Buchanan has left his duties as director of rugby at the Principality Premiership club partly in order to concentrate on the WRU national director role he won in elections last autumn.
The former Scarlets team manager, who was capped five times by Wales as a prop in the 1980s and was part of the Rugby World Cup bronze medal winning side in ’87, has recently completed a wide-ranging internal review of the WRU’s new SSE SWALEC National League structures.
Buchanan, who is also WRU representative with World Rugby, was chairman of the SSE SWALEC National League Review Working Party in one of his first board roles.
The review process has now been completed and agreed, with amendments announced including the removal of the play-off system for promotion and relegation from the Championship division down through all the leagues.
Llanelli stalwarts Gareth Jenkins, the former Wales coach and current Scarlets head of recruitment and Scarlets chairman Nigel Short presented Buchanan with a plaque at the official dinner following the Scarlets win over Cardiff Blues last weekend.
And Buchanan sees the presentation as marking a new chapter in his working life, highlighting the transition he is making from the touchlines into the board room at the top echelons of Welsh rugby.
“I’ve now finished with all my duties with Llanelli Rugby Club, I will miss being involved on a day to day basis, but it has been a necessary move so that I can concentrate fully on the work ahead with the WRU,” said Buchanan.
“People have been congratulating me on my appointment to the board on an almost weekly basis and everyone has a piece of advice or an encouraging word to follow.
“Many of my friends and colleagues in the game have talked about changes and things that they would be looking to do if they were in my shoes, but I’ve found that a more considered approach is necessary.
“This is the Welsh Rugby Union and there is no closed agenda, but a wide-ranging remit to safeguard and benefit the future of the whole game.
“The Union is doing some great things for Welsh rugby and any changes to be made will be made in right ways at the right time.
“We are steering the right course in a measured way and with consideration of all parties.
“My own attitude, based on my experience in the game, has been to call things how I see them, I will continue to do that and I am very much relishing the challenges ahead.
“My intention is to be a voice for all those that participate in this great game of ours, that we support and respect, and for the good of Welsh rugby
“My time as a WRU board member and with World Rugby so far has been fascinating and I am excited about the potential for what we may be able to achieve in the years to come.”
Buchanan made 238 appearances for Llanelli and, as well as receiving the World Cup Bronze medal in 1987, he won a Triple Crown in ‘88.
He went on to manage the Scarlets from 1991 through the transition from amateur to professional rugby, when future Wales coach Jenkins was at the helm, and was appointed director of rugby for the Llanelli club in 2008.
He was elected onto the board of the Welsh Rugby Union as national director last October, alongside current Chairman Gareth Davies and district directors Chris Morgan and David Young, and is to serve a minimum three-year term.
