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The Welsh Rugby Union will name a women’s match lead next year following botched contract negotiations with the national team.
The long-awaited review into handling through contracts by the governing body was published on Christmas Eve and described the negotiations as “a process, governance and failure of leadership”, with the creation of the new role one of the key recommendations.
The WRU has become embroiled in a new scandal after a Telegraph sport The investigation found the union threatened to withdraw its women’s team from next year’s World Cup if the players did not sign new contracts.
The fallout from the revelations saw head coach Ioan Cunningham quit his role in November while Nigel Walker resigned as WRU executive director of rugby last Friday as players prepared to lodge a grievance complaint against him .
Now the review has found that: “Due to the lack of a clear and transparent plan for the contracting process, there was a lack of effective communication. These increased frustrations, and poor behavior and unprofessionalism manifested. » He added: “There is no excuse for the bad behavior and lack of respect shown by some.”
The new position of Head of the Women’s Game will set and implement strategy as well as direct management of the Wales Women’s Head Coach. The WRU said this would provide “new and clear lines of accountability to be established across the entire management team and a high performance structure” to the governing body.
Other recommendations include ensuring greater transparency in contract negotiations, including how different contract levels are determined and treating contract players as employees of the WRU. Professional working practices will also be “reset” to help support the mental and physical wellbeing of all WRU colleagues.
WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said: “The work is not complete, but we are confident we are now in a good place and, with a new head coach expected to be appointed in January, the Wales women’s national team can look forward to the new year with excitement and optimism for what they can bring.
“We have been humbled by this process, but we are not jaded by it. We are confident that a positive outcome has been achieved and we are grateful to everyone who participated for their honesty and constructive contribution. »
“The union recognizing the need for complete change is important”
These are welcome steps from the WRU, even as it unapologetically released its much-anticipated review into its women’s contract process on Christmas Eve. Better late than never.
A new women’s game advance is the headline recommendation, but the fact that the union has recognized that there needs to be a complete change in the way contract negotiations with female players are conducted also seems particularly significant.
From the start, the WRU appeared to be at Loggerheads with the Women’s Rugby Association, the body that players appointed to represent them during the contract process. It now intends to be much more transparent and recognizes that female players – just like their male counterparts – may require third-party involvement when removing new deals.
Already, change is happening. Players were allegedly set up with WRU email addresses, similar to those of other employees. As one current member of the Wales women’s team put it, these are ‘baby steps’. I hope this is the first sign that for women in Wales in 2025, better things lie ahead.
