Welsh district wants EGM to be cancelled
Richard Collier-Keywood became the first independent Welsh Rugby Union chair in 2023 [Huw Evans Agency] An extraordinary general meeting of the Welsh Rugby Union might be called off after it was announced chair Richard Collier-Keywood would step down. One of the WRU's club districts - Central Glamorgan Rugby Union (CGRU) - succeeded in receiving backing from enough clubs to call the meeting that was scheduled for Monday, 13 April. The CGRU had proposed three motions which included a vote of no-confidence in Collier-Keywood and Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall.
Collier-Keywood has been in position since 2023 but will exit on 16 July after deciding not to seek a second term and a replacement will be appointed. He is the second major figure to leave Welsh rugby's governing body in recent weeks after Wall also left in March at the end of his tenure. Former Harlequins chairman Wall has been replaced on an interim basis by Marianne Okland.
The third motion involved governance changes which included how the four council WRU members - who sit on the WRU board - are elected. The CGRU have written to clubs informing them that they feel there is now no need for an EGM and they will be withdrawing the three motions. The letter stated: "With the exits of the WRU chairman and the chairman of the PRB along with future engagement with the WRU board on our governance proposals we have achieved the key objectives of our campaign and feel there is no requirement now for an EGM.
"In light of this, we are engaging with the WRU board to discuss how best to manage the EGM process, but it is likely this will now not be required in its current form as we are writing to the WRU legal team to inform them we are withdrawing all three motions. "We will now request to have constructive engagement with the WRU's board of directors on the governance changes that we had requested, and we believe there is an agreeable path forward for this with regards to council members elections onto the WRU board. "There will be further details once these discussions conclude.
" Ospreys get go-ahead for St Helen's return Deadline for Cardiff buyout extended by WRU WRU has 'lost argument' over plans - Senedd chair 'WRU must pause their three-team plans' Calls for the EGM also followed the WRU's controversial plans to cut the number of professional teams from four to three by June 2027. That proposal has been met with criticism, protests and legal action from both Scarlets and Swansea Council. The potential impact of the latest development on the WRU's plans to cut a team were not directly addressed in the letter sent by CGRU, but the district urged the WRU to pause their plans for the professional game.