The redeeming factor for Wales in their 28-52 loss to Argentina in Cardiff is that only 50,000 had to watch it inside the Principality Stadium.
That’s not because the team’s national arena has a 50,000-seat cap for this game, or because renovation works forced the closure of a stand. It was because millions of Welsh patriots decided to vote with their feet and disassociate themselves with a national team whose record sits at 19 losses in 20 matches.
That’s 24,000 empty seats for a team which represents a passionate rugby nation, and it is the lowest crowd in Cardiff for nine years.
And there are fears their match next weekend against New Zealand could post a fixture attendance of below 70,000 for the first time in two decades, while their concluding match against the world champions South Africa could be a woefully attended (non) spectacle.
I feel for the fans across the River Severn with the governing Welsh Rugby Union somewhat burning the fingers of those who literally maintain the existence of the game at a grassroots level.
Wales in a rut
But it could get a hell of a lot worse; Wales’ next game is up against Japan. Wales and Japan are fighting for the final spot in Band Two ahead of the World Cup group draw.
The top six sides will not play each other in the pool stages and finishing outside of the top 12 means you’re guaranteed to play two of the teams above you in the pool stages. For Wales that could be a combination of South Africa and Australia. Brutal.
And it gets worse still, because Japan could lose against Wales this weekend before beating Georgia later this month to reach 12th. It is out of Wales’ hands.
RankTeam1South Africa2New Zealand3Ireland4England5France6Argentina7Australia8Scotland9Fiji10Italy11Georgia12Wales13Japan
Humble pie
But the WRU chiefs should eat humble pie and accept that this is where the game is, and they should accept the role successive administrations have played in pushing fans away.
Wanting to cut the number of professional teams to two, and then deciding it will be three, riled up thousands of fans – and the four regions. They’ve almost decided to sit somewhere between the status quo and radical change, resulting in little movement.
Rugby union is widely considered the national sport of Wales, but for how much longer? Sure the football team plays at the much smaller Cardiff City Stadium but they’ve curated a culture that’s infectious. The “us against the world” mentality cannot be replicated at the Principality, because it effectively it’s “us against us”.
A quick search on the WRU website shows empty seats for this weekend’s match against Japan but the cheaper price point has limited the damage.
But take a look at the tickets for South Africa and not enough have been sold to open the back half of the top tier, with thousands of seats free across a number of blocks. Not good.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance. Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11