WRU chairman Gareth Davies and chief executive Martyn Phillips have undertaken a series of meetings around the Union’s member clubs in recent weeks – and complete their tour of the country at Ruthin in North Wales in the New Year – in consultation about changes which would significantly modernise the governance structure of Welsh rugby.
In short the plans, if approved by member clubs, would see the WRU Board reduced in number and ‘sub-boards’ cemented to govern community rugby, performance rugby, commercial and finance.
“Good governance is a key foundation for the success of any organisation in any sector, whether commercial, not-for-profit or sport,” said Lawrence Conway, Chair Sport Wales
“Since the launch of the Governance and Leadership Framework for Wales (GLFW) in 2015, Sport Wales has worked across the sports sector to support embedding the principles of good governance to benefit sporting organisations in Wales.
“We recognise the work undertaken to date by the Welsh Rugby Union, and their proposals for further development to aid their governance reforms.
“We particularly welcome their open and honest approach in consulting with a wide range of stakeholders involved with the game at all levels across Wales.”
A final new structure will be proposed at the end of the current consultation process, but an eight-to-12-strong board – including the Chairman, one professional rugby representative, two non-elected/non-executive directors, the WRU chief executive and five Directors from the Community game, who will also be the Chairmen of the local boards.
The intention is that the personnel recruited for the new Board, and sub-boards, would be from diverse backgrounds and meet predetermined criteria ensuring they were reflective of the modern professional and community game in Wales.
The current WRU board is made up of 20 members – chief executive Martyn Phillips, three national directors (Gareth Davies, Anthony Buchanan and Martin Davies), two independent non-executives (Tim Griffin and Aileen Richards) and 14 district representatives.
Davies, believes modernisation is vital to safeguarding the future of Welsh rugby.
“If we do not modernise – as other nations and governing bodies have done (like the RFU, British Cycling, the ECB and the Football Association) – then we get left be behind,” said Davies, who presented plans to key stakeholders in the Welsh and UK media this afternoon. .
“We need a smaller, diverse, more dynamic Board which would be faster moving and with the right skills, perspectives and attributes to govern the modern game – and our consultation meetings are about answering two further questions:
“Why are we proposing change and how can our clubs, their members and all those associated with them, from players to parents in junior clubs to officials and administrators, help effect that change.
“We are undertaking a period of consultation with member clubs to determine the finer details and no change will be possible without a full member’s vote, but it is my strongly held view that embracing change is vitally important to the future of our game.”
The current nine districts would be more geographically aligned and reduced in number to five separate areas of Wales, giving five directors representing the community game.
Sarah Powell, the chief executive of Sport Wales, also agrees with the plans:
“We are sure that proposals which emerge from this process will allow Welsh rugby to take a lead in the game globally in terms of a modern and localised approach to how the game is led,” she added.
“They will help to ensure the WRU has the right governance structures in place to meet the evolving needs of the game, resulting in them being at the forefront of good practice in corporate governance.”
Any change in governance structure and at Board level at the WRU must be brought before an open vote of its 320-plus member clubs and a special General Meeting is set to be called based upon the results of the current consultation process.
