Crying into our beer after World Cup exit? Not up here we're not; WRU TAFFIA ENSURE WE'LL NEVER BE A RUGBY NATION.

Byline: ian PARRI

NOW that the wailing is dying down and people are accepting we haven't a God-given right to defeat the likes of Fiji at rugby, can we please put this nonsense into perspective?

It's been painted as a national disaster, a kick in our collective whaddyacallems. I'm sure that outside our cloistered borders they're imagining abject howls of despair emanating from the bowels of the deepest coal pits.

So, let's be honest, have you noticed any more glum faces than normal around the place these last few days? Of course you haven't.

Some people like to depict rugby as some sort of religion here. They say it's one of the more potent symbols of our nationality, along with leeks, stovepipe hats and harps.

The truth is that rugby can hardly be said to represent this nation of ours at all when it's so obviously seen by the mafia at the so-called "Welsh" Rugby Union as the preserve of the south.

Exaggerating, am I? Absolutely not. They relegate Llangefni instead of awarding them the promotion they won, because they're too far away from the M4 heartland.

They graciously allow the North Wales under-i6s team to play their regional counterparts in the south, after they defeated the Llanelli Scarlets 12-5, but only on condition they're disadvantaged by playing all their matches away from home.

Now that they've sacked coach Gareth Jenkins, the WRU big-wigs tell us they'll search the globe for a replacement. All the globe apart from anywhere in Wales north of Pontypridd, that is.

Certainly the only man from North Wales to coach Wales was Bangor's Tony Gray in 1985-88.

Having won Wales their first Triple Crown in nine years and guided the team to third place in the inaugural World Cup, he was sacked three months after being named the European Coach of the Year. How very gratifying. See what I mean about the Taffia?

OK, so the coaching or playing talent may or may not be here. How are we ever to find out if the Taffia continues with its blatant southern bias?

Rugby a symbol of our nationhood and unity, did you say? Don't make me laugh. Or do I really mean cry?

CAPTION(S):

You'll see few glum faces north of Pontypridd