Do you take what happened at the AGM as a mandate for your ‘Project Reset’ from the clubs?
RCK: “Yes, definitely. Everyone, myself included, wants to see Welsh rugby improve.
“It is deeply embedded in our DNA. That’s what we want. There is a plan for that to happen.
“It would have been the easiest thing in the world to stick with four clubs.
“But we wouldn’t have had the money to invest in pathways and other things we need to do to create the difference moving forward.
“Sticking with four clubs was the easiest for the board to make. They didn’t make that decision, so credit to them.
“It’s going to be tough and not everyone is happy with us. I can understand and sympathise with that.
“If I’d been a supporter of the one club that will go, I get why that’s awful.
“But equally if you want Welsh rugby to move on and for us to be able to compete at the top level, we need to make those changes.
“That has been clear to us for probably months.
“It was laid bare to the nation on Saturday. That is the mountain we have to climb in terms of performance.”
Q: Lots of people who don’t have a vote are not happy with your proposals. It seems that everyone that does have a vote [the clubs] were not bothered?
RCK: “I don’t think it’s a case of ‘aren’t bothered’.
“We’ve had some interesting conversations with some of the community clubs who have a view on which way they want it to go.
“We did this consultation with 7,000 responses to it, so there is concern in the community about how it goes forward.
“But I take from the lack of questions, there is a mandate to make this change. That is clear.
“I’m pleased and relieved by that. We thought that was the case because we listened to the consultation, read everything, looked at it all and made a decision.
“It’s pleasing that came through. They [clubs] are our shareholders and stakeholders.
“Over the last two years or so, we’ve made a huge effort to communicate better with those clubs.
“Leighton Davies, [WRU commercial officer] has gone around the district meetings at least twice each year to support that.
“I’ve done at least two webinars a year on the finances with all the clubs. A lot of that probably wasn’t news to them.
“Many of them said to me it is now being run professionally and run well.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t care about Welsh rugby. We care and that’s the reason we are doing this.
“To have it run well gives you the choices we need to make and to make those investments going forward.”
