Scarlets Fever - Bonus Podcast

Welcome to Scarlet's Fever, the home of Suspense Central and Westerer is Besterer. Hello and welcome to a bonus edition of Scarlet's Fever with me, Lee G. I'm on my own today apart from a rather special guest, Rachel Evans from Crease 16. Good evening Rachel, how are you? Good evening, fine thank you, how are you? Yeah, it's that time of year when evening comes a lot earlier. You can never tell if it's evening or afternoon, isn't it? So, I should say you're vice-chair of Crease 16 and we're going to talk about all things Crease 16 and Scarlet's. But before we do that, let's have a little chat about yesterday's game. So, a momentous, massive victory against Cardiff. I don't care what the Cardiff boy says, it was huge. So, what did you think of the game yesterday? Well, it's great to do the double over Cardiff this season. It's great to get the win, let's be honest, after a relatively poor start to the season. It's only our second win out of seven, so it's great to get that win. Yeah, I think the boys played well yesterday, slow start in both halves really. Obviously, they got going then and particularly the red card helped us. I know there was a bit of a debate about whether it was red or not. For me, I think it was red. It was a tit-tackle. Reading this morning about Sherriff saying from Cardiff's perspective that the TMO had said that Davis had hit his back before his head and Sherriff felt that there should be a yellow card. So, it'll be interesting to see whether that is downgraded, but for me it was a red. And obviously, a red card does change a game, so we've got to take that into account. Saying that, I thought Scarlett played well overall. I think the half-backs were sublime. We've come to expect that from Gareth over the years, but I think he's had a second wind in the last 18 months or so. I'll be honest, I was one of those ones maybe 18 months, two years ago thinking, is Gareth coming to the end of his time, or at his best, I should say. But he's really come back to form and I think Jo and Lloyd played really well. My expectations probably at the start of the season would be that he'd be a good utility back, but maybe taking his time to get into that 10 position. I mean, it is going to take time. Dwayne Peel said that himself, but I think yesterday he really came into his own. Commentators even talking about, is it going to be Jo and Lloyd and Gareth Davis as a half-back pick for Wales? So, in the Six Nations, that would be interesting. But, yeah, with Kofi injured, Jo had to step up and that was really good to see. Yeah, you're almost in that position of going, I kind of hope he does probably well, but not well enough to get into the Wales side because six weeks or eight weeks. It's always right. You're a bit like, can you just hold it back for a couple of weeks and just let somebody else, just so we can have you just for this season and then next year, you know, when everybody's back from injury. Yeah, exactly. I mean, there's things to work on. Obviously, I think the line-up still is a bit of malfunction quite a few times, but that's to work on. But, yeah, it was positive to get a win going into Europe. You know, if we can do the same as we did last year and start a good run in Europe, then hopefully, you know, we'll have a better run through the season than we've had to start. Yeah, it's a shame we can't start the season halfway through. Like we did last year, if we go on a run now and we have, you know, five or six really decent games, you're like, why can't we do this at the start? But there we go. So let's have a little chat then about Crease 16. So for those of us that don't know much about Crease 16, what is the organisation? What does it do? What's it about? So I'm a relatively new board member, really. I've probably been on the board about a year now. But Crease 16 was formed back in February 2007, so it's been around a while now, with the main purpose of representing the supporters. It adopted the rules and philosophies of the Supporters' Trust, which existed across the country in various forms, whether it's football or rugby, where it acknowledges that supporters are the lifeblood of any club and therefore they have a right to representation. So being a Supporters' Trust is slightly different to being a Supporters' Club because you're classified as a Community Benefit Society, which was all new to me when I joined. I've learned a lot in the last year or so. And that means that our accounts are audited by the Financial Conduct Authority and everything's done democratically. So we have annual elections, and those elections are for two-year terms, but obviously everybody's term comes to an end at different times, which is why there are elections every year. And basically, anybody, more or less anybody, can apply to be a board member. And we're also really fortunate that we have a seat on the Scarlett's Board, and maybe we'll talk about that a bit later. That's a really beneficial part of Crease 16. And then we hold—we meet at least once a month, but we're in constant dialogue through VIRS communication. And we're also in constant dialogue with the club. And we also then hold meetings with coaches and the management, allowing our members then to have that direct contact with the club. And from my perspective, the reason why I originally joined was— well, first of all, one of the emails that we got sent was that Crease were keen to diversify their board, which is something lots of boards have been doing recently. And I was conscious of the fact that, at the time, there have been female members before. There wasn't a female member on the board. So I thought—I'd seen what it was about and joined the board. So it's fair to say it's like a communication channel between supporters and the club, and everything works both ways. But it's all about board, and it's all kind of structured and open and— Quite formal, you know. Yeah, yeah. And there are some people that love the formality of it, and there are some people that won't. We need something like that, don't we, to just kind of make it a bit— not trustworthy, but do you know what I mean? It gives it a certain level, doesn't it? Yeah. A certain level of credibility, yeah. Yeah. And so there was a Meet the Coaches session earlier this week, wasn't there? Yeah. So how did that go? Yeah, that was well attended. It's tough when you've got a Meet the Coaches session when you're on a losing streak. So there were some tough questions for Duena and the team. I mean, I think they answered them really honestly. And that's all you can ask of the coaches, is that they answer the questions honestly. So yeah, there were some difficult questions, I suppose. But that's the nature of coaching, and that's the nature of when you're losing matches, I guess. And I think that's the really good bit about Crease 16, is it gives people the opportunity to put those questions to coaches, rather than just shouting about it down the pub or on social media or whatever. You can actually say, right, okay, I'm going to ask this question to somebody that is important. You know what I mean? It's a massive benefit. But that won't stop people on social media. No, of course not. It won't, no. So you touched on this bit already. But what's the difference between yourself, then, and the official supporters group? Is there anything you do differently? Yeah, I think it would be unfair of me to say too much, in the sense of I'm not aware too much of what the Scarlet supporters group do. I mean, from their Twitter account, it's noted that they promote Scarlet's rugby, obviously, as we all do. That's what I love. They offer travel advice and social activities. And, you know, lots of, whether it's football or rugby clubs, have a supporters trust and a supporters club. So I guess they're both slightly different. It wouldn't be fair of me to go in to elaborate, because I simply don't know. But I guess, as you say, from our perspective, the Crease 16 were, as you say, the more formal bit, I guess, with the elections and the feet on the board, as it stands. Cool. OK. So for me, one of the key bits of supporters groups within Wales is the JSG. So how does that work and how does Crease 16 interact with that? And what kind of work goes on with JSG? Because, again, we see the name and then we see stuff come out, but we don't really know what, you know, how that works between the JSG and clubs and all that. Yeah, and that's the same point. And to be honest, out of everything, probably when I joined the board, this is the thing that was newest to me in terms of, you know, what JSG do. So they are the, they're a group that is formed from all the supporters groups across the region, the four professional teams. And I think I might say they were established in 2013. And that was as a direct result of, you know, if we all remember back to that stage when there was a real threat to the future of our teams. And, you know, there was a lot of unhappiness with the governance of the WRU. Not something that stopped, something that's been a running theme, I guess. So what the purpose of JSG then is, is to try and ensure that there's a regular dialogue with the WRU and the PRB. So the JSG doesn't interact with Scarlet as such. So it's the two or three members of each of the supporters groups feed into JSG. And then they forward the views of the various supporters groups and minutes then are sent to members. And I think there's, you know, particularly in recent months, there's been a lot to discuss, obviously, with the report and changes to the WRU. So being part of JSG then, if you're a part of Cree 16, you could also influence what happens at JSG level and, you know, around all of Welsh rugby, really. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So if you've got, you know, if we think of the members that we've got now, if any particular board members, particularly interested in that element of Welsh rugby, then yeah, there's the opportunity to feed that in. But also, like you said, you know, we can use our position in JSG to reflect the views of any of our members. Yeah, which is important, which is really important. So you touched on the WRU report there just now. And obviously, being in a position of being a female within the game, how, you know, how does that report make you feel? Does it make you feel better, as in things are a bit more in the open now and a promise is being made to improve? Or how does it, how does that report make you feel now? Yeah, it was pretty stark reading, wasn't it, from start to finish, really, plus adding in Amanda Black's resignation statement and all of that. Yes, it makes me feel, well, it's depressing, but it gives me hope. That being said, it's only going to have an impact if I think that there is a, you know, people are making, there's an independent sort of group overseeing what, you know, that those changes are going to be happening. There's no point having points recommended unless they're implemented and they're implemented correctly. So that's certainly, hopefully something that we'll see. But, you know, hopefully it's going to bring about improved governance. I mean, I would argue it couldn't have got much worse. I was going to say, yeah. So hopefully that's something. And then in turn, if there is improved governance and to be fair, everything seems to suggest so, you know, hopefully we're going in the right direction. But then hopefully that will lead to an improved culture across the organisation and that's what's important. You know, I was horrified to read some of the comments in the report about how women were referred to, whether that's players or people working within the organisation. You know, really, well, it's just, yeah, bad. Yeah. You know, we've moved on from that. And of course, as part of that, hopefully then with this, there will be improved conditions for female staff and players because it's just simply not good enough. But that's how women have been treated within the organisation. Yeah. And it's strange that so many of us kind of knew that this was the case before and nothing was really happening. And it was not tacit acceptance, but it was so difficult to change it. It took the report on the BBC and then all of the stuff kind of came out from there. But it took a massive change. And like you say, thankfully, things look like, you know, fingers crossed, look like they're changing quite rapidly and not before time. So, yeah. So is there a confidence that the WIU, from a crew six kind of perspective, is there a confidence that the WIU are going to change it? That they are, you know, putting things in place that maybe we haven't heard about just yet? I think at this stage, we've got to have faith in the process. You know, as I'm sure JSG in particular will be keeping a close eye on that. And obviously, you know, Aberdeen is going to have to drive a new strategy for the whole gaming world. It's going to have to, you know, there has to be wholesale changes. But what I also say is that obviously at the forefront is that change in culture and conditions for female staff. But also what we don't want to fall by the wayside is the growing of the commercial side of the game and also the impact on the pro side. So it's having that balance as well and making sure that all aspects of the game are developed as we move forward. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So coming back to Crease 16 and the Scarlets, then, how does the relationship between 16 and Scarlets, you know, how does that work and how does that benefit everyone? And, you know, we all kind of know it's a good thing, but then it's like, well, how is it a good thing? Do you know what I mean? Well, to touch on some of the things that we've already said, obviously one of the benefits is, as we said, that direct ability to meet the coaches or meet the players and for our members to have an opportunity to ask the questions, whether they're difficult or not, to the club. We also have regular contact, probably weekly really, via email or whatever it is, you know, with the Scarlets in some form or another. And, you know, we'd like to think, well, we do, we know we do, that if our members email us or contact us with any feedback or any concerns, then we always make sure that that's fed back to the club. So rest assured that if you are a member or thinking of being a member, that, you know, we do make sure we take it really seriously that we do represent our members. That's not to say that all our feedback is well received. You know, it's the nature of what we do that sometimes the feedback, you know, it depends, is more welcomed than other times and probably depends on who we speak to. You know, we've got, I've got to be honest, Simon Rudrak as executive chair is always generous with his time with us and will take on board what we've said. So, yeah, you know, it's and we're also fortunate as well that we've got a recently elected member who is passionate about making sure that accessibility in the club is as it should be. And she's really fed back. We've now got two female members, which is good. So the other female member is very passionate about making sure accessibility is right. And as a wheelchair user has fed back lots of things that the club have found useful. And as I said as well, having a member of Cree 16 on the Scarlets board is also an opportunity to feedback our thoughts on that level as well. And it's important that supporters are able to ask difficult questions. You know, and it's good from the club's point of view, from a Scarlets point of view, that one, people feel confident enough to ask a difficult question. You know, they need to have that environment where they can they can say, look, I don't think this is right or what are we doing about this? So it's important that that is there in the club. And that's that's really good. But it's also important to have the channel to to ask that question. And some of those questions need to be asked in private, don't they? Yeah. So, you know, from all of those kind of things, it's it's a great relationship to have between Cree 16 and Scarlets. We say the good stuff is there and the stuff that kind of can trip people up. That's all there and it's all dealt with in the right way, isn't it? Yeah. And ultimately, you know, when when we do give feedback from our members, it's all coming from a good place. You know, we all want the same thing. We all want Scarlets to be the best club, to be close to the top of the table as they as we can be and to have a great match day experience. So it's all coming from a good place, really. Yeah. And I'll be fair, the match day experience with the barn and, you know, with all the little bits and bobs outside, it's improving every home game at the minute. Yeah, I think that's something that we've we've all agreed on. There's no way to quantify it, but we'd like to hope that some of the feedback that we've provided to the club has fared into that. But certainly, I think, and that's also credit to the new stadium manager who's done a good job of Scarlets. But yeah, I'd certainly agree towards that second half of last season, I think the match day experience really did begin to improve and that's continued. Yeah, absolutely. So what does the what does the future look like for Crewe 16 and the Scarlets? Is there anything on the horizon that you're allowed to tell us about that can kind of, you know, this is coming, this is going to be great or is it all? I'm sure there's nothing on the horizon. What does the future look like or what would you hope it looks like? Well, first of all, in terms of our goals as Crewe 16, one of our key goals for the next couple of years is certainly to grow our membership. And hopefully if anybody's listening, you know, I know you'll see at the end how to become a member. That's certainly one thing. We're also keen to, like I said, diversify our membership. Yes, we've got two female members on the board now, but we're still very white as a board, you know, and we're keen to diversify in all aspects of that. Hopefully we'll have more events over the year as well. And then, of course, hopefully as well, the next event that we have, we'll have won a few matches in Europe and things will be, you know, looking on the up. It's one of those things, isn't it, being a part of sport is so much of it revolves around did we win our last game? Just the stuff on social media this week is so different from last week because we've had a win against Cardiff and last week we lost against the Ospreys. The attitude is just very, very different. And we're in the same kind of place where we try to reflect, you know, after the Ospreys game, there were people that were, you know, let's bring back hanging. And then there were people that were like, you know, OK, let's give the guy a chance sort of thing around doing feels or finding a balance in between them and trying to reflect that and say, OK, this is what supporters are feeling. It's quite difficult. So, yeah, let's see if anyone does want to get involved in Crease16. So am I right in thinking that the website is www.crease16.com and then there's the membership inside there, yeah? Yeah. And what I'd also say was, if anybody is a member, we still do have two seats available on the board. So if anybody is interested to get in touch from that aspect as well. And this is the bit that I like about Crease16. It gives people the genuine opportunity to get involved and influence what's going on. As I said, the amount of keyboard warriors that we come across, you would have come across them as well. We come across them quite regularly. People that are sitting there now are full of the ideas and full of, you should be doing this and you should be doing that and why aren't you doing this? This is the opportunity, isn't it, to get involved in Crease16 and have your voice heard? Yeah, definitely. And as I said, there are two seats available currently. So, you know, if people feel strongly about something, as I said, we try to represent our members to the best of our ability. But there are two seats available to come and join us as well. Fantastic. So looking forward then, next week's game, what are your hopes and expectations for next week's game? Oh, it's so difficult, isn't it? As you say, you know, if you'd been asking me this after yesterday's match, there would have been no expectations. But then having, you know, yesterday's match was really positive. I mean, I think we're still going to have to start much quicker. As I said, you know, it was a slow start in Cardiff, so we're going to have to come out of the blocks. You know, again, it depends on the weather as well. With the French teams, you never know what team turns up, you know, so we'll see. But obviously, being an away match, we're up against it more and we've got a few away matches. We've had a few away matches, got a few to come as well. So it's tough. But I think if we can, again, depending on the weather, if we can spread the ball and if the half-backs make such a good combination as they did this week and we can spread the ball and run, then as we know, we are unstoppable in that case. But, you know, we need our line-out to function. We need a strong pack to be able to challenge them. I'm almost on the point of not making predictions for Scarlet's games at the minute because it either goes really, really well or not. I know. I'm going with no expectations, so then you're not heartbroken. Yeah, yeah. It's a case of let's enjoy the game for a couple of days, isn't it? Yeah. Cool. Well, Rachel, thank you for your time today. It's been really good. So we will share the links to pre-16 membership. And I keep promising Martin that I'm going to become a member and I genuinely just haven't got round to it for about four seasons now. So I'm genuinely going to become... So also, it's still free, isn't it, being a member? It's still free, yeah. So if you go on the website, you can join us. There are different things that you can join where you can donate £10 or £20 or whatever you want to donate. I mean, when we do get money, that goes towards our costs, whether it's things to do with the administration of pre-16 or, you know, we've just sponsored Teddy Leatherbraille. So that goes towards things like that as well. So, yeah, you can donate money, but it is free to join. It is free. So there's absolutely no reason not to. For anyone that's listening, and if you care about the Scarlets, and I include myself in this, I will put my hand on my heart. I will join up this evening and I will be there. I promise Martin that I'm going to try and make it to the next coaches. It probably takes two minutes to join, so not much time at all. So in the advert break or in between Strictly and whatever comes after Strictly on a Sunday night, you can join up in that point. Fantastic. Right. Rachel, thank you so much for your time today. It's been absolutely superb. And yeah, hopefully I will be up at the park at some point this season and no doubt Martin will be trailing around with me going, this is Lee and we'll have a catch up and it'll be nice to meet you and say hello. Absolutely. Right. Thank you very much for your time. And for everyone else that's listening, don't forget our main part. Our main part will be out on Tuesday morning. So please listen to that because this is going to be a good one because we've actually got a victory to talk about. And we all know what Hugh and Martin are like when they've got a victory under their belt. We're going to have a bit of fun. So thank you for your time, Rachel. Thank you everyone for listening and we'll speak to you soon. Cheers. Thank you for listening to the Scarlet's Fever podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. Please subscribe, rate and review wherever you listen to us as it really helps us spread the word. You can find us on all the usual social media channels or email us on And remember, whatever the question, rugby is always the answer.