However, that is not to say that we have achieved nothing, that we have not moved forward towards our goal, or certainly that we should now fold the campaign tent and give up. So, to all of the people who have either wished for or anticipated the failure of our campaign I want to state a few facts this afternoon.

And to those who seem ready to give up in the face of this first obstacle, I want to say ‘keep the faith’ – apathy and defeatism are our most powerful enemies.

The first thing we have achieved is to catalyse a debate about the on-going scandal that the Valleys are not properly represented by the current set-up of professional Welsh rugby. Yes, this debate has rumbled on for years, but it has emerged with renewed intensity in the last 12 months, compelling the rugby establishment to acknowledge and reflect on it, and Valleys Rugby has played a part in that process.

Secondly, we have galvanised people to take action. Individual Valleys clubs and representative bodies within the Union have been spurred to re-engage in dialogue with the WRU about the future of the game in the Valleys. And individual people have taken hope from, or been fired up to disagree with the debate we sought to re-ignite.

Most tellingly, as we revealed for the first time on Friday, 8,500 individuals have been moved to pledged on the Valleys Rugby website to pay £100 each to own a part of the new entity, raising, if we collected the money, £850,000 – just £150,000 shy of the £1 million we said we might raise. We want to thank all those 8,500 people for helping us demonstrate to the WRU and the wider world the passion for our national game that burns in the Valleys – and showing people they were wrong when they said it couldn’t be done.

Thirdly, turning to the outcome of Friday’s meeting, we have secured the engagement of the WRU in a process that we intend to be a pathway back to what the WRU call the ‘elite’ level of the game for Valleys Rugby. The key phrases in the statement we agreed with the WRU are these:

The core agreement is based on a pledge by Valleys Rugby to seek out funding streams from within the UK and Europe which could unlock development plans to improve or create new elite facilities for rugby in the region.

and

The WRU supported Valleys Rugby's aim of working towards improved facilities and possibly linking with an existing team to develop future competitive involvement within some level of the elite game.

What do they mean? Well, they mean that the WRU will work in partnership with Valleys Rugby and with other stakeholders such as Local Authorities, Pontypridd RFC, other sports clubs and local education providers to build a case to access funds – public or private, British or European – to capitalise on the great passion for Rugby and for sport in general that we have in the Valleys and to develop facilities that might reflect our great sporting past but more importantly, might spark sport-based economic and social regeneration for the future.

They also mean that the WRU recognises the great strength of our rugby communities in the Valleys and accepts the need to provide them with fresh support and impetus. Practically, this may imply, as has been the case in North Wales, the creation of a stadium for the Valleys capable of hosting elite rugby and other sports. Such a facility, however, would have to be rooted in the community, perhaps owned it in the manner already described by Valleys Rugby, and would certainly need to serve and not replace or overshadow existing clubs and facilities that deliver for our communities.

My vision is that we use sport – with rugby at its leading edge - as the vehicle to strengthen the health, wealth and wellbeing of our communities. We need now to build a new partnership and a pathway in the Valleys to shape that vision and, after Friday’s meeting, we can now do so in the knowledge that we will be doing so with the co-operation and support of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Though it would be nice to be able to be more definitive about where this pathway will lead us, it just isn’t possible at present, but in my opinion it is a significantly positive step for the Union to endorse our campaign to develop for the Valleys, in their words, future competitive involvement within some level of the elite game. The WRU are clear that they will not currently support the creation of a fifth region in the Valleys but Roger Lewis pointed in the meeting to the potential evolution of the European competitions and was clear that nothing "is linear or static in the development of Rugby."

At Valleys Rugby then, though we remain critical of Regional Rugby and will persist in calling for the WRU to review the system and its lack of focus on the Valleys heartlands of the game, we have always been clear that we need the Union’s support and goodwill if we are realistically to achieve anything. The Union have now held the door ajar and challenged us to work with them and other stakeholders to develop a vision and a pathway that will build on the strengths of Valleys Rugby – on great rugby and community institutions like Pontypridd RFC – and help create the facilities and finances that will enable engagement in a higher, 'elite' level of rugby. That’s a challenge I intend to grab with both hands. In his statement Roger Lewis says Valleys Rugby may make people watch this space. You’d better believe it Roger, eight and a half thousand people can’t be wrong!

Owen Smith MP

A meeting has taken place of senior representatives of both organisations including the WRU Group Chief Executive, Roger Lewis and Valleys Rugby founders Owen Smith, MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and corporate finance lawyer Nigel Greenaway.

The WRU and Valleys Rugby drew up a number of objectives aligned to the union’s strategic plans for rugby and the organisation’s overarching aims.

The core agreement is based on a pledge by Valleys Rugby to seek out funding streams from within the UK and Europe which could unlock development plans to improve or create new elite facilities for rugby in the region.

A further meeting between the union, Valleys Rugby and relevant politicians will now be called to refine the areas of discussion covered at the meeting which took place at the Millennium Stadium today.

The WRU supported Valleys Rugby’s aim of working towards improved facilities and possibly linking with an existing team to develop future competitive involvement within some level of the elite game.

The WRU and Valleys Rugby agreed that the proposals would not include any plan to impact on the current structure of four existing regions and a developing Principality Premiership Division supported by a new National Championship.

The strategic development of Valleys Rugby is to take note of the strategy adopted by Conwy County Borough Council which achieved a £5million investment in the Eirias sports facility in Colwyn Bay, home to the RGC 1404 squad.

The agreement achieved at the meeting is an understanding which does not contain a formal timetable but further discussions will take place with potential stakeholders.

Roger Lewis said:”I applaud the ambition and drive behind Valleys Rugby and the WRU will always seek to support initiatives which have the potential to improve the game in Wales.

“Owen Smith is now well placed to unlock new monies for rugby in all of Wales and in particular Valleys Rugby. We will support Mr Smith in his endeavours to source new funding for the game. 

“The politicians in North Wales have led the way and we hope Mr Smith can match what they have achieved.

“We already have a refined elite structure of four regions and Valleys Rugby understands that the WRU will not waver from its priority of helping to develop that strata of our game.

“However in North Wales we have proved there is room for ambition and Valleys Rugby could make us all “watch this space” in future.”

Owen Smith, the Pontypridd MP, added:”I am pleased we have made an important breakthrough in our negotiations with the WRU and have had the opportunity to explain our plans in detail and align our aims. 

“An astonishing 8,500 people have signed up to pledge £100 each in the community funding model we have championed for Valleys Rugby and that proves the depth of enthusiasm which exists for our ideas.

“With this level of support for our aims in the valleys it is important that the WRU answers the clarion call we are making on their behalf.

“Players, coaches, administrators and supporters from the valleys have helped make rugby the national sport of Wales and we must acknowledge that now and build on it in the future.”