Welsh clubs urged to call EGM for no confidence vote

2 days ago7 min read

The grassroots of Welsh rugby are stirring, and the call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to hold a vote of no confidence in WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood isn't just administrative noise—it’s a desperate Hail Mary pass from a community feeling the game slipping through its fingers. Central Glamorgan Rugby Union, representing clubs in the Neath, Port Talbot, Maesteg, and Bridgend heartlands, has fired the starting pistol, circulating a letter that needs backing from just 10% of the near-300 member clubs to force the issue.This isn't a minor skirmish; it’s a direct challenge to the leadership installed after the watershed 2023 EGM, where clubs voted overwhelmingly for governance reform, promising a new dawn with an independent chair and a revitalised board. Collier-Keywood, who stepped into the role vacated by Ieuan Evans in July 2023, and Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall now find themselves in the crosshairs of a district that believes the promised revolution has stalled, replaced by what the letter damningly describes as 'meandering between different versions of a plan, causing chaos, confusion and uncertainty.' The critique is brutal in its specificity: 'extortionate amounts of money on external consultants' and a board allegedly unable to 'define and deliver a clear strategy for rugby in Wales,' actions which the district argues are causing 'reputational damage to Welsh rugby across the world when we were once held in such high esteem. ' This sentiment echoes the painful backdrop of a Welsh game seemingly perpetually 'on a precipice,' from the financial crises threatening the professional regions to the existential debates over cutting a men's side, a strategy floated in October but still unresolved.The frustration is compounded by a perceived lack of accountability; despite an annual general meeting in November, only one question was raised about the professional game, leaving clubs feeling unheard. Central Glamorgan’s proposed motions are a three-pronged offensive: the no-confidence vote requiring a simple majority; a call for fresh elections for four elected board positions within 14 days; and a more ambitious move to amend how district and council members are elected, needing a 75% supermajority.But the accompanying recommendations reveal a deeper blueprint for salvation, demanding an immediate halt to professional restructuring pending a full financial review, the creation of a rugby steering group within three weeks to replace costly consultants, the establishment of a central national academy for talent development, and a stark edict that no directors beyond the CEO, WRU chair, and PRB chair should be paid. Perhaps most tellingly, they insist future chairs must be 'immersed in Welsh culture,' understand its rugby values, be ideally Welsh-speaking, and live in Wales—a clear rebuke of any perceived corporate detachment.

#featured

#Welsh Rugby Union

#governance crisis

#no confidence vote

#EGM

#Richard Collier-Keywood

#club rebellion

#strategic review