Swansea Council’s Leader has called for the WRU’s Chief Executive to quit after the Union offered two of the three professional rugby licenses to Cardiff and Newport.
The plans are part of the WRU’s intention to reduce the four Welsh regional teams to three, and it means the remaining license in the West is unresolved with the Ospreys and Scarlets facing an uncertain future.
The WRU bombshell comes as a leaked recording has emerged of WRU Chief Executive, Abi Tierney, telling journalists in a private briefing in April this year that she favours a merger between the Ospreys and Scarlets.
Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said rugby players and supporters in West Wales had been betrayed by the WRU.
“I cannot see how Abi Tierney can continue as CEO of the WRU following the release of the recording.
“The WRU has strung everyone along claiming this would be a fair and transparent process, while all the time they’ve been plotting behind the scenes.
“The WRU has now announced without any consultation or publishing any supporting evidence, that Cardiff and Newport will be offered two of the three licenses.
“That means rugby players and supporters in the West and beyond have been betrayed and misled by the WRU.
“We were given assurances by the WRU during our on-going legal case that this would be a fair and transparent process, which is why we agreed to pause our legal case.
“How can anyone call this a fair and open process when two of the licenses have been decided behind closed doors, while players and supporters at the Ospreys and Scarlets are now facing an uncertain future.”
Cllr Stewart accused the WRU of re-drawing the map of Wales in order to suit its preference for retaining Cardiff regardless of the cost.
“The WRU have arbitrarily carved up the rugby map of Wales to suit their own biased view, knowing they wanted to sell Cardiff to Y11 at the time and it would lead them to the result they wanted, with complete disregard for the impact this would have on our region.
“Geographically, Newport and Cardiff are both in the East and they could merge to create a new East team, with the Ospreys in the South and Scarlets in the West.
“But the fact is the WRU is hellbent on protecting Cardiff and has devised this illogical regional map with that in mind, rather than what’s best for Welsh rugby.”
In the leaked recording, Ms Tierney reveals she’s been trying to hold discussions about a merger between the Ospreys and Scarlets.
She states, “I would have loved that, you know Scarlets – off the record – and Ospreys said let’s do a merger, you know they’ve talked about it time and time again. I can’t make people do something that they don’t want to do, so it makes, that makes it hard.”
She later adds, “I’m not giving up on a consensus, but it’s very hard when you have people that have invested into those clubs, you know, over many, many years, many millions of pounds, who um, you know, don’t want to compromise on that.”
When asked by a journalist about whether a merged West team would need a new stadium, she replies, “I think Parc y Scarlets is one of the best venues in the URC and PRL, so I wouldn’t and I think St Helen’s is such an iconic location.
“It’s not beyond the wit of us to go how do you level you know, one would be an amazing venue for games in the summer, the other would be a great venue for wetter winter games and you crack on.
“I think people, you know, will follow their teams, you know, I kind of, you know people will drive to see where they want to.”
Cllr Stewart said Abi Tierney’s comments in the leaked recording reinforced his concerns that decisions had been taken behind closed doors.
“The recording demonstrates the WRU Chief Executive has been following one route publicly and other privately. How can anyone have faith in the current leadership of the WRU – or that they will speak truthfully and transparently.
“Abi Tierney expresses a clear preference for a merger between the Ospreys and Scarlets rather than approaching all options with an open mind.
“Taken together, these developments show that key decisions have already been made behind closed doors, with only the mechanism for delivering them still under discussion.
“Supporters, players and communities across Wales deserve confidence that decisions affecting the future of professional rugby are being made fairly, transparently and on the basis of evidence – not through a process where outcomes have effectively been determined in advance.”
The issue forms a central part of Swansea Council’s ongoing legal challenge, which argues that the prospect of a single professional licence in West Wales has not been adequately justified and that key questions remain unanswered.
The council’s lawyers have written to the WRU as the stay in legal proceedings is due to end this week, with the WRU defence due in two weeks.
