WRU plans delay will see Wales fall behind - Tierney

Abi Tierney became the first Welsh Rugby Union chief executive in January 2024 [Huw Evans Agency]

Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive Abi Tierney has warned further delays to controversial proposals for the professional game will mean Wales fall further behind.

The union's plan to cut from four to three men's sides has been criticised by supporters and politicians, but the WRU intends to will push forward to complete the plans.

Tierney's declaration was made at an WRU extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held at Cardiff's Principality Stadium that lasted three hours.

But Tierney provided no update on the process of how a professional team will be culled with no agreement reached yet with the existing sides Cardiff, Ospreys, Scarlets and Dragons.

There were also no more details given on the WRU's plans to sell Cardiff to the Ospreys' owners.

Why were the three EGM motions dropped?

The Central Glamorgan Rugby Union (CGRU) initially succeeded in receiving the required 10% of backing from Welsh clubs to call the EGM.

It had proposed three motions, which included a vote of no-confidence in WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall.

The third motion involved governance changes which included how the four council WRU members - who sit on the governing body's board - are elected.

It has since been announced both Collier-Keywood and Wall will be leaving their respective roles.

Former Harlequins chairman Wall has been replaced on an interim basis by Marianne Okland, while the process has been started to replace Collier-Keywood.

Following the announcement of those departures, the CGRU wrote to clubs stating it would withdraw the motions and believed the EGM should be cancelled.

The WRU rejected calls for the meeting to be called off, saying legal obligations dictate it must go ahead.

The governing body wrote to member clubs to check if any object to the resolutions being withdrawn from the EGM, given that 40 of the original 50 member clubs that requisitioned the meeting proactively withdrew their support.

Nobody objected at the beginning of the meeting and the motions were dropped.

About 124 clubs out of 284 member clubs and districts were represented at the meeting either in person or online to ensure it could be held.

'Future of rugby in Wales'

What followed was a WRU presentation of more than 90 minutes on the future of rugby in Wales with contributions from departing chair Collier-Keywood, Tierney, director of rugby Dave Reddin and community director Geraint John.

Collier-Keywood will be replaced in the summer with the WRU using an external consultant to help appoint his successor.

He used his departing speech to warn of the time he had spent during his three-year tenure with disputes with the regional sides was far greater than any other issues.

Tierney outlined why they were sticking with three teams, while Reddin described the proposed pathway programme, but admitted the system could not be established until an agreement was reached with the professional teams and funds were released.

This was followed by a robust question and answer session of a hour and a half which included queries on why the WRU bailed out Cardiff and why the governing body continues to use external consultants.

Former Principality chief operating officer Rob Regan, who has been a public critic of the WRU decision to drop a side, asked the board to outline what they have got wrong in the past two years in order to try and regain some public trust.

Tierney stated she wondered whether the WRU had taken too long to get a new agreement with the men's professional sides.

Collier-Keywood agreed with Tierney by stating they tried to maintain four sides for too long and Cardiff's takeover made them realise the benefactor model of Welsh rugby was not sustainable for Wales.

Tierney confirmed that ticket sales from the Autumn Nations and Six Nations were below budget, with a quote from the audience stating the chief executive had told a district meeting it was a £6m shortfall.

Tierney also stated that Collier-Keywood's departure will not affect the plans for three teams.

CGRU representative Chris Morgan stated four teams should remain and urged the WRU to work with Regan and reassess the three-team plan, while also questioned if there was enough rugby experience on a WRU board, claims that were denied by the governing body.

Outstanding matters

The WRU announced in January that Ospreys owners Y11 Sport & Media were the preferred option to buy Cardiff, a process that is still ongoing.

That proposal has been met with criticism and protests from fans and politicians. Legal action has been initiated by Swansea Council against the WRU amid doubts over Ospreys' long-term future.

The WRU has tried to convince people that the Cardiff takeover deal by Ospreys is not connected with their efforts to reduce a side, insisting publicly the two issues are separate. Tierney again used the EGM to insist no decision has been made on which three teams would be awarded licences.

The governing body says if it cannot come to an agreement with the regions about losing a professional side by consensus, a tender process will take place.

Separately, the WRU has had to deal with legal action instigated by Scarlets over the Cardiff takeover with both sides refusing to publicly release details of the case.

Tierney refused to comment on the Scarlets case when directly asked about the outcome.