By Rob Carbon
Welsh Rugby Union chairman Rob Butcher is banking on his “honest broker” reputation with the member clubs to help push through what he sees as a vital step forward for the governing body.
Butcher, just coming to end of his second year as chair, has been touring the nine districts to explain the significance of the clubs backing the call from the board of directors to allow them to introduce an independent chair – “as, when and if they deem it necessary.”
The resolution will be one of a package being put to the membership at Sunday’s AGM at Cardiff’s Parkgate Hotel. It will require a 75% majority on the day to pass them.
“I’ve had some great dialogue with the clubs on my roadshow around Wales. I’ve been able to get across the point of the WRU Board and everyone has listened to what we are asking of them,” said Butcher.
“It will be down to them on the day, but I do hope they will see that what we are asking of them is to give the WRU Board an opportunity to future-proof our organisation. We want to be able to make it better for them.
“Most of the special resolutions are tidying up wording in our ‘Articles of Association’, but the ability for the board to be able to introduce an outside, independent chair is significant.
“It is important for us to be able to add extra skill sets and experience to the board if we find we need it.”
Butcher, a former deputy head teacher, took on the role of chair when Gareth Davies reached the end of his two, three-years terms of office.
Rob Butcher is re-elected WRU chair, extending his tenure for a further year:
‘Our game has had to survive incredible adversity… there is much more hard work to be done…’ BUTCHER
The Board also welcomes two new directors, Colin Wilks & Chris Jones
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— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 12, 2021
He came into the hot seat during COVID and has been appointed for two, one-year terms to date, and will have to win another election next month if he wishes to stay on.
Davies managed to introduce a range of important constitutional and governance changes during his chairmanship before being ousted from the Union in a shoot-out for a national representative seat by Ieuan Evans.
During his time in charge, Butcher has overseen the critical appointments of a new CEO in Steve Phillips, two new independent non-executive directors, in Catherine Read and Henry Engelhardt, and a new chair of the Professional Rugby Board, Malcolm Wall.
He was also able to announce ahead of the AGM an annual profit of £3.2m for the year ending June 2022. That came off the second highest turnover in the governing body’s history of £94.3m.
Butcher sits on the World Rugby Council, who are currently reviewing whether to install an independent chair, while the RFU and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) both have one.
“Of all the resolutions being put forward, the one that grabs the attention concerns the independent chair. This most certainly isn’t about me and the position I have been honoured to fill in the past two years,” added Butcher.
“I have to keep my focus on doing what I believe is the right thing for Welsh rugby. The role of chair is a vital part of Welsh rugby and I understood very quickly just how important it is – it can be highly demanding and it is easy to underestimate how important it is.
Tom Ilube CBE has been appointed as the new Chair of the RFU with Polly Williams to take over as Independent Non-Executive Director.
Find out more on our website.
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“As a board we recognise that we need to change, we need to be a better and more modern organisation. We want to have the option to go down that route.
“If the clubs come with us, and give us the option to call on a 13th Board member as an independent chair, then it will be up to the board to find someone with the right skill set.
“It is a long time since there have been as many resolutions being put forward at an AGM, but they have all been carefully considered by the board and been presented to the membership in a bid to make the governing body more agile and capable of doing the best job for them.
“As I said, to me it is all about doing the right thing for Welsh rugby.”
