Episode 2 The Scarlets

Wales - a rugby nation...

..where every town and every village gets behind its local team.

Come on, Bethesda.

Come on, hogia Bethesda!

In Llanelli, top class rugby has been played for 140 years...

..and it inspires a whole region.

We've got boys out on this field

that are amongst the best in the world at what they do.

But these days it's more than a game, it's a business,

and it's a business under threat.

What keeps me awake at night is paying the wages next month.

It's a battle to keep the big players here in Wales...

A 'W' by five.

..and ensure a precious rugby tradition survives.

Unless something changes, I think our regions will be gone.

This is the inside story of 12 months of triumph, tension...

-Get out!

-..turmoil...

-Everybody's at each other's throats.

-..and pride in the scarlet jersey.

-A bit emotional, I guess.

Stand by for a year with the Scarlets.

One issue above all worries Welsh fans.

How can we keep the best players here when French and English clubs

can pay them so much more?

Without their stars, Welsh regions won't be competitive on the pitch

and youngsters won't see their heroes play.

Of course, big names have left in the past,

and more seem likely to go.

But in the year we've spent filming with the Scarlets,

the fate of one player crystallised the whole issue.

We were there on the inside to see how hard it is

to get the balance right between the rugby and the business.

I'll just check with Leighton.

It's Tuesday morning

and the Scarlets' business management meeting is under way.

The team leaders are gathered to hear

how the various business units are performing.

I've picked up a lot of noise about the performance on Saturday.

Would that be valid?

After a heavy loss against Leinster at the weekend,

it's a chance to see if the business side of the organisation

can do anything to help matters on the pitch.

From the outset on Saturday,

there was no doubt there was not a lot of emotion in our performance.

Gareth Jenkins is the former head coach.

He's now in charge of rugby development.

He's well aware that good results come at a price.

Whether that ties in to the way we prepare ourselves,

long periods of hanging about away from home in hotels,

I'm sure has a significance.

We've always seemed to have done well when we've chartered a flight.

Leinster charter every single away game.

What's £6,000 in terms of the bigger picture

when it comes down to getting in the top four?

Building a winning side needs a lot of investment.

Go!

On the training pitch, state-of-the-art equipment is used

to drive up the fitness levels.

Jog to there and get your rest up there.

Every heartbeat is monitored in the race to get to the league play-offs.

But he's just standing there.

The Scarlets are boosted by their Welsh stars,

back from the Six Nations, but not everything is going to plan.

Owen Williams has gone to Leicester for next season,

which is a disappointment to us.

That wasn't expected. There was a clear offer in front of Owen.

He's been here for three years on a development contract

and, as far as we were concerned, we were well into negotiations

about retaining Owen and extending his development period here.

So that's a bit of a disappointment and an unexpected signing.

If Owen Williams leaving was a surprise,

there's a much bigger shock in the offing

and it's about to hit the headlines.

-RADIO:

-Online, TV and digital radio.

This is BBC Radio Wales.

-REPORTER:

-Rugby. The Scarlets coach Simon Easterby is warning

it would be a disaster for them

if Wales wing George North leaves a year early.

George North is a star product of the Scarlets' academy.

Still only 20, he's rated as one of the best wingers in the world.

If he goes, it'll be a huge story,

so the Scarlets' PR officer, Antonia Lamont,

needs to get on the front foot.

Obviously, we've made it clear about our position

in terms of discussing individual contracts. Just be mindful of that.

This press conference was already in the diary.

It's supposed to focus on the next match but now the media only wants

to ask head coach Simon Easterby about one thing.

A player like George North, how much do you want him here next season?

We want, erm...the best players available to us

and George North is an exceptional talent.

He's come through our region, we've supported him,

and we are desperate to keep hold of him.

I just want to clarify one thing. This is not the Scarlets saying

they are happy to let him go a year early from his contract?

No, I don't want him to go.

I am not asking George North to leave.

'It's not easy and it is not ideal, really, and hopefully'

the press will give us a bit of respect

and have an opportunity to deal with this in our own time.

Thank you very much.

At this particular point,

George is on contract to the Scarlets for next season

and, as far as we are concerned, there's a lot of speculation

that isn't accurate, there's a lot of speculation out there

that is making suggestions that George is actually leaving here.

That could happen but, currently, as far as I am concerned,

as far as the business is concerned,

there's no decision been made at all about George's future.

With no hard facts, rumours run riot.

Let's hope we don't have days like this every day of the week.

Messages and missed calls are piling up in Antonia's office.

The first to be briefed is the Scarlets' Chief Executive.

Hi, Mark. Good afternoon. It's Antonia calling.

I just wanted to bring you up to speed

with the press conference this morning

and just let you know a couple of things that were discussed.

I've also had a quick look as to what the coverage is since then.

When you've got a second, if you can give me a ring back,

I can bring you up to date with where we are.

'Lots of reps, OK? Happy?'

Boys, you push yourselves out there

and just go as the tail gunner, is that all right?

To sign George North the year before his Scarlets' contract ends,

any other club would have to pay the Scarlets to get him released.

We're going to keep working across the field.

George could decide to stay but, if he goes, the Scarlets could

earn a substantial sum and that feeds the media frenzy.

There's an energy, definitely.

It's a big Scarlets story. It's very big for our supporters.

In terms of the timing, we're about to launch season tickets,

so it's commercially... there are considerations.

Erm...it's a very big story on lots of levels

so, contract negotiations go on over time

and there are lots of different elements to it.

It's not quite as simple as it's sometimes played out in the media.

MUSIC: "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

With speculation rife that a world-class rugby star

is about to leave Parc Y Scarlets,

Julie David has to get the place ready to welcome

some top-flight athletes from a very different sport.

I'm just going to try and map out the barn ready for the tables,

the chairs, the stage, with my black tape.

Me and my lonely black tape.

If you just lower that down again.

The Scarlets Darts Masters is about to hit Llanelli.

As with rugby, big names mean big money.

As hosts to the event,

the Scarlets should be able to bank a tidy profit

if they can get the seats in.

Darts is massive in West Wales

and it is getting more and more popular

the more it gets commercialised

and we're just capturing that demand.

With tables and chairs for 800 darts fans to be set up,

Luke the groundsman is happy to pitch in.

I just have to help poor Julie. Give her a hand, innit?

# Big wheels keep on turning... #

I'll see if she pays me in Strongbow or something like that.

Maybe I'll stay a bit longer.

But Julie isn't the only one who has gone into overdrive.

The media are desperate for details of the transfer talks

and Antonia needs to brief the Scarlets' General Manager

who is about to go on air.

I have been told I've got a good face for radio.

Can you give me an idea of what questions we are going to...?

You can't really...? Well, what can be done?

It's outside his remit to be talking about how to resolve this situation

because that's a much wider question, isn't it?

I am the resident Welsh speaker,

wheeled out when we need to hear the dulcet tones

of heaven's tongue.

OK. Thanks very much. Speak to you in a bit. Bye-bye.

What is the Scarlets' current position on George North?

And how much of a blow would it be if he left?

So I won't use the term "disaster", shall I?

A disaster for Mark Davies would be the release of sensitive information

while discussions are ongoing.

What's not been made public is that back in January,

the Scarlets' board felt obliged to let George North's agent know

that they'd had an unsolicited approach from a French club.

The French money on offer to the player

and to the Scarlets for releasing him was considerable.

We had had the same conversation the previous year and said,

"Not interested. Go away."

This time, erm...they were...

significantly more serious...

..and, this time, the amount that they were prepared to table

to propose that we released early was really significant.

But with rumours that English club Northampton are also in the bidding,

Mark is adamant that the club should not respond to questions

about what is going on behind-the-scenes.

That puts pressure on Jon Daniel's Welsh radio interview

and Antonia needs him to be on message.

Jon, actually, has got the ability to say anything right now

so there is a huge level of trust.

Shw' mae, Cenydd?

Good, diolch.

Good. Diolch yn fawr. Hwyl.

A convincing performance, even if Antonia didn't understand a word.

I didn't say disaster.

Fantastic. Perfect.

No language difficulties for Julie, just a maths problem.

At the moment we can only sit down 792...

More seats mean more profit.

..so I need to get some more in.

And with a five-week gap between home games at Parc Y Scarlets,

the region needs every penny.

On the pitch, the Wales Under-21s soccer team is warming up.

It's another earner for the Scarlets

but Luke the groundsman, not a fan of rugby when the pitch

is being churned up, isn't keen on soccer either.

Goalkeepers diving about.

The pitch is still recovering from winter.

The water we've had, the rain, in the last few hours,

it's quite soft out there

so I just have to marshal them and stop them from shooting.

Oh, breaks your heart.

At last, all that unnecessary shooting and diving is over

and not a moment too soon for Luke.

You can see them all walking off the pitch now like that. Bye.

Luckily for him, the rugby action is happening elsewhere.

Despite tensions over how the professional game should be run

in Wales, the regions and the Welsh Rugby Union have worked together

to create a showcase event they're calling Judgement Day.

Over recent seasons, low attendance figures have been a worry

and staging Judgement Day at the Millennium Stadium

is intended to bring the crowds back.

The day before, the squad gets a run out on the hallowed turf.

One of the star attractions is keen to make sure

all his team-mates are ready to roll.

Yeah, you can. You can massage his ego.

There has been an extra buzz throughout the whole week in training

just because it's a double-header at the Millennium Stadium - a lot of the boys haven't played here.

It still blows you away being down here on the field.

Stepping up to the challenge are the South African Scarlets.

It's their first time in this great cauldron of Welsh rugby.

It's unbelievable. It's probably one of the best stadiums in the world.

It's an amazing atmosphere. I can't wait till it's full tomorrow.

I've been looking forward to playing here.

It's a lot of the boys' first time,

especially the South Africans, so really looking forward to it.

It's a venue that South Africans really enjoy visiting.

How many times have South Africa beaten Wales here?

Not every time they've been here, actually.

The Millennium Stadium magic is also doing Rhys Priestland some good.

The star player has been out for three months with an Achilles injury

and he's itching to get back on the pitch with his team-mates.

It can get quite tough when you're in every day doing your own thing,

not with the other players, but you will be a very lucky player

if you go through your career without any injuries

so it's just my turn this time so I've got to get on with it.

Back at Parc Y Scarlets, supporters want to be kept in the picture

about progress with other matters.

The supporters' trust holds regular meetings with management.

At this stage of the season, the talk is often about player transfers

but this year there's an extra edge.

They are the supporters, they are the club, it's right that they

should ask, and it's right that we should tell them as much as we can.

You know, individual detail is difficult.

In all fairness to the club,

they front up to the supporters on a regular basis.

This one in particular is quite timely

because of what is happening with George North

and we as supporters don't know as yet whether he is staying with us

or going to Northampton.

I would not like to see George go but what will be will be, I suppose.

The fans aren't backward in coming forward.

George North has one year left on his contract.

We could have George North next year

on those terms that were negotiated two years ago.

Presumably, the club doesn't see that as the right way forward.

The burning question here is, what comes first,

the rugby or the business?

You can't divorce the two.

Believe me, what keeps me awake at night is paying the wages next month.

Without the business, there is no rugby.

We have to be sustainable so the business, or one player

or one chairman, come to that,

is never going to be bigger than the club.

The business, to an extent, yes, has to come first.

The Scarlets have offered George North as much as they can.

It's nowhere near enough.

So, they can hang onto him for another year, then watch him

walk away with no return on their investment in developing him,

or they can sell him now and use the fee, his salary

and his squad place to develop a new star.

We've gone as far as we can for the next contract.

That's not going to be enough.

The next decision is, are we prepared to release early?

And then it becomes a wider business context in terms of,

if we release early, can we continue to strengthen the wider squad?

Will that help the overall picture?

Over in the training centre, there's double trouble for Julie

in the build-up to the darts.

It is quite intense at the moment

because I think I haven't got enough seats.

Still not enough seats.

'See you later. Thanks. Bye.'

"Can I bring 11?" No, you can't!

And the Scarlets' in-house catering team

is struggling to make the rations stretch.

I think we've had an increase of about 50 or 60 covers

since Wednesday so it means that, somehow or other, I need to try

and produce another 60 portions of home-made gammon and leek terrine.

With a football match being played at the same time as the darts event,

Julie has to keep on her toes.

The two sets of fans need to be kept apart

by different coloured wristbands,

but Julie has got her elastics in a twist.

Erm, all I've had is the Heart And Soul Cafe, which is the green ones.

Blue?!

Oh, my God!

She's stressed.

I've only gone and given the same wristband out.

What a disaster!

But the evening is far from disaster.

The football fans watch the football...

..and the darts fans head for the bar.

I think everybody is having a good time.

The food is going well

so, at the moment, everybody is enjoying the darts.

Julie's efforts have scored maximum points.

The drinks are flowing, the food is disappearing...

Game on!

..and that means that the cash is rolling in.

Game shot!

The 2013 Red Dragon Scarlets Masters champion is Simon Whitlock!

The darts has been a crowd-pleaser

but what will the verdict be on Judgement Day?

Staging the double-header on Easter weekend seems to be doing the trick.

30,000 fans are heading towards the Millennium Stadium -

far more than the likely attendance

if the games were held in the regions' home grounds.

A good result even before the first ball is kicked.

Kick it away. Kick it away!

And for Scarlets' fans, there's a special bonus.

The team finds a way to unleash its most potent weapon.

COMMENTATOR: George North just coming back to join them.

Owen Williams takes them on the outside. Gets it away.

Here comes North! He's clear!

That was so well worked!

But not everything is going their way.

COMMENTATOR: A break by Jonathan Evans!

-That is a great try.

-And what a great try by Jonathan Evans!

But, in the end, the Scarlets' big names come good.

COMMENTATOR: Great pick up by Gareth Owen. Ken Owens!

George North outside him. George North is there!

It's game, set and match Scarlets now.

But it's George North's future, not his performance today,

that the press want to tackle.

George North, what is the message about his value to the side today,

-do you think?

-He took his tries very well, he looked sharp,

so I was really pleased with his performance

with everything else that has been going on off the pitch.

-How is he coping with that, do you think?

-You tell me.

He's coping well on the pitch.

Exactly. That's the most important thing.

Just before kick-off,

former Scarlets Chief Executive, Stuart Gallacher,

has said that George has turned down an offer to stay in Llanelli.

On the day that he's proved his value to the Scarlets,

it now seems almost certain that he'll be leaving.

Is it disappointing that Stuart should choose to intervene like that

when he's not officially involved with the club any more?

I don't know. I'm not going to comment on it, Graham.

-It's not helpful for you.

-It's not really my...

It's not something I'm going to talk about right now.

I want to concentrate on the rugby and the important thing is

we got a result and a performance from players.

-Stuart did say...

-Don't ask me any questions about Stuart Gallacher.

I don't know anything about it.

What he did say was that George North turned down a contract

to sign for an extra year. That's what he said.

Simon has made it clear that he's here to talk about his players

and the performance today.

But the George North transfer situation is now becoming entangled

in the wider politics of Welsh rugby.

Less than a week after Judgement Day,

regional executives are back in Cardiff for a press conference.

In a statement, the WRU has criticised them

for not working with the union to keep top players in Wales.

And there are accusations that the Scarlets opened discussions

to transfer George North without his knowledge.

Tensions which have been mounting for months have finally erupted.

Given George North has probably been the catalyst for this,

the union said that the Scarlets had offered him

to other clubs without his knowledge. True or false?

Any discussions that Scarlets have at any time

regarding any player are held either with that player

or, more generally, as is industry practice,

with that player's representative.

'The stark facts are that we held a board meeting on 28th of January'

where one of our directors stated that he had been approached

by a French club for the second time, actually,

to ask if we would be prepared

to release George early from his contract.

The first thing we did was that particular director went back

to the club in question and said, "OK, we might be prepared

"to consider it, but you need to speak to George's agent."

The fact that there was a statement put out after that

that said that we had opened discussions with clubs

outside of the UK in December - categorically not true.

We need to keep our best players here.

It's not just George North, the regions are frustrated with

a lack of progress in tackling the structural problems of Welsh rugby.

How can they raise their game when they are already losing money?

The level of losses is quite substantial

and there's no mystery in the fact that the biggest cost

is player cost, and controlling the player cost is how the regions

are trying to balance their books.

To try and solve these problems, the regions and the WRU

have set up a joint body,

the Professional Regional Game Board, the PRGB,

but after months of arguing over how it would operate,

it still hasn't really got down to business.

In most businesses, this would have taken...

the whole thing would have taken two months.

You know, we are the best part of two years down the line now

and here we are seemingly no further forward.

If it had taken the two months it would in normal circumstances,

we'd be ten months into solutions.

It isn't good for fans and it isn't good for sponsors.

It isn't good for me!

As the press conference ends,

Antonia gets news that the WRU has responded.

They have issued a statement saying,

"The WRU welcomes the desire of the regional organisations

"to continue discussions on how best to secure a winning future

"for professional rugby in Wales and retain the best Welsh talent.

"The WRU will outline to the four regional organisations

"a strategy for the professional game in Wales

"and would welcome input from all four regional organisations."

But there's no mention from the union of the PRGB

and the stalled progress at top level

is beginning to affect players and coaches on the ground.

'It's the soap opera of Welsh rugby again.'

We are, I suppose, puppets in that soap opera,

for want of a better word. It is difficult.

PLAYERS: ..two, three, four, five, six...

And, of course, we're told decisions have to be made

for the good of the business but that doesn't help the rugby.

We want for the good of the rugby.

And on the same day that tensions between the regions and the WRU

become very public, Parc Y Scarlets gets the news

it has been bracing itself for.

Team Manager Garan Evans has just heard that George North's agent

has been on the line.

The player has signed for Northampton.

Emotions are quite low here. That's amongst the management and coaches.

So when you consider the players, it is difficult,

but we have to focus on trying to get to the top for.

With everything going on in the background,

it does take away that focus.

A few days later, three weeks after the rumours first emerged,

confirmation that George North is leaving the Scarlets

is finally made public.

It's huge news. Huge news.

It's part of the game, isn't it?

Part and parcel of the game, perhaps, but for the coaches,

that doesn't make it easier to handle.

The business is not sustainable based on emotion.

The business is only sustainable based on numbers and cash, frankly.

The most important thing that we need to do is to be here tomorrow.

That's our first responsibility.

As ever, for the next home game, the whole Scarlets family gathers

to cheer their heroes on.

But it's been a tough few weeks and feelings are still running high.

Ladies and gentlemen, I played for this club for 16 seasons.

It's the only club I played for, I worship the club.

This week has been a bit of a sad week,

we can't get away from it and I'm not going to hide away from it.

I don't know the facts, I don't know the figures,

I don't know anything about money involved at the club,

but we've lost a young man called George North to Northampton.

Now, those people in higher positions than me will say,

"We had to do it, that is the way it goes

"and that's the way rugby business is run these days."

The sad thing for me is that we lost a 20-year-old.

That does kick me in the stomach a little bit,

that we lost a 20-year-old who has come through the system

and I wish George, please God, have a great time in Northampton,

become a British Lion,

go on and achieve everything you want to achieve in life

but always remember that you were a Scarlet at one time of your life.

We will go on, but for God's sake,

it's about time Welsh rugby got its act together.

COMMENTATOR: George North shows what a dangerous finisher he is!

Come on, Scarlets!

Will the George North saga derail the Scarlets' whole season?

Or can they play through the pain to reach the league play-offs?

The boys have given their all out there. You can see the injuries.