Twenty jobs could go as part of WRU restructure

The Welsh Rugby Union will cut up to 20 roles as it implements a restructure aimed at saving £5m a year.

It said the "transformative programme" would involve savings and efficiencies in the business and would allow the governing body to operate" in a manner befitting of a £100m-a-year business".

The organisation which employs 344 people added it has entered a formal consultation period with staff.

It comes after the WRU announced on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Cardiff Rugby, one of the four regional Welsh sides, after it collapsed into administration earlier this week.

WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said everything it is doing is to "improve rugby in Wales for everyone".

She said last summer, the company confirmed where it wants to be by 2029 and "we are giving further details of how we are going to get there".

While the game turned professional in 1995, Ms Tierney said 2025 would be "the moment we remember Welsh rugby completed this transformation, into a fully functional, fit-for-purpose, professional organisation".

The streamlined executive team will shortly include a chief growth officer, while the identity of an executive director of elite performance will also be confirmed soon.

The WRU said it expects club boards to approve a new professional rugby agreement soon, which will set out funding and closer teamwork between themselves and the regional teams.

Ms Tierney said the changes were part of the WRU's One Wales strategy, which aims to make the professional game financially stable.

She added: "Integral to our plans is a need to stop living beyond our means and ensuring we can invest in the key elements that contribute to a thriving rugby nation.

"This has led to the re-set at the WRU we are announcing today."

Ms Tierney said the organisation had invested in key areas to support growth as it completed its transformation programme.

However, she added, "Regrettably, there were also a small number of job losses."

Ms Tierney told BBC Wales's Scrum V podcast she had been surprised at the organisation's structure and lack of clear budgets when she joined.

She cited the "extraordinary" example of the WRU spending £50,000 on fresh flowers every year for hospitality boxes at the Principality Stadium.

"That's not making the national team perform any better. It's not growing participation at a community level," she said.

There was a "lack of data underpinning how people were making decisions" and "people didn't have clear budgets, people didn't have clear KPIs, there weren't regular appraisals and objective settings taking place", she added.

"A lot of what I would have seen as fairly basic things within a normal business just wasn't here."

Ms Tierney also said the union had "massively overspent" on the World Cup campaign.

The new streamlined executive team, including chief operating officer Leighton Davies, had "done a brilliant job" in identifying issues with the budgets and implementing cost controls, Ms Tierney said.

WRU chairman Richard Collier-Keywood, who became the first chair to be appointed rather than elected in July 2023, said the union's business structure had been unprofessional.

In its latest accounts, the WRU reported a £7.5m loss for the year ending June 2024.

Even though revenue increased - which was helped by the Principality Stadium hosting Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen - it wasn't enough for the union to turn a profit.

A string of losses for the men's team and the departure of the national coach added to a difficult year.

During that time, Abi Tierney and other senior WRU leaders were dealing with multiple crises while trying to restructure the organisation.

Ms Tierney was praised for her collaborative approach, especially in bringing in Cardiff Rugby coach Matt Sherratt to temporarily lead the national team after Warren Gatland's departure.

But the collaboration with Cardiff now extends to complete control, after the union stepped in to rescue the club from administration.

It is understood Ms Tierney and her advisors worked intensely with Cardiff Rugby as its financial distress became clear, and quickly moved to reassure the region that the WRU would prevent it from disappearing for good.