet another TV provider. When they first announced it, I thought I wouldn’t bother paying, I’d just watch the Dragons games and catch highlights on whatever platform they appeared. Then we discovered the extent of the coverage and we’re still learning more things even as kick off on day one of round 1 approaches. With every game on live, it became a no-brainer for me. I will happily sit and watch every game, so why not spend that money on something I’ll enjoy? I know it’s not that simple for everybody and I empathise with those people, but hopefully the extensive coverage that is going to appear on Freesports each week – which includes a live game, a preview show, a highlights show & separate extended highlights of every game – will help put the concerns of a lack of coverage at ease.
Pro Rugby, especially in Wales can be divisive and no doubt many will experience that in the various online arguments that’ll happen as the season goes on, but while that’s true, it is also a sport that is incredibly inclusive and that can overpower the negatives and be a force for good. I’ll be watching rugby at the community level with my dad, something that I always enjoy. I’ll be watching rugby at the professional level with friends of many years, the brotherhood I have with those friends is also very important to me.
I hope the Dragons can perform well, I hope Abercarn can perform well, I also wish luck to every other of the Welsh regions because a strong group of regions can only be good for the international side.
I’ll be embracing this new season, I hope you all do to.