Rugby union scrabbling for fig leaves but a glorious autumn is possible | Robert Kitson

Wales v New Zealand has become more about dosh than bosh – change is needed if the sport wants a rosier future

Radical change in rugby union never comes galloping over the horizon. If it ever comes it meanders through multiple committees, many of whom meet for hours on Zoom without recognising the inherent irony. Quick ball is the holy grail for good teams on the pitch but, off it, a static rolling maul of conflicting interests and financial expediency is more common.

Which helps explain why the sport is back scrabbling for fig leaves just when it should be displaying its most photogenic side to the world. Wales against New Zealand in Cardiff used to be one of the game’s most iconic fixtures, notwithstanding the hosts’ inability to beat the All Blacks since 1953. Instead, with the match scheduled outside World Rugby’s formal Test “window” and Wales lacking around 20 players through unavailability, illness or injury, these days it is more about the dosh than the bosh.