Another test of loyalty for fans as clubs face axe

NOT all quotes are born equal.

- BEN JAMES

For every “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”, from the final line of William Ernest Henley’s poem Invictus, there’s David Beckham saying that “I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don’t know into what religion yet.”

For each piece of wisdom like “The time is always right to do what is right”, from Martin Luther King Jr, there's Mike Tyson noting that, once he was done with boxing, he planned to “fade into Bolivian.”

Last week saw another. Though far be it from us to tell you which side of the spectrum it sits when it comes to the great shakeup of quotes.

“We think, going forwards, that there are fans of players,” Welsh Rugby Union independent chair Richard Collier-Keywood told ITV last Wednesday.

Ten words.

Ten little words in response to the notion that cutting four professional men’s teams to two in Wales would result in alienating fans.

Ten words that, perhaps better than anything else, showed a lack of understanding around the current situation the governing body currently finds itself in.

Ten words, each increasingly getting away from the speaker, that have been roundly ridiculed in the days since.

For context, those 10 words came as part of a bigger answer on losing fans if and when the axe swings in the coming years.

“We have been very conscious on what is the impact on fans,” said Collier-Keywood.

“Reducing the number of clubs, we understand, will have an impact on fans of the clubs that are no longer in existence.

“But there are also other proposals in relation to strengthening the SRC (Super Rygbi Cymru) and the next level of rugby in Wales.