The successor to Gareth Davies as WRU chairman is set to be elected via a vote of the Union’s board of directors.
Former Wales skipper Ieuan Evans and long-serving club official Rob Butcher are understood to be the two men vying for the vacant position.
Davies served six years as chairman and was ready to stay on for another 12 to 18 months to help Welsh rugby through the challenging times presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
But the former Wales and Lions outside-half failed to get re-elected to the WRU council, ruling him out of remaining on the board and continuing as chairman.
The 56-year-old Evans was elected on to the Council and then subsequently nominated by the members of that body to go on to the board.
He is now a contender to replace Davies as chairman for a three-year term, with a vote to be potentially held at tomorrow's WRU board meeting.
Former Llanelli winger Evans won 72 caps for Wales and played in seven Lions Tests over the course of three tours.
He captained his country 28 times between 1991 and 1995 and scored 33 tries in all, putting him fourth on the all-time list behind Shane Williams, Gareth Thomas and George North.
Since hanging up his boots in 1998, he has worked extensively in the media and also been a board member of the Welsh Tourist Board and involved in a number of charities.
His rival for the post of chairman, Butcher, is a one-club man, having been associated with Bargoed RFC since leaving school in the late 1960s.
He was their captain for five successive years in the 1970s and is a life member of the club, who he still serves as auditor.
Once his playing career ended, he joined the club’s committee and completed a 20th year as club honorary secretary in 2015, joining the WRU Board the same year.
On leaving college, he took up a teaching post within Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and enjoyed a career in education until his retirement.
It will now be up to the 12-strong board to decide on their new chairman.
It would then remain to be seen what the successful candidate's preference is in terms of the role of chief executive, which is currently filled on an interim basis by finance director Steve Phillips.
