Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Steve Phillips has responded to the devastating allegations of a "toxic culture" at the heart of the organisation.
After a hugely damaging 48 hours, Phillips admitted the WRU has "fallen short" and accepted the union's culture was previously "not where it needed to be".
In an interview with WalesOnline, Phillips insisted he is the man to move Welsh rugby past the scandal and will not be resigning.
He has also sent a letter to all member clubs in which he strongly condemned the use of racist, homophobic, or sexist language and condemned bullying in all forms. The union will, he says, now re-examine the structures and procedures it has in place to make staff feel supported and safe.
It comes after a BBC programme featured serious allegations from a number of former employees. One staff member was accused of using a racist term in a meeting and another allegedly said he wanted to "rape" a female colleague. Another woman says she considered suicide as a result of bullying at the WRU. Details of those allegations and the WRU's full response are here.
It has also emerged the former chair of the Professional Rugby Board, Amanda Blanc, warned the union it faced an equality and diversity "ticking timebomb" in her devastating resignation speech in 2021. You can read details of that here.
The WRU has also faced criticism for not publishing the findings of a review into the women's game, commissioned in 2021. The BBC claim that out of 20 areas including strategy, coaching, and culture, not a single one was said to be performing well.
WalesOnline met with Phillips this afternoon and were given a short period of time to ask questions. You can read what was said, and see the full letter to member clubs, below.
How do you reflect on the whole situation?
Steve Phillips: "Probably like everybody else watching the programme I was appalled and sorry for the way individuals who worked here felt.
"We clearly created a culture between 2017-19 which fell well short of standards where people weren't confident enough approaching us confidently with the concerns they had."
What are you going to do differently to ensure this is not repeated?
"We take all these matters extremely seriously and we will never be complacent. We will investigate all grievances.
"As to the wider point we will look to our processes again, create a culture via staff engagement where staff want to come to work for the WRU, where they can make a positive contribution in a very safe environment and be very relaxed to raise any concerns they have with us."
Why hasn't the review into the women's game, which has commissioned in 2021, been published?
"From the outset we made clear when we published our mid-term women's review we did it off the back of disappointing performances in the 2021 Six Nations.
"Morale was very low with the squad so we comissioned a strategic review.
"We made it clear at the time that was a private document purely because we wanted honest feedback from all contributors and indeed honest feedback from the independent panel who were doing it for us.
"You will well know that if people know it's going public the contribution isn't as honest but given the recent media commentary we will perhaps need to have a look at that again.
"But it's not about what was in the report. We were given something like 36 recommendations.
"It was a very good report with a very strong panel and I think we have completed all of of them.
"Bear in mind that the full report was presented to the board, adopted by the board, we've moved on. I'd like to think people will support me in saying we weren't in a very good place and that's something we've generally accepted and we've said as much in the past.
"We have made considerable progress but we have got a long way to go."
In Amanda Blanc's leaving speech she claims a WRU member had made misogynistic comments claiming men are the master race and women should stick to ironing. Did you witness this and what are you going to do about it?
"I can't get into what was effectively a private board conversation because that would be a betrayal of trust.
"It's not a case of who said what, it's a case of how do you react to it. We've taken on board all those comments.
"We've engaged far more heavily with our staff whether that be staff engagement, staff inclusions, or anything in that space asking our staff how we can be better.
"We've got some views that we need to modernise on governance. Our chair came out in the new year and said we need to modernise.
"We need to look at various aspects including board compesition. We need different voices, different backgrounds, and different skillsets.
"That is a process which is currently ongoing, and we are hoping to go to the membership in the summer."
How many non disclosure agreements have the WRU signed off while you've been CEO and how much money has it cost you?
"I can't give you an exact amount because by exact definition that is what an NDA does but don't forget an NDA is a binding commitment both ways.
"One of the reasons I can't answer these questions is because I am bound by those terms but to answer your question how many of those have we had, probably two."
Are you going to resign and are you the right man to drive Welsh rugby forward?
"The wider question is a decision for others but do I believe I am the man to drive this forward? Absolutely I do.
"I think a lot of our concentration now has to be on being better off the back of yesterday's programme and creating a much better environment to our staff in which they can all thrive."
This is a copy of the letter Phillips has sent to all WRU member clubs
I know you will have been shocked and appalled by the allegations in the BBC programme broadcast on Monday night and I am sorry to see how individuals who have worked for us felt. Our culture was not where it needed to be, when we have employees not feeling confident enough to speak up between 2017 and 2019.
Following this programme we will, again, review the process and procedures we have in place to make sure all staff feel safe and supported in speaking up about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable.
The WRU knows it has fallen short in presenting Welsh rugby to the world in the best light. We have fallen short of the high standards I expect. I strongly condemn the use of racist, homophobic or sexist language of any kind and state in the strongest possible terms that racism, homophobic, sexist or bullying behaviour has no place in Welsh rugby. We strive to maintain the very highest standards at all times and present a governing body which makes the whole of Wales proud.
We have consulted with our staff and we will re-examine our structures and procedures to make sure our employees find a business that is caring and sensitive to their needs and welfare and creating a safe and secure environment for everyone that comes into contact with us.
We will use the feedback we are currently experiencing to improve, we will listen and learn from what we are hearing and continue to work hard on ensuring Welsh rugby is a game for all with equality, diversity and inclusion at its heart.
The advancement of the women’s and girl’s game is a central part of WRU strategy and will continue to be so at both professional and community levels.
I cannot turn back the clock but I promise you we will start work on making necessary changes immediately. I will not lead an organisation which would walk past or excuse any of the behaviour described. I will not stand by and watch a culture which falls below the high standards we set.
We will re-examine how we behave in all quarters of the WRU, we will never be complacent in this area, not on my watch.
Much of the recent comment has been difficult to hear but I implore anyone, anywhere throughout the game who is affected by any of the issues raised to contact us immediately.
I care deeply about this subject, the WRU cares deeply and we will act to change wherever we find fault, genuine complaint or grievance.
We will do better.
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