WRU chair on why drastic change is needed

Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chair Richard Collier-Keywood says he was embarrassed by the 73-0 defeat against South Africa but wants to carry on his role.

Collier-Keywood spoke with member clubs after the WRU AGM on Sunday.

That AGM was held less than 24 hours after the humiliating loss to the Springboks and you would have expected the WRU to come under major scrutiny from the clubs.

Why was the match held outside of World Rugby’s international window was the only question that was posed during the professional game.

There were no queries about the WRU’s drastic plans for the professional game, which includes cutting one of its four men’s sides.

Collier-Keywood was later quizzed by the media about how long the WRU’s plan will take to implement and how it will cut one of the four current professional men’s sides, with the proposal to have three teams based in the west, east and Cardiff.

The remaining three teams’ former UK government senior adviser, who is now Dragons, have already stated they do not want those terms, were also questioned about whether they would accept the WRU’s demand for more direct control over playing situations.

He also gave an answer on whether Wales will have to field a semi-professional Super Rygbi Cymru side in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Question: Are you close to implementing your plan for Welsh rugby?

Richard Collier-Keywood: “We are working hard to get consensus, because that’s the best way to do this.”

” There are many issues with getting consensus. One of them, out of four, is.

“The others are the rugby operating model, the finances going forward and what we do in relation to the URC.

If the rugby operating model isn’t changed, then there’s no point in joining three teams.

“As a proud Welshman, when I was watching Wales against South Africa you just think we need better collaboration and corroboration.

We probably wouldn’t be here today if we hadn’t had that for ten years. That’s the thing we are making sure we get right.

The second is “the financial side.” You saw that with Cardiff, who ought to be the most successful financial club.

Because its owners did not provide the funding, it was in the capital and right next to Principality Stadium, which was put in administration in April 2025.

“We’ve got to make the clubs that go forward financially sustainable with support from the Union, but also appropriate support from owners, and they’ve got to be committed to that.

Third, we’ve said repeatedly that we believe that three is the appropriate number for various playing situations, so we need to resolve that.

“The fourth]point] is we still have to satisfy our contractual commitments to the URC”.

Q: Are you on the verge of reducing the number of professional Welsh clubs from four to three? Is one of the current sides taking over another the preferred solution for you?

RCK: “When you go from four to three, it’s the simplest to combine two clubs, or have one of the other clubs buy Cardiff from us.”

” Those are two obvious routes. “

Q: Are the Ospreys’ owners Y11 interested in purchasing Cardiff?

RCK:” I don’t want to comment on any specific ones we are in dialogue with for obvious reasons.

We are negotiating a number of different options with a number of people.

” Commenting on any one particular one would give you a false impression on what’s going on. “

Q: What are the most recent rumors about potential acquisitions of Cardiff?

RCK:” The person receiving the bids was Gavin Marshall]WRU chief operating officer].

Q: If you go to three clubs, will you have to field a fourth team in the United Rugby Championship?

RCK: “We currently need to play four clubs in the URC. It is how we deal with the URC commitment to put four teams in that, so we are working on that in parallel.

It’s likely that it won’t take long at all.

Q: Can you see the irony of having to find a fourth side when you are cutting a team that currently exists?

RCK: “The answer presupposes that we are finding the fourth side,” RCK.

“We might not have to. We would prefer a lot more options for solutions.

” We have engaged with the URC on this – 15]teams] is a tough number for them in the league but 14 and 16 is acceptable is my understanding, although they’ll have their own view on that.

That implies that one nation might want fewer or more teams, according to the report.

” There are a number of potential entrants to URC who have been queuing up for a number of years.

Because we want to host the Rugby World Cup there in a few years, we need to include the US on that map. There are also Georgia, Spain, and the United States.

” So, it might not fall on us. We must have a back-up plan because we must be prepared for what might come up if it does.

Q: WRU director of rugby Dave Reddin mentioned you could be looking at a fourth side that is outside of Wales? Could you also join a Super Rygbi Cymru club in the URC if it does happen to you?

RCK:” We are looking at all options and that is something that is on the table, just as retaining one of the existing ones is on the table. “

Q: When will the URC contract expire?

RCK:” It’s a rolling contract so we are committed into the future for having four teams.

No one of our top teams can compete in any other competition, as we have a commitment to do so until 2028. Those are the two obligations.

Do you have no control over the three sides’ playing and coaching rights, or could you give in?

RCK:” I wouldn’t call it control. That probably goes too far in terms of what we are trying to accomplish.

“We want them to be seen as individual clubs. The owners should have a say in the rugby side, we want to see.

” But there are certain aspects of it we want, largely because we are paying for all the players and are offering to pay for the coaching and support staff.

We do want to be actively involved in what transpires on the field in those clubs, in those circumstances.

” I acknowledge we are building from a platform of little trust from the past, where the WRU and the clubs stood off each other a lot, and in terms of the disputes which went on.

I’ve tried to create a platform where you can interact with one another, engage in trivial matters, establish a trust-building relationship, and engage in significant matters.

” Some of the things we are asking them to do now are big things, we recognise that.

It’s true that the club’s finances will suffer if our rugby strategy fails. I get that, but equally the status quo doesn’t make sense for us”.

Only players from the four professional teams made up the Wales team that faced South Africa. Is what happened a representation of what the regions can produce, and accentuate the argument for sides controlling their own destinies is not working?

RCK: “I believe it did,” he said. I wouldn’t put everything on one game. After reviewing a lot of evidence over the past few years, we made our decision as a board weeks ago, and we did so in part because we wanted to see what could actually be improved if some structures and systems were changed.

” Dave Reddin has outlined some of the things we plan to do which will make a difference.

Instead of having individual academies with overreaching national views, one is a single national academy that everyone participates in.

” That one small thing would be a huge step forward.

“The cohesion that comes from being able to mandate and place yourself in a position where the key playing partnerships in club rugby play together.

Do you accept the AGM’s findings as a requirement for your “Project Reset” from the clubs?

RCK:” Yes, definitely. Everyone wants Welsh rugby to improve, even me.

“It is deeply embedded in our DNA. We want that, too. There is a plan for that to happen.

It would have been the simplest decision to stick to four clubs, according to the author.

“But we wouldn’t have had the money to invest in pathways and other things we need to do to create the difference moving forward.

The board found it was the simplest to stick to four clubs. They didn’t make that decision, so credit to them.

Not everyone is happy with us, and it’s going to be difficult. I can understand and sympathise with that.

I understand why that’s awful if I had supported the one club that will end.

“But equally if you want Welsh rugby to move on and for us to be able to compete at the top level, we need to make those changes.

“We have known that for probably months.

“It was laid bare to the nation on Saturday. In terms of performance, that is the mountain we must climb.

Q: Lots of people who don’t have a vote are not happy with your proposals. Everyone [the clubs] seem to have a vote, but they were unbothered.

RCK: “I don’t think it’s a case of ‘ aren’t bothered’.

We’ve had some interesting discussions with some of the neighborhood clubs about the direction the organization wants to take.

“We did this consultation with 7, 000 responses to it, so there is concern in the community about how it goes forward.

There is a mandate to make this change, I suppose, given the lack of questions. That is clear.

That relieves and makes me happy. We thought that was the case because we listened to the consultation, read everything, looked at it all and made a decision.

It’s encouraging that they succeeded. They]clubs] are our shareholders and stakeholders.

“We’ve made a lot of effort to communicate better with those clubs over the past two or three years.”

” Leighton Davies,]WRU commercial officer] has gone around the district meetings at least twice each year to support that.

I conduct at least two financial club webinars each year. A lot of that probably wasn’t news to them.

Many people told me that it is now being run well and professionally.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t care about Welsh rugby. We care, and that’s why we’re doing this.