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The All Blacks will arrive in Wales 13 months after their last visit and again find their hosts are ripping themselves apart.
When New Zealand arrived in Cardiff last year - to play France in the World Cup quarter-final - the Welsh were in chaos, having sacked their
coach when they failed to progress to the knock-out rounds. Now, the latest outbreak of in-fighting is partly being fuelled by the very man Wales hired to improve their fortunes, Warren Gatland.
The former Waikato coach might just have lost the plot. He, and by extension the Welsh Rugby Union, became incensed a few weeks back that the Welsh regions would not release their test players 13 days before the national team had to play South Africa.
The regions - Ospreys, Gwent Dragons, Scarlets and Cardiff Blues - had scheduled EDF Cup games on the weekend of November 1-2, and wanted to field their best teams. As is the way with these things, resolution couldn't be reached and the lawyers have been called in.
That has seen the relationship between the regions and the WRU break down, which is why the former asked David Moffett if he would represent them in negotiations to reach a settlement.
Moffett is the former NZRU and, ironically, Welsh Rugby Union chief executive. The regions have asked him to sort out the current mess and to help draft a longer-term agreement to prevent future clashes between club and country.
The RFU reached an agreement with their professional clubs after the World Cup last year and the Welsh want a similar deal; or at least a working partnership restored.
The possibility of harmony being restored was not helped last week when Gatland suggested the reason Wales lost to South Africa was their lack of preparation time. The crucial score came early in the second half when South African second five Jean de Villiers intercepted a James Hook pass and scored.
Gatland claimed there wasn't enough time in the build-up to analyse fully the strengths of the South Africans and that may have been a factor in the crucial mistake being made.
"With limited preparation time we needed to prioritise," Gatland told the Western Mail. "The Ospreys players and Dragons boys did not train last Monday because they played on the Sunday so, yes, it did hamper our preparations. We worked pretty hard on our defence.
"That's been something that was really strong but we probably felt there was some attacking options we failed to nail. The next few weeks we have got to get that right. I was feeling like slitting my wrists watching when the boys were doing their analysis because there were a number of things we had to prioritise in the lead-up.
"We want as much time as we can with the players. That's the important thing."
Moffett is flabbergasted Gatland could make such a claim. "That is taking excuse-making to new levels," said Moffett. "The last thing the coach should have been saying to the players is don't throw any 50:50 passes."
The spat between the two bodies is on hold during the November series and is unlikely to affect the quality of side Wales can put out to face the All Blacks. The longer-term worry, however, is that this dispute could stay unresolved and impact upon the ability of Wales to keep its best players.
Moffett estimates about 30 million ($80m) has been pumped into the Welsh game from private sources. That investment has allowed the Ospreys to develop into a significant European force and for all four regions to keep the best Welsh players at home and attract some big names from overseas.
In the past three years, the Welsh have won two Grand Slams and much of their success is built on the strength of their regions.
Moffett believes the regions have been more than reasonable in the player access they have granted the WRU. Last year the Welsh national team had the players for 190 days and again this year the regions have agreed to release test stars for the game against Australia which falls outside the IRB window.
The regions all received 100,000 each for making their players available but that is a fraction of the profit the WRU will make from hosting the test.
"I guess it's typical of a Kiwi coach that they want the players for as long as they can get them. There needs to be a balance," says Moffett.
The All Blacks only had five days' preparation before playing Australia in Hong Kong as they did when they played Ireland after the Super 14 final.
The regions are supportive of test rugby and want Wales to do well but 13 days' preparation is a luxury even the best side in the world, which centrally contracts its players, is not afforded. If those men funding the regions start to see players become unavailable 13 days out from tests, they might have to reconsider their investment.
The All Blacks don't need to care about any of this ahead of this week's test. The fact they will arrive in Cardiff to find the Welsh fighting amongst themselves is business as usual.
