Welsh Rugby Union: Who will decide the fate of Welsh rugby?

There will be 12 people who will ultimately decide the fate of Welsh rugby this month.

While Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin has been leading the process of change during the past few months, it will be the governing body’s board that will ultimately sanction any dramatic alterations to the game in Wales.

Reddin is part of a five-strong WRU executive team alongside chief executive Abi Tierney, community director Geraint John, chief people officer Lydia Stirling, chief commercial officer Leighton Davies and chief operating officer Gavin Marshall, who officially starts his role next month.

Only Tierney also sits on the 12-strong board and she is currently off work undergoing cancer treatment, so what part she will play in the process during the next few weeks remains to be seen.

The WRU board will be presented with a range of information by Reddin and his team at a meeting on Wednesday, 8 October.

A controversial proposal to reduce the number of professional men’s sides in Wales from four to two was the WRU’s preferred option of the four models presented in August.

There was opposition from players, supporters and clubs to this proposal during a consultation which has now finished.

No final decision on the way ahead is expected yet, with further meetings planned. A definitive outcome with board approval has been promised by the end of October.

The new-look board was established in 2023 after a damning report found aspects of the WRU’s culture were sexist, racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Two-thirds of the board changed, with the new set-up featuring twice the number of independent directors as well as three former players, while the number of elected members was reduced from eight to four.

The WRU believes the move has brought in more professional expertise, while also realising gender diversity ambitions with five women joining the board.

Reddin says the board will have the conviction to make bold change if required.

“The responsibility of a board in an organisation like this to take the brave decisions when they need to,” said Reddin.

“Led by Richard [Collier-Keywood], our board are committed to the need to change Welsh rugby for the better and, if required, making tough decisions which our board are not afraid to do.

“I would not say they are under pressure, they recognise the significance of it. They asked us to go into a consultation process so they could be as well informed as possible.”

The board’s decision could lead to the threat of job losses, legal action and a player strike.

So who are the dozen figures that hold the future of Welsh rugby in their hands and could go down in history as the people who oversaw revolutionary change, for better or worse?

Collier-Keywood is the board’s leader after being named the first WRU independent chair in July 2023, when he replaced former Wales captain Ieuan Evans.

Collier-Keywood is a former UK managing partner and global vice-chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), and has been a senior adviser to the department for digital, culture, media and sport.

He has also been on the board of the National Community Lottery Fund and Women of the World, which promotes gender equality internationally.

Tierney became the first female WRU chief executive when she officially joined the organisation in January 2024.

She has Welsh connections, as her father hails from Barry, and says she is a lifelong supporter of Welsh rugby.

Tierney was previously the director general for customer services at the Home Office.

Before joining the civil service, Tierney was a business development director at Serco, where she also held a number of operational roles, including regional director and chief executive of Suffolk Community Services.

She had previously been a director at University Hospitals of Leicester and Aberdeen City Council and marketing leader for IBM’s global services business.

The former Harlequins chairman replaced Amanda Blanc as chair of the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) in 2022, granting him a place on the board.

Wall began his media career at Southern, Anglia and then Granada Television before becoming deputy chief executive of Meridian Broadcasting in the early 1990s.

He went on to lead the multinational media company United Business Media over a four-year period before running Virgin Media’s content business for three years as well as serving as chairman of UKTV.

Mathias joined the WRU board as an independent non-executive director in October 2023.

She was born and brought up in Pembrokeshire on a family farm and is a qualified accountant with nearly 30 years of banking, credit and risk management experience.

Mathias joined financial company The Openwork Partnership in December 2024 as chief financial officer (CFO) and board director.

Prior to this, she was group CFO at Rathbones Group, the £1.75bn UK wealth management firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Mathias started her career at Lloyds TSB and joined Coutts private bank in 2012.

Williams became an independent non-executive director in January 2024, having previously been a Cardiff board member.

Originally from Heath in Cardiff, he attended Llanishen High School before qualifying as a chartered engineer.

He has also studied in the Advanced Management Programme at The Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.

He was chief executive of Halma plc, the global safety, health and environmental technology group, for 18 years until 2023.

Under his leadership, Halma increased its market capitalisation from £600m to more than £8.5bn.

Since December 2024, he has been an executive advisor for KKR Private Equity.

Thorne was the first appointment of the new-look board as an independent non-executive member in June 2023 and is now the WRU senior independent director.

Thorne’s father Tony was a groundsman at the former National Stadium in Cardiff during the 1970s and 1980s.

Thorne. who was born in Penarth, has had a corporate global career in retail, starting as a trainee in David Morgans in Cardiff before leading executive board commercial roles at Mothercare, George at Asda and B&Q.

She is chair of the National Dance Company Wales and Barcud Housing Association.

She is also as an independent panel member for public appointments for the Welsh government, having previously served as a Sport Wales board member and a governor for Cardiff Metropolitan University.

The former player turned pundit is the most recognisable figure on the board having played 94 times for Wales. He won three Six Nations titles and reaching a World Cup semi-final during his international career.

Twice a British and Irish Lions tourist, he was named player of the series against South Africa in 2009 and was a series winner four years later in Australia.

Roberts’ club career has taken him around the world, from Cardiff to Paris with Racing 92, England with Bath and Harlequins, South Africa with Stormers and Australia with the Waratahs, as well as Cambridge University and Dragons.

He has held a role as a player representative on the World Rugby high-performance committee and sits on the Lions Trust.

A rugby pioneer, Bennett was the first woman to pull on the red number 10 jersey in Wales’ first women’s Test match, against England, in 1987.

She went on to win 26 caps, including playing in the first Women’s World Cup in 1991 and featuring at the tournament again four years later.

Bennett was Wales coach between 1998 and 2000 before leading Saracens for a decade. She was also part of England’s coaching team for the 2006 World Cup.

She led the development of UK Sport’s equality standard in 2004, which has been implemented by more than 400 organisations across the UK.

In 2013, the former teacher launched her own governance and leadership company FairPlay Ltd, advising on governance and leadership for the likes of the Premier League and all four home rugby unions.

A former Wales international second-row who won 75 caps, Donovan began her career with Cardiff Quins before spending the majority of her career at Saracens and appearing at two World Cups.

Donovan served on the WRU’s national council before being elected by clubs to the board in December 2023.

Whilst in position at the WRU, she has engaged with external stakeholders around many areas, including access to rugby for women and girls, governance and improvement of facilities.

An experienced director in the food industry – including one of the largest salad producers in Europe – Donovan has worked as a lobbyist for the horticultural industry.

She has helped translate the needs of the industry into government policy and acted as a government advisor.

Manders was elected as a national council member in July 2020 and was re-elected in September 2021.

A former sergeant with South Wales Police, he was capped by Wales at youth level and toured South Africa in 1980.

He played for Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd but is a stalwart of Old Illtydians.

After retiring, Manders continued to work as an assessor, lectured in law at the University of South Wales and was an artistic director at Tickledom Theatrical Productions and a director of learning at Credwch Ltd.

He was elected to the Community Game Board (CGB) chair position in November 2022, which saw him also join the WRU board in place of outgoing chair Rob Butcher.

Chris Jones is the longest-serving member of the board, having been originally appointed in 2018 as a district council member.

Jones has served as secretary of Newcastle Emlyn RFC since the club’s formation in 1977, as well as being a past player, captain and coach.

He also coached the Welsh Schools intermediate international side and chaired the intermediate group and schools council.

Jones taught PE for 35 years before his retirement in 2010.

Wilks has spent 50 years in rugby, as a player, referee, coach and administrator with Risca.

Wilks served as a Dragons director between 2021 and 2023 when the Gwent side were under WRU control and is also the current chair of the competitions management committee.

Now retired, his business background was as a manager in both the mining and steel industries, spanning both manufacturing and commercial sectors.

A former school governor, he is a University of Glamorgan engineering graduate and holds a postgraduate degree in business administration from the University of Wales.