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The Gwyn Jones Column – Judgement Day Special

This season's Judgement Day is a huge commercial success. A sell-out Principality Stadium is a remarkable achievement for this derby double header when you consider that this is hardly an extraordinary year for Welsh rugby at any level other than the Under 20s.

I have no interest or knowledge in the commercial or marketing world but the collaborative work by the regions and the WRU has succeeded in making Judgement Day VI an event that reaches beyond the usual regional base and more akin to an international day crowd.

I think that this achievement should be put in perspective. In these days of low spectator numbers any strategy that attracts 70,000 people to watch the regional rugby in its current plight is nothing short of miraculous.

Some might say that this is an opportunity for a new audience to get a taste of regional rugby and whet their appetite for next season.

I think the regions have to make a conscious effort to go out to entertain. This needs to be a spectacle.

We cannot ignore the type of rugby that dominated the 2015 World Cup. The southern hemisphere teams ran from deep, they went out to score tries and they played at a remarkable pace.

The ball in play time is increasing, the number of tackles, passes and carries are rising. Players are getting fitter, leaner and more aerobic in order to play a more agile and fluid game.

Some of our players need to get out of the gym. They need to replace a dumb bell with a rugby ball and worry more about their left-hand passing rather than their benching.

Wales prides itself on being the fittest and most conditioned side in the world, but yet we are nowhere near being the best. There is a new game being played that the Welsh regions must embrace.

So my plea to the regions on Judgment Day is to go out and be unapologetically positive. Not silly but attack first and think safety after. If not, it will be a long afternoon for 70,000 people to sit through a never-ending series of scrums and driving lineouts. If the play is dull and turgid, they won't come back.In fairness the Blues back row of opensides are playing a dynamic type of game. They are attack minded. The test will come against the physicality of the Ospreys. Can the Blues continue to play in the face of fast line speed and more traditionally powerful pack?

I'm going for a narrow Blues win

The second game is arguably the more interesting. The Dragons will try to forget their off-field antics for 80 minutes to challenge a Scarlets side trying to arrest a worrying slide down the table and even more worrying slide in form.

I think the Scarlets will hang on to win this one; if they don't, they are entering freefall.

Gwyn Jones is a member of S4C's Clwb Rygbi presentation team. Watch S4C's live coverage of the Dragons v Scarlets Judgement Day IV match, Saturday 30 April, kick off 5.00pm, English commentary available. The Blues v Ospreys match will be broadcast live on BBC Two Wales from the Principality Stadium, kick off 2.30pm.

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