Abi Tierney: The woman aiming to change Welsh rugby
- Published
Abi Tierney has become the first female chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union
Abi Tierney does not pretend to be a rugby expert - she does not need to.
Neither does she believe her appointment as the first female Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive was based on gender.
What is clear is that this is a leader desperate to enact cultural and economic change at the WRU.
As Tierney prepares to jump from the frying pan of the Home Office into the fire of Welsh rugby, time will tell if she can achieve those goals.
Head coach Warren Gatland has often said Wales is a country of three million team selectors. Many of those with views on who should play for Wales also have opinions on how Welsh rugby should be run.
Also, the national game's governing body has not always been the best at listening, particularly to a woman.
A BBC investigation found complaints over sexism and misogyny were ignored while a previous female board member, Amanda Blanc, was driven to distraction and ultimately the exit having had her business credentials regularly questioned, despite having run financial firm Aviva.
"I'm well aware I'm the first female and I'm aware of the additional responsibility that comes with that," Tierney told a media throng in the bowels of the Principality Stadium.
"Firstly, I've been appointed to this role not because I'm female, but because of my leadership skills and capabilities. That's important.
"But I also recognise the added responsibility that comes with that.
"We can all see the world of women in sport opening up right in front of our eyes, with the Lionesses, netball and the Ashes. I'm part of that. Ten years ago, it would have been quite a lonely place being sat here but right now, I feel like part of a movement and Wales is now at the forefront of that."
The WRU has been committed to appointing a woman to one of its top two positions since pushing through reforms in the wake of the sexism scandal that saw predecessor Steve Phillips resign in January, and left the governing body facing a crisis.
Many will see Tierney as the right appointment at this "critical" time. She joined the Home Office in the wake of the Windrush scandal and would become the department's top ethics adviser.
WRU sexism scandal
Having yet to actually pick up the reins - she aims to be in position by the end of the year - Tierney avoided the chance to name her number one priority.
"Ask me that question when I've had a chance to listen. Then I'll give you an answer," she levelled.
However top of the in-tray will surely be the report from an independent taskforce led by former judge Dame Anne Rafferty into the sexism allegations.
The WRU has pledged to accept the recommendations without question, though repairing major schisms within the wider game in Wales could take some time.
The game in Wales is in crisis. As well as the allegations, there is a general disconnect between all levels of the game, as well as a grim financial backdrop, which led Wales players threaten to strike over contractual chaos while others are being forced to leave in their droves.
"I'm holding my thoughts until we get that report [but] people realise mistakes have been made and they are disappointed, but there's a passion to turn it around," said Tierney.
"My job is to harness that and give people a north star that they can go to because I feel that's not there. There are fractures, whether that's between the WRU and the regions, or the regions and the community game, or the women's game and what's happened there.
"People want unity and there's a chance to do it. What's the alternative? We can't not have rugby and we can't have it described as [in crisis].
"I came into the Home Office on the back of the Windrush scandal and there was opportunity to make changes. I see the same here. But more than anything I see potential. It's visceral, you can almost touch it."
Tierney has been director general of the HM Passport Office and UK Visas and Immigration for the past three years, though will be far more in the limelight leading the WRU.
Some may point to her lack of rugby know-how, although ex-Wales international Nigel Walker will work alongside her in a newly created executive director of rugby role.
"I wasn't an expert in immigration or passports when I went into the Home Office but I was able to deliver good leadership," Tierney hit back when asked about her non-rugby background.
Independence will help Tierney push through cultural and financial reforms, as there is a sense she is not beholden to any specific group or interest in her new position.
Getting fans to engage more with digital WRU content, driving women's rugby so that the national side one day fill the Principality Stadium and "doing what we do but better" are her early ideas about how to grow the union's £100m revenue.
Born in Bristol to a Welsh father, Peter O'Sullivan - who played rugby for Glamorgan Wanderers -Tierney describes how he wept when she told him of her appointment, and tells a tale of how her christening reception was held in Barry RFC.
"Rugby has been in my veins and runs through my family for as long as I can remember," she said.
"Growing up watching rugby, I saw the life chances it creates for people and what it can enable. That's what really drew me to this role.
"I realise, with the size of Wales and how many people play rugby, there's a real opportunity to build on that and make a difference."
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