Statistical headache at Parc y Scarlets

I am grateful to my good friend Les Williams for the following . . .
It’s every statistician’s nightmare – what happens when the goalposts are moved?
It’s happened in the proud history of rugby in Llanelli, but time waits for no man and every historian knows that decisions have to be made, for good or for ill.
The Gordian Knot we have had to wrestle with in Llanelli is tangled around the move to regional rugby in 2003.
Llanelli RFC (the Scarlets) played their very first game on January 1, 1876 (versus the Cambrian Club at People’s Park, Llanelli).
In 2003, regional rugby came in and Llanelli RFC continued as a semi-professional team alongside the premier rugby side of the Llanelli Scarlets (now simply known as the Scarlets).
At the heart of the Gordian Knot was the question of what to do with the statistics which detailed Llanelli appearances, points and try scorers.
The nitty-gritty statistics are the treasured archive of rugby in Llanelli for us rugby historians.
Alexander The Great solved his intractable problem with a bold stroke of his sword, so I decided to do the same and continued the statistical track for the old Llanelli RFC into the new regional side, viewing the regional side as the flag-bearers for rugby in Llanelli.
But was I right? The scary bit for us historians is that we, too, can be judged by history. So there will doubtless be rugby fans out there thinking that I’ve made the wrong judgement call. That being the case, I’d like to hear from them.
Why did I take this particular statistical route?
Well, to backtrack to the formation of regional rugby in 2003.
I can well remember the establishment of regional rugby being a particularly hectic time for the administrators at the old Stradey Park.
The club was the only one in Wales to ‘stand alone’ as a rugby region, with all the other regions being made up of partnerships and alliances.
In the hurly-burly of the transition to regional rugby it is not surprising that my nagging for some guidance on what to do about the statistics didn’t result in any definitive conclusion.
But I did receive a significant pointer from the then Scarlets captain Simon Easterby, who told me: “I’m wearing a Llanelli shirt, changing in the same dressing room and playing on the same pitch at Stradey Park, so what’s the difference?”
Coach Gareth Jenkins was equally at home with the argument that the torch-bearers for rugby in Llanelli should carry the records forward into the new era.
And so it is that now (with the Scarlets in their new home at Parc y Scarlets) we have the team statistics logged as having played 4993 games, which means the historic 5000 barrier will be broken this autumn.
The continuous record also means that we have cases like that of our great fly-half Stephen Jones.
He started playing for Llanelli RFC, but went on to play for the Scarlets and is now the most prolific points scorer in Llanelli rugby history, beating the legendary Andy Hill’s record.
He holds the record, of course, because the statistical line from Llanelli RFC to the Scarlets is taken as the correct one.
Some statisticians and historian may well argue the case.
They will point to the fact that regions like the Ospreys and the Cardiff Blues started their statistical records afresh.
They are, of course, entirely new entities in being an amalgamation of old clubs.
I’d argue that there is a seamless transition from club to region in the case of the Scarlets, the only ‘stand-alone’ region in Wales.
It’s an argument which will doubtless lead to a lot of bar-room squabbles in years to come, but even the humblest pub quiz team will appreciate the need for clarity.
In my view, the clearest way forward was to adopt the statistical track we have taken. But I do, of course, welcome any views to the contrary.
I am sure BBC Radio Wales listeners and readers of the South Wales Evening Post and Llanelli Star will have their views - and they might like to have their say in the media.
Alternatively, I welcome your views. Send them to me c/o Parc y Scarlets.
Les Williams