Warren Gatland won't save Welsh rugby without major root and branch surgery to the game at all levels.
That's the verdict of former Sport Wales chief executive Huw Jones, who has urged newly-elected Welsh Rugby Union chairman Ieuan Evans to call an extraordinary general meeting to propose the establishment of a skills-based board to take Welsh rugby forward.
He believes there is an immediate need to develop a new organisational culture in the WRU, establish a working group to develop a strategy for rugby, review the Professional Rugby Agreement with the pro clubs and reprioritise funding, along with establishing an engagement plan, and review the executive.
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Jones, who is a member of Cardiff Rugby's supporters trust CF10, believes the governance of the game must change with the WRU board currently consisting of eight community club members out of 12.
"There’s a danger now that the board will think that the replacement of a national coach will solve their problems," Jones told WalesOnline. "The appointment of Warren Gatland will certainly provoke media attention and discussion but it won’t solve the governance failings of the WRU.
"The current board are not capable of addressing the major problems and this means a continuing erosion of confidence in the WRU and ongoing decline in the game at both professional and community levels. Fundamentally, the WRU board members need to recognise that if they're not part of the solution then they're part of the problem.
"The role of 8-10 board members of a company or governing body is to both challenge and support the executive. Using their experience and knowledge they should be able to question the culture which exists, the strategic direction of the organisation, the risks it faces and relationships with stakeholders.
"It should also ensure collective responsibility for decision-making and ensure the continued professional development of the executive. It is self-evident that the WRU board does not satisfy the above requirements and needs to change.
"Eight out of the 12 board members are elected as either national or district representatives. Individually, they are decent people who have given a great deal to the game but their backgrounds and lack of experience make most of them unsuitable to be board directors of a £90million organisation."
Currently the Professional Rugby Board, which consists of the chairs of all four regions along with the WRU and two independent directors is subordinate to the main WRU board which has a community game majority.
Jones, who has a reputation as a successful sport administrator, believes a better balance on the main WRU board between the community game and professional businesspeople would stand a better chance of solving Welsh rugby's current issues.
"There are many areas where a stronger board would have served the WRU better," said Jones. "The culture of the organisation has been under scrutiny as a result of an employment tribunal case of a female employee along with the departure of a prominent female non-executive director. On top of that there are numerous non-disclosure agreements which have been made with departing members of staff. You have to ask, what sort of culture exists within the organisation and does the board realise how they are viewed externally?
"There is also no vision or strategy for the development of the game from grassroots to international level. Welsh rugby appears to be managed via spreadsheet rather than a coherent policy on the way forward involving all stakeholders."
The game in Wales is currently in disarray with the WRU and its four professional sides having been at loggerheads over the future direction of the game. This has led to a freeze on offering contracts and as a result players have been considering their futures, evidenced by Wales' premier lock Will Rowlands signing for Racing 92, and young Cardiff centre Max Llewellyn signing for a Gallagher Premiership club. The WRU and the regions have verbally agreed a six-year financial framework but until a deal has been officially signed by both parties then the contract freeze remains.
Jones is hugely concerned by this current situation and envisages a scenario where player wages are aggressively pushed down in Wales.
"The professional game is teetering on the brink of financial collapse," he said. "At best the pro clubs face the need to make significant cuts to player salaries and squad sizes for the 2023/24 season. That is assuming they survive that long to be able to make the necessary contractual changes. The relationship between the WRU and its ‘supply chain’, the four professional clubs, is dire.
"Even its own subsidiary, Dragons RFC through both its chair and director of rugby, has been highly critical of the WRU’s financial policies. Much of this stems from the Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) which exists between the WRU and each pro club.
"This is a document which places all the financial risk with the people least able to bear that risk, the clubs. Of course, you have to ask why the clubs signed this contract? But an equally important question is why did the WRU draw up a document which disadvantaged its supply chain so badly?
"Did it not realise that such a move would be self-defeating in the long term as these are the people who employ professional rugby players and run academies to develop the next generation of Team Wales players?
"Only last week, the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) has been highly critical of the fact that the WRU is unable to agree how much it pays the pro clubs under the PRA. Players are being put under terrible strain not knowing if they have a job after June next year.
"However, it doesn’t augur well for them when Steve Phillips told the Joint Supporters Group in April 2021 that 'players are not my employees' and policies were for the pro clubs."
Jones insists the WRU must invest in its supply chain and its four men's pro sides or face a long stint in the doldrums at Test level.
"Instead of investing in the future of the game developing the academies and building on the excellent work being undertaken by the pro clubs, the WRU chose to invest in a hotel in partnership with Rightacres, the property developers," he said. "Whether this turns out to be a success or a failure only time will tell. But it’s clearly a non-rugby risk which the sector could have done without given the opportunity cost and the fact that although the WRU’s borrowing may not be totally maxed out it’s not far off, therefore giving it limited scope for manoeuvre to invest in the professional and community game."
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