Shane Williams calls for WRU to invest into grassroots rugby

Kieran Miller

Shane Williams has called on the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to invest in indoor and all-weather facilities to improve the future of the game and support local clubs.

Speaking exclusively to the Beyond the Breakdown podcast, the former Wales winger suggested regular cancellations at grassroots level risk draining participation in the sport.

Williams said: “We do live in Wales and the weather isn’t the best, let’s be honest.

“The WRU and powers above need to help out the pathways to rugby and that to me is getting the facility so that we’re able to do that.”

Williams, who began his career at Amman United RFC, said a recent fixture at Ammanford RFC was called off due to torrential rain and a waterlogged pitch.

Across Wales in recent weeks, heavy downpours and flooding have forced grassroots and semi-professional matches to be postponed. In December 2025, seventy rugby matches were called off in Wales on a single day, with flooding impeding weekend fixtures and causing disruption in the country.

Shane Williams’ intervention comes as the national team struggles for form.

Sunday’s defeat to Scotland at the Principality Stadium marked Wales’ 14th consecutive Six Nations defeat, losing 24 of their past 26 fixtures.

It follows the lowest recorded attendance last weekend against France at the stadium since 2002, with mood throughout Welsh rugby at a low, worsened by controversy surrounding the handling of the Ospreys.

Wales’ record try-scorer Shane Williams believes recovery begins with grassroots investment, advocating for “3G pitches, indoor facilities, even AstroTurf” to ensure year-round training.

“I’m a big advocate for all-year training facilities,” he said, pointing to a recent grant awarded to a local school that has enabled pupils to train regardless of conditions.

‘We’ve got to invest’

Williams has added that he would like to see similar provision rolled out nationwide.

Beyond the Breakdown host Richard Parks agreed, citing the popularity of football in Wales and the Football Association of Wales’ investment in indoor centres: “If we want to continue providing these spaces for young people’s development, we’ve got to invest,” he said.

Craig Maloney, head coach of Ammanford’s first senior team, described a stark shift in seasonal patterns. He explained: “Now the rainfall has come and it’s been really heavy, and it’s affected a lot of rugby clubs around Wales with flooding.”

Even Ammanford’s higher, more resilient training pitch proved unusable after recent downpours, forcing sessions onto a nearby 3G surface. Maloney added: “Those facilities are going to come more in use, especially in rugby.”

He noted that while frost and snow cancellations have become rarer, intense storms and prolonged wet spells appear more frequent.

There’s a lot of questions for the WRU to consider at this moment in time, but Williams believes that this investment could turn the ship around on the road to recovery.