The Welsh Rugby Union Board will attempt to modernise its governance at next Sunday’s Annual General Meeting, with a number of resolutions to be tabled.
The headline proposal is for the Board to be provided with the option of appointing an additional independent director as chair of the WRU, should they deem it necessary.
At present, the WRU chair is elected from the eight directors on the Board who have previously been put in their position by votes from district representatives on the WRU Council.
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But current chairman Rob Butcher is putting forward a reform that would give the Board the ability to appoint their own independent chair, who hasn't been elected by clubs. It would give them the option to look outside for an individual with the skills required to be at the head of a circa £100 million business.
In order for the resolution to pass, Butcher will need a voting share of 75% at the AGM.
Even if the proposal gets voted in by the clubs next weekend, the Board still has the power to appoint a chair from within its ranks.
“We, as a Welsh Rugby Union, are recognising that we need to change,” said Butcher.
“We need to be a better organisation, we need to be a more modern organisation.
“We believe we’re moving in the right direction, to give us the option to have something different to what we have at the moment.
“This hasn’t been plucked out of the air, this is the product of considerable debate and a collective will on the Board to future-proof our Union and think down the road about how we can be better.”
Butcher has spent the last few weeks holding meetings with the clubs all over the country to discuss the upcoming proposal with them and address any queries they may have.
He insisted that the clubs have been ‘first class’ in how they have given the presentations their full attention.
One fear clubs may have is that an independent chair may focus too heavily on the professional end of the game at the expense of community rugby.
Butcher was quick to allay those concerns, insisting it would be up to the Board to appoint a chair to look after the best interests of the entire game.
He said: “I can’t overstress the fact that the clubs are all-important in doing this and we have to respect that. There is no-one who respects the views of the clubs more than I do myself. I don’t want that to come over as me being a community person full stop.
“I am a community person but I have a broader view of what’s required to make sure we are an organisation that is fit for purpose in the future.
“It’s a journey, it’s what the Board believes in and what the Board wants to be able to do for the future.
“It’s important to remember that this is only an option. It would be incumbent on the Board of the Welsh Rugby Union at the time to get the right person.
“If they don’t insist on the correct skillset then they would be heading for choppy waters, there is no doubt about that. Because community rugby almost has a bad name, but we have to give it the respect it deserves.
“Anyone who might come in has to realise that.”
When asked what makes an ideal chair, he said: “This person will have to fully respect, and have an understanding of, the community game being the bedrock of what we’re built on.
“I know it can be a throwaway comment to say that all the international stars started somewhere, but it’s true.
“Down there, there are all these little gems that can hopefully come to the top of this pyramid.
“The professional game and community game have to be in harmony. If the professional game is more successful, that can generate more money, more sponsorship to make our game better.
“There is no doubt that there has to be a similar understanding of where we’re trying to go with the professional game.
“We have a complex £100 million business that we have to service as well.”
Should the WRU appoint an independent chair, they would join the RFU in doing so.
Meanwhile Scottish Rugby has just passed its own Governance reform. If Butcher and the Board are successful, it would build on the WRU governance change that was started by former chairman Gareth Davies in 2018, when the size of the Board was shrunk from 20 to 12.
This will be the first time that a motion for the ability to appoint an independent chair has been tabled at a WRU AGM.
Butcher, meanwhile, refused to be drawn on his intentions when his term ends next month, having held the post since 2020.
And he seemed unconcerned that such an option would reduce his own chances of re-election.
“This isn’t about me at all. I’ve got to have a focus on doing what I believe is the right thing to do,” he insisted.
“If this results in someone saying to me ‘Rob, this ends tomorrow’ then I can accept that.
“Council members on our Board are immensely valued. I am one of those council members, I was first elected in 2015 and in chairing the Community Game Board and WRU Board I have been immersed in all aspects of Welsh rugby.
“I know I am surrounded by dedicated and dutiful people who care as passionately as I do about Welsh rugby’s future and will do all they can to promote and sustain it.
“But we are asking that we are also given the option to be able to find the right person to take up the role of chair from outside of our current Board membership, but – I stress – only if determined necessary by the Board itself in the future.”
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