During the 2022-23 season, a number of lower-league matches were postponed due to teams’ inability to raise their sides and bad weather installations.
The WRU has sent letters to the clubs letting them know that as long as both sides agree, they can play with 12 players.
“All clubs to continue beyond this season” is what the governing body says they want.
Wales hosts many games with fewer players at the junior and mini levels, and the WRU’s move is similar to efforts made in England and other rugby-playing nations.
Despite the WRU’s claim that this year they have the most registered players since digital records began, a significant number of games have been postponed.
“discuss the matter of the number of outstanding fixtures that are due to be rearranged and played before the end of the season,” the WRU Competitions Committee (CMC) and Community Game Board (CGB) met.
They decided to take two steps to make sure that all clubs get to finish their fixture programs.
The first was the reduction in fixture numbers, which stipulated that teams could begin a league game with as few as 12 players per team if both teams agreed.
“Strongly encouraged to adopt this approach as it ensures the fixture begins in a fair and equitable manner,” the team’s official statement read.
With uncontested scrums, the numbers to be agreed upon beforehand could be 12, 13, or 14.
In the event that one group had 20 players in their crew, each of the eight substitutions could be utilized.
If a team loses a player, reduced-numbers games will not have to be abandoned unless there is a four-player difference between the clubs.
The awarding and claiming of league points as a result of “the high number of unfulfilled fixtures due to teams being unable to raise a side on scheduled weekends” was the topic of the second step.
The committee decided that teams will be able to award or lose points retrospectively starting on Saturday, January 7.
The WRU says this choice has been taken to guarantee all associations are finished at the finish of the 2022-23 season to guarantee the 2023-24 season construction can be carried out and that all clubs are in a situation to go on past this seaso
As stated in the WRU regulations, If there is no mutual agreement to reschedule a scheduled league matchup between Team A and Team B, Team A will lose four National League points. Five points and a victory of 20-0 will go to Team B. In addition, Team A may hand over the victory to Team B with a forfeiture penalty of four points.”
The Welsh Premiership’s expansion from 12 to 14 teams next season will bring about changes in Welsh rugby, which will have ripple effects further down the pyramid.
From 2023 to 2024, a significant change will accompany the Championship. It will be broken up into two 12-team regional leagues, one for the East and one for the West. There will now be 24 teams competing in the new two-group Championship as a result of that reorganization, which will see 12 clubs rise from the various divisions of Division One. At the conclusion of this season, there will be no relegation from any of the leagues in the WRU pyramid; however, teams will be promoted as they move up to fill the gaps left by the aforementioned changes.