Crucial vote ahead for rugby in Wales

IT IS no exaggeration to label tomorrow’s extraordinary general meeting one of the most important events in the modern history of the Welsh Rugby Union.

The future direction of the game in Wales will be decided at Port Talbot’s Princess Royal Theatre in what has been described as a “watershed moment”.

This EGM has been a long time coming with the governance of the WRU having been questioned for a number of years, and many labelling it “archaic”.

But the straw that broke the camel’s back was a BBC Wales investigation when past employees of the WRU accused the governing body of overseeing a “toxic culture”. There were allegations of misogyny, sexism and racism within the WRU which has led to huge scrutiny.

Add to that the failing regional game, along with the declining fortunes of the men’s national team, then you find yourself in a perilous situation.

But as it stands most of the people on the WRU board do not possess the required skillset to fix these problems. This is about ridding the board of well-intentioned volunteers from the amateur game to replace them with the calibre of people who are business leaders, to increase revenue for all parts of the game.

A vote against the motion put forward by the WRU would be catastrophic for the game in Wales as a whole, with the lost revenue likely to be so severe it could lead to some grass-roots clubs and even a professional side going to the wall.

The reputational damage would be close to unfixable given the allegations of misogyny and sexism within the WRU.

If enough clubs voted against increasing the amount of women in key positions on the board then there is a danger the WRU will be viewed as a backwards, sexist organisation. This could lead to significant financial losses with key sponsors having already warned the WRU they would consider their positions if the current cultural issues aren’t corrected.

It would also be difficult to replace these sponsors because many businesses may not want to associate themselves with the WRU.

Also, there is the danger of independent non-executive directors Henry Engelhardt, Malcolm Wall and Catherine Read walking away from the WRU.

If the result – expected to be tight – rejects the motion, expect swift resignations and a game plunged into a crisis even bigger than those that have come before.