Five Welsh kids leave for England...but maybe that's ok

As Welsh people, we have historically been very attached to our 'milltir sgwâr', our home patch, and we have been a bit more reluctant to leave our comfort zone than other nationalities. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is up for debate, but in recent times a significant number of talented Welsh kids have bucked the perceived trend by taking up rugby scholarships at fee paying schools in England. They have then been lost to Wales' four professional clubs as a result.

Only this week, two Carmarthen Quins players in Jac Thomas and Kieran Evans have been selected in the Gloucester U18s academy training block, while three members of the Scarlets' successful U18s side which won the Regional Age Grade competition, including Wales U18s international Deian Gwynne and Alex Ridgway, have been picked up by English clubs.

Pic: Deian Gwynne in his new Gloucester kit

This is prevalent across all four of Wales' professional clubs. Of course, on the flipside of the coin the Scarlets have retained the vast majority of the U18s side, potentially their best crop of talent for a decade, and that must be remembered and seen as a success. They have also succeeded in persuading a fair few players to join their senior academy from England, like gigantic tighthead Gabe Hawley who was wanted by English clubs.

We are guilty of focusing on the negatives rather than the positives in Wales but, nevertheless, imagine if all four professional clubs stopped the player drain at age grade level and were able to retain all their best talent? It's stating the obvious to say they'd all be far more competitive on the field.

As a rugby journalist and someone who is extremely passionate about Welsh rugby I spend a large proportion of my time thinking of ways to fix the game in Wales. Clearly, retaining the best talent available is a good thing, but a conversation with a well-informed person I have a lot of time for has started to change my way of thinking.