Former employees of the Welsh Rugby Union claim the organisation has a "toxic culture" in which one staff member used a racist term in a meeting and another said he wanted to "rape" a female colleague. One woman says she considered suicide as a result of bullying at the WRU, saying she went as far as writing a manual for her husband on what to do in the event of her death and described her time at the WRU as “an open wound”.
In a programme titled BBC Wales Investigates: Welsh Rugby Under the Spotlight, Charlotte Wathan, the former general manager for women's rugby at the WRU, alleges a male colleague said, in her hearing and in front of other members of WRU staff in an office, that he wanted to “rape” her. Ms Wathan claims a senior manager witnessed the comment but said nothing.
But the WRU said Ms Wathan's allegations "remain unsubstantiated following a thorough independent legal investigation". It said the allegation was investigated and not upheld by an independent lawyer hired by the WRU after Ms Wathan raised the matter and others as part of a wider grievance. The WRU also said the claims of bullying made by another female employee were investigated, and that she made no formal grievance while working there. It also says some of the claims made by the BBC are misleading.
In Ms Wathan's case, the BBC says its investigation shows a number of potential witnesses given to the WRU to corroborate what she was saying were never contacted. The man she accused of saying he wanted to rape her in his hotel room was allegedly not interviewed as part of the grievance inquiry and still works for the WRU.
In response to that claim, the WRU described the BBC investigation as misleading, saying: "The BBC are aware that this allegation formed part of the grievance investigation undertaken by an external law firm, the individual accused was not named in the grievance nor during the grievance investigation, but was interviewed by the external investigator having been subsequently identified in 2022."
In a statement, the WRU said the comment, which was alleged to have been made in 2019, was not raised until a formal grievance was filed in April, 2021. It said the external investigator conducted a comprehensive investigation which lasted a number of months, during which multiple witnesses were interviewed.
Ms Wathan and the WRU recently settled "amicably" out of court after an employment tribunal had been launched. As a result, the WRU says it cannot respond publicly to the specific claims made by Ms Wathan due to the settlement agreement it has signed and says it is "extremely disappointed" in the BBC for running allegations it cannot fully respond to. It also said it had made BBC Wales "aware of our concerns" regarding what it says are differences between details of the allegation referenced in a BBC Wales press release and the details of the allegation contained in the grievance.
Ms Wathan told BBC Wales: "Someone referring about me in an office environment said that they wanted to rape me, take me back to the hotel, tie me to the bed and rape me. I remember feeling sick, like a punch to the stomach. I remember standing in shock thinking, 'Did I just hear that?' And everyone's laughing, and there was a senior member of staff there. I left the room and I burst into tears. I thought 'Crikey, is this what it's come to?'"
In other allegations, the BBC has spoken to two people who say they witnessed a racist term being used in an online meeting attended by a number of staff, including a senior manager. One of those witnesses was Marc Roberts, at the time a manager in the community game who was in the meeting. Mr Roberts, who worked for the WRU for 20 years, recently left his job.
“I actually brought it up and said that term was unacceptable and inappropriate," he said. “At no stage did a senior manager stop and say, ‘You cannot use that term that’s not an appropriate term’. It's not a culture that likes to be challenged.”
The WRU said it "condemns the use of racist, homophobic or sexist language and states in the strongest possible terms that racism, homophobic, sexist or bullying behaviour has no place in Welsh rugby".
One woman, who left the WRU in 2018 and who the BBC says wishes to remain anonymous, tells journalists that while still employed at the organisation she told HR that bullying and sexism at work had left her feeling suicidal. The woman claims she was advised by HR to put in a grievance against the manager concerned.
She told BBC Wales Investigates: “This wasn't about an incident here and an incident there. It was constant undermining of me or my gender by nit-picking at irrelevant stuff. I went as far as to start drafting a manual for my husband and what to do in the event that I died. It takes you to a very dark, dark place when you can genuinely look at your husband and think ‘you’re young enough to meet someone else and my daughter is young enough to get another mother’.”
The woman alleges she was told she could move offices within the building, but because she would remain working in the same building she feared that complaining would make life harder. She ended up leaving the organisation without putting in a grievance, but says she did give the name of the manager she was accusing to HR. She also claims when she later considered taking the WRU to a tribunal, the organisation argued that she had left it too late to make a claim and that there were no grounds for it anyway. The WRU told the BBC the woman’s case was investigated and proper procedures were followed.
The WRU says it is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and that progression of the women’s and girl’s game is a key strategic aim for the organisation and will remain so in future, while last year women's players were given professional contracts for the first time.
When Wales Online approached the WRU for a comment we received the following statement: "Our people are very important to us and we cannot stress enough how sad we are to hear about the feelings expressed in the programme, when we had worked with them to find a solution. At the WRU we take any allegations from our staff seriously, in particular regarding the behaviour, attitudes and language described in the programme. If any allegations are substantiated, we will act very swiftly as such behaviour has no place in the WRU or Welsh rugby.
"We work hard to promote a culture within the WRU that values our staff and their opinions and have robust procedures in place to deal with complaints raised by our staff. We follow up on all issues raised, either with internal or external investigations. We reached an amicable resolution, satisfying both parties, with Charlotte Wathan. The terms of the resolution included confidentiality obligations for both parties, leaving us with no option but to decline the BBC’s request for interview on this matter.
"It is vitally important to note that we have a duty of care as employers to both the complainants and those complained against. That duty of care continues and we are deeply concerned about the effect of this programme on those individuals in respect of the fact the allegations described remain unsubstantiated following a thorough independent legal investigation.
"There are two other cases highlighted by the BBC, one which was investigated at the time and reached resolution due to the withdrawal of the complaint and another which was also investigated to conclusion, but which now contains new information brought to light by the BBC, which will be followed up and acted upon.
"Again, in both of these cases we also find ourselves in a position where we can’t disclose private information or details about the investigation and the conclusions reached and strongly maintain the right and proper procedures and processes were followed in each case.
"We strongly refute any suggestion that the women’s game has been ‘held back’ or restricted by issues described. In fact we would highlight the significant progress we have made in this area in recent times. The progression of women’s and girls’ rugby is a key strategic aim for the WRU and will remain so long into the future.
"We are extremely disappointed in the BBC to be asked to participate in a programme in January 2023 primarily to answer comments made by Ms Wathan in an interview with the BBC in October 2022, when the BBC are fully aware that we cannot respond given the terms of the settlement reached.
"We again stress how sad we are to hear how the individuals felt as highlighted in the programme and will continue to work with our staff on making sure they feel valued and listened to. At the WRU we are committed to equality, diversity and inclu1sion. We work hard in this area and employ full time dedicated staff to ensure continued best and proper practice."
BBC Wales also spoke to Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who called on the Welsh Government to set up an independent body to oversee Wales’ sports governing bodies and hold them to account. She also wants the Senedd to set up an inquiry into the claims, led by a scrutiny committee.
“This is on a level of what's happened in cricket. I have great, great concerns about the future of women’s rugby in Wales," said the former Wales Women's international.
“Unless you are a woman and, excuse the expression, but with balls and deep pockets, how on earth do you take on somebody like the WRU and stand up to them without there being financial detriment, reputational detriment?
“There has to be an independent body set up to look at complaints of… all complaints when there are issues within governing bodies, sporting governing bodies in Wales, there needs to be somewhere to go.”
In response to Ms Antoniazzi's comments, the WRU said: "The WRU invites the Labour MP for Gower to make direct contact on the issues she raises and would welcome the opportunity to discuss her concerns. In respect of this matter apart from some positive comments about recent progress in the Women’s game during informal discussions at women’s international matches, the only formal contact the WRU has had with Ms Antoniazzi has been a letter in early 2021 raising concerns regarding the strategic direction of the Women’s elite rugby pathway ahead of the commissioning of the Mid-Term Strategic Review in April 2021."
BBC Wales Investigates: Welsh Rugby Under the Spotlight is on BBC One Wales and BBC iPlayer 8pm Monday January 23
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