Rugby Union: A union to celebrate in Wales

There were many happy and relieved faces at Ieuan Evans's wedding on Friday. Not because they were glad to see him at the altar at last but because the happy day coincided with the outbreak of peace in the great Welsh club-versus-country war.

It has been a very anxious and difficult time for everyone concerned and you could feel the reduction of tension. Despite all our rivalries, there is still very much a family atmosphere about Welsh rugby and you could sense that as we helped Ieuan and Katherine celebrate.

Now that a compromise has been reached it will mean that Welsh-based players can settle down to a straight-forward training routine and I am sure it is going to lead to better rugby at club and international level.

It is very sad if the deadlock - which threatened players with a daily training session for both Wales and their club - persuaded some to accept transfers to English clubs where they would not be affected so much.

I don't think it was behind Ieuan's move to Bath. He isn't too sure about continuing his international career, anyhow. Now that he is a family man, he has to think about financial security and the chance to take a two- year contract and at the same time experience an exciting new challenge as he nears the end of his career was too big a temptation for him to resist.

It hurts him to leave his beloved Llanelli but I think everyone appreciates his position. As I reminded him last week, there's a slight difference in attitude to departing players since I left Llanelli to join Widnes nine years ago.

Ieuan and I first met on the field when we were in rival school teams. I was used to being the smallest player on the pitch but he was the shortest 14-year-old I've ever seen. When I joined Neath four or five years later I persuaded them to sign Ieuan. He played two games for them before he moved over to Llanelli. He was a centre or a wing in those days; in fact, I used to think he'd make a better centre.

What helps to make Ieuan special is that he possesses the one thing that every modern rugby professional must have - enthusiasm. I've been a pro player for much longer than most men in union and when the game went professional I warned everyone that money would never replace enthusiasm as the most vital part of their approach.

Money is an important reward but as an incentive it doesn't compare to a genuine keenness to train and play. I've watched recently as players whose attitude I knew to be beyond question were starting to suffer flagging enthusiasm. They were patriotic enough to want to help the Welsh cause but knew they had a duty to their clubs. They were caught between two masters and were knackered, mentally and physically, before the season started.

I can understand the WRU's policy. We are in a unique position geographically and with our leading clubs so close together it offers a chance for the international squad to develop in unison. We saw from the Lions success what can happen if a squad stays together for a long period of time.

But it was hard to find a way around the club demands on the players, so something had to give and I am delighted that a solution has been found. As far as I can make out, fitness training is to be left to the clubs and since the leading clubs have expert fitness coaches this should not be a problem. I imagine the Welsh squad players will be called in for regular fitness assessments to check they meet the required standards.

This could ensure a rise in general fitness levels because the non-international players at the clubs will want to keep pace with the capped players.

With fitness taken care of, Welsh squad sessions on a weekly basis can concentrate on skills, tactics, play-patterns and so on. Frequent visits to clubs by the Welsh coaches to meet players and discuss individual deficiencies can also help to improve squad preparations.

If all this brings the clubs and country closer together in terms of tactical approach, Wales could come out of it very strongly. More importantly, the players will have a clear sense of direction restored to them. They'll still be eating, drinking and sleeping rugby but they'll be doing so with willing and eager hearts.