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Of course, that is true of all derbies, re- gardless of the sport. Although the re- organisation of the professional game since 2004 has tempered the derbies played professionally in Wales, the quality is (so long as players are avail- able and are not on international duty!) still fairly high. But do all 30 starting players ‘get it’ in the same way local lads do when lacing up for their own derbies? Professionally, you may get the hometown boys and some imports who ‘buy in’ to the ethos of the club, but do they feel as much passion for their club compared to those at amateur level? I’m not so sure.
Although us Welsh are obsessed by the game of rugby, attendances at regional games don’t reflect that. Perhaps the biggest criticism of regional rugby is that the four established regional teams struggle with their identities. They’re mishmashes; they were formed by combining old rivalries together. Immediately from the off, their targeted fan bases were torn asunder. That’s why, nationally, thousands of fans vote with their feet and would much prefer to watch their local amateur sides on a Saturday over a trip to Llanelli, Swansea, Cardiff or Newport – especially if it just so happens to be derby day in the village or town!
But don’t get me wrong, thousands of people don’t turn up to every amateur game in Wales on a Saturday. But each club will have a set of diehard fans – and on derby day, attendances at these matches will usually be healthy indeed. The term ‘noisy neighbours’ has become synonymous with sporting rivalries, and often league stand- ings may be forgotten or forgiven so long as glory is grasped on derby day.
Yes, derbies are a peculiar thing. Teams, supporters, clubs – all playing, watching and enthusing over the same sport, sharing the same passion, all from the same cities, towns and villages, who know the same people, drink in same pubs and work in the same places. And yet, these people are not the same. There is something different about them because of the rugby jersey that they don – or because of that coloured hat and scarf that they choose to wear and because of the team they choose to cheer until their throats turn crimson. It’s tribalism – and these people have chosen a side; they have chosen one form of parochial tradition at the expense of another.
Some naysayers may hear words like ‘tribalism’ and ‘parochialism’ and roll their eyes and scoff – but that’s what it is, and it’s what good ol’ competitive sport should be. Life, and rugby clubs, are all the more colourful and wonderful on derby day because of those two things.
ALL SHAPES & ZEBRAS FROM TREORCHY 19