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The Wales Rugby Union has issued a groveling apology after a Telegraph sport The investigation found widespread sexism in the way the company handled contract negotiations with its female team.
The players were left “emotionally ill” during a convoluted and unprofessional negotiation process that lasted several months and intensified when the WRU threatened to withdraw the women’s team from the World Cup. next year.
At an explosive press conference held Friday, less than 24 hours after the revelations were revealed by Telegraph sportThe WRU acknowledged failures in the way it conducted negotiations and apologized for causing unnecessary harm and stress to its players.
“It’s not a good day for us, we totally accept that. We should have done better and we didn’t, but we have learned our lessons and we will continue to try to improve,” said Richard Collier-Keywood, president of the WRU, adding that he was “absolutely clear” that the governing body needed to apologize to its players.
The WRU admitted the process had caused huge “distrust” within the organization and had served as a major distraction to its women’s team, who finished last in this year’s Six Nations and won only ‘only one victory at WXV2.
A year after an independent study highlighted a “toxic” culture within the WRU, the organization has regretted threatening “draconian” players into signing contracts they had not agreed to in a three-hour delay, or risk losing scheduled major matches and tournaments, including next year’s World Cup.
Although it acknowledged “bad behavior,” the union said it was not a sexist organization, while refusing to say whether it would have threatened its men’s team with similar action.
Nigel Walker, executive director of rugby at the WRU, was at the center of the move to pressure players into signing contracts or risk withdrawing from the WXV competition and then the World Cup. next year in England.
Asked if Walker’s position was untenable, Abi Tierney, the WRU chief executive, replied: “Nigel acknowledges we should have done things better. We will work together as a team to implement these actions.
Expanding on the point, Collier-Keywood said it would be wrong to “place blame on any one individual” and pointed to a “complex series of events” that resulted in a breakdown in communications between the players and the union, including including the threat of strike. player action.
Walker oversaw the introduction of the union’s first central contracts for women in 2021, when Wales finished third in the 2022 and 2023 Six Nations, but the WRU admitted it had been blindsided by the players’ advocacy.
“As women’s professional sport grows, the dynamics of employment, engagement, media, branding and structure of women’s football in many sports are undergoing rapid change,” said Alison Thorne , member of the board of directors of the WRU.
“The WRU contract negotiation process has failed to take this fact into account as the new round of contract negotiations approaches.
“Players have been kept at a distance from the People’s Team and the wider WRU, leading to distrust, which could isolate players further, if not addressed.
“The players, who had had little exposure to contract negotiations previously, did not know what to expect, and there was a certain level of inexperience as to what might happen.”
A review of the contract negotiation process is expected to release its recommendations later this month.
