The Welsh Rugby Union will appoint a women’s game lead next year as a result of the botched contract negotiations with the national team.
The long-awaited review into the governing body’s handling of the contracts was released on Christmas Eve and described the negotiations as “a process, governance and leadership failing”, with the creation of the new role one of the key recommendations.
The WRU became embroiled in a fresh scandal after a Telegraph Sport investigation found that the union threatened to withdraw its women’s team from next year’s World Cup if players did not sign new contracts.
The fallout from the revelations saw head coach Ioan Cunningham leave his role in November while Nigel Walker stepped down as the WRU’s executive director of rugby last Friday as players prepared to file a grievance complaint against him.
Now the review has found that: “Due to the lack of a clear transparent plan for the contract process, there was a lack of effective communication. This heightened frustrations, and poor behaviour and a lack of professionalism manifested itself.” It added: “There is no excuse for the poor behaviour and lack of respect demonstrated by some.”
The new women’s game lead position will set and implement strategy as well as directly manage the Wales women head coach. The WRU said this would provide “new and clear lines of responsibilities to be established throughout the management team and high-performance structure” at the governing body.
Other recommendations involve ensuring greater transparency to contract negotiations, including how the different levels of contract are determined, and treating contracted 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 job is not complete but we are confident that we are now in a good place and, with a new head coach due to be appointed in January, the Wales women’s national squad can look forward to the new year with enthusiasm and optimism about what it may 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 are grateful to all those who have participated for their honesty and constructive input.”
‘The union acknowledging the need for comprehensive change is significant’
These are welcome steps from the WRU, even if it unhelpfully published its highly anticipated review into its women’s contracting process on Christmas Eve. Better late than never.
A new women’s game lead is the headline recommendation, but the fact the union has acknowledged there needs to be comprehensive change in the way contract negotiations with female players are conducted also feels particularly significant.
From the start, the WRU appeared to be at loggerheads with the Women’s Rugby Association, the body that the players appointed to represent them during the contracting process. It now intends to be much more transparent and recognises that female players – just like their male counterparts – may require third-party involvement when ironing out new deals.
Already, change is happening. Players are understood to have been set up with WRU email addresses, similar to those of other employees. As one current member of the Wales women’s squad put it, these are “baby steps”. Hopefully this is the first sign that for Wales women in 2025, better things lie ahead.
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