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Wales Online
Sport
Ben James

The words that should frighten Welsh rugby and the huge void left by two figures who've walked away in discontent

Have you heard the one about the time Forbes' 26th most powerful woman of 2021 and one of the longest-serving and most successful CEOs in the FTSE 100 each walked into Welsh rugby?

Well, unfortunately there's no satisfying punchline, other than the fact that have also departed Welsh rugby - leaving it a poorer place in the process. Consider that anti-humour or, perhaps more fittingly, dark humour - such is the gloomy feeling in the game in this country for some right now.

The departure of Andrew Williams as non-executive director on Cardiff Rugby's board, following on from Amanda Blanc's resignation as chair of the Professional Rugby Board, means Welsh rugby has lost the intellectual property of two quality businesspeople in the space of nine months. To say these people are a loss to the Welsh game is an understatement of epic proportions.

Read more: Second FTSE 100 CEO quits Welsh rugby inside a year and says major changes need to be made to how the game is run

The sport cannot afford to haemorrhage people with such business acumen, when the game in Wales is desperate to move out of the amateur-led mindset of the past. Their words of warning are somewhat frightening, too.

Williams, the Llanishen-schooled businessman who led Halma PLC from a valuation £600m to £7bn, cited reasons "all external to the business" when announcing he would not be seeking reappointment to the board after his initial three-year stint.

“Hopefully the promise of a more ‘normal’ season on the field will bring renewed optimism and reward for everyone involved," he added, before notably saying: "I love the club and want it to get back to the top table of British and European rugby, which will require major changes to the way the professional game in Wales is run."

Major changes to the way the game is run is not a new suggestion, but as each day passes, it's one that in my eyes becomes more imperative. I feel the fact that the amateur game continues to dictate the professional game is simply archaic.

One swallow doesn't make a summer of course, but the fact that Blanc, who serves as the CEO for Aviva, also felt ignored in the maelstrom of Welsh rugby does not make for particularly good reading for WRU chairman Rob Butcher or CEO Steve Phillips.

"I have a very busy role, and I think you like to do things where you make an impact," she told BBC Radio Wales in June. "If you feel that that isn't being listened to, you need to move on. Ultimately, what I would say about the Welsh Rugby Union is that the governance needs modernisation. I think that is clear.

''You have two very distinct parts of the game - the community game and the professional game - and the professional game needs to have the appropriate governance for that."

Despite having largely kept her counsel since leaving Welsh rugby, Blanc has made some things clear. She believes change in governance is needed and more business-minded people are needed to drive it.

"I am not going to say they are dinosaurs because if you look at the Welsh Rugby Union board there are two independent non-executives and I was the chair of the PRB," she added. "But there were also many, if you like, non-business background individuals on that and I think that when you've got a £100m revenue business then you need the appropriate governance for that. That would be good governance in any business world."

Personally, I don't feel the two men at the head of Welsh rugby right now, Phillips and Butcher, have shown a desire for that change in governance. Rightly or wrongly, Butcher as a chairman is seen as someone rooted deeply in the community game - a former geography teacher who spent 21 years as secretary at Bargoed RFC.

Phillips served as financial director for the WRU before taking up the role as interim CEO and then, finally, the post on a full-time basis.

Their predecessors Gareth Davies and Martyn Phillips attempted change. In 2017, Davies and Phillips recognised that reform was long overdue and sought to change matters by moving away from the district-led regime into something headed up by an independent chairman where control wouldn't primarily be held by the grassroot clubs.

Some things were altered, such as grassroots funding being ringfenced, but it was nothing more than mere compromises to the overall vision the pair had - with Davies being ousted through an Emergency General Meeting before he could influence true change.

Ultimately, I feel he paid the price for trying to make turkeys vote for Christmas - while Phillips left soon after for his own reasons. He might have seen the situation for what it was, mind.

There are still influential businessmen involved in the game, of course, with the likes of Dragons chairman David Buttress and Scarlets chair Simon Muderack boasting impressive CVs. But following the frightening words of Williams and Blanc, what is abundantly clear is that Welsh rugby cannot afford to lose the sort of successful businesspeople who, until they reached the end of their tether, were willing to help the game.

Moreover, it ultimately does little to hear of their displeasure once it's in the form of a farewell. What Welsh rugby needs is for those still involved to be open and vocal about how they can turn the tanker around while still working towards that goal.

Right now we need to understand what the ultimate plan is. Either coming from the Welsh Rugby Union underlining what the overarching vision is, or the Ospreys, Scarlets, Cardiff and Dragons offering some public pushback, or explanation of what they are working towards.

The recent minutes from the Joint Supporters Group meeting with representatives from each of the four clubs suggests that any sign of public discontent seems unlikely. That may well change if the situation becomes more stark.

However, the notion that individuals with major business credentials like Williams and Blanc would look at the way Welsh rugby is run and decide they are better off out is frankly a terrifying one. But, on the evidence provided, any other conclusion is perhaps tricky to reach.

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