WRU boss cannot rule out more bad headlines

Abi Tierney took over as WRU chief executive at the start of the year

The Welsh Rugby Union's chief executive has said she cannot guarantee the organisation will not face further negative headlines in the future.

Abi Tierney appeared before the Senedd's Culture and Sport Committee after criticism of how contracts were negotiated with the Wales women's national team.

WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood said the row represented a "failure" of governance and leadership by the union.

He said he took responsibility for not setting up a sub-committee of the WRU board to deal with women's rugby more quickly, suggesting that had one existed the "crisis" around contracts could have been avoided.

The committee was set up in September.

In an email, seen by the BBC, players were threatened with withdrawal from the WXV2 international competition and, subsequently, next year's World Cup as contract talks broke down.

They were issued with a "final offer" ultimatum on 2 August, saying if they did not sign within a three-hour deadline, planned matches against New Zealand, Scotland and Australia would not go ahead and the contracts would be withdrawn.

Ms Tierney told the committee on Thursday that it would be "unfair for me" to say the WRU would not face more such negative headlines again "because culture change is a journey and I think it's how we respond to those headlines that is so important".

Mr Collier-Keywood denied that sexism had been involved in the contracts row.

He said that the WRU had not fully appreciated that its women players were employees, unlike the male players who are contracted to their clubs.

He said: "We were not treating the women as employees to the full extent of that term and that was confusing... we were not fulfilling our obligations towards the women that we should have been at that time."

Mr Collier-Keywood confirmed that both he and Ms Tierney had apologised to the players.

No 'quick fixes'

Interviewed by BBC Wales after the hearing, Mr Collier-Keywood said: "We got some things wrong with the WRU.

"We hadn't set up the right level of process, we had confused their roles as high-performance athletes and employees, and we'd put them under pressure to sign the contracts, which I felt was not the right thing to do.

"So I think when you get it wrong you should apologise."

Ms Tierney told the committee that "transformational change would take time" and that results from monthly staff surveys were "challenging".

"But it does give us an idea of where we have got to grow," she said.

Later, she told the BBC: "There have been systemic challenges with Welsh rugby for many years, and I don't think there are any quick fixes.

"What I'm trying to do is put in sustainable fixes that will take time and I'm just hoping that people give me the patience and have confidence in me to do it."

'Safe space'

Later Culture and Sport Committee chair, Plaid Cymru's Delyth Jewell, said the committee had promised to hold the WRU to account after last year's allegations of sexism and misogyny at the union.

"It is clear from our session with the WRU today that progress has been made, and we appreciate the openness and sincerity that was evident from the WRU leadership," she said.

But "controversy surrounding the senior women’s team contract negotiations is concerning and shows that there is still work to be done".

Jewell said her committee was "reassured" the WRU had "clearly acknowledged the issues" and was "willing to learn from other organisations", such as the Football Association of Wales.

"The recommendations from the independent review at the Welsh Rugby Union must be implemented so that Welsh rugby is a safe space for all," she added.