By Hannah Blackwell

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has acknowledged it “needs to apologise” for threatening to pull the women’s team from competition, though the organisation denies any sexist intent behind its actions.

According to a report by The Telegraph, the WRU allegedly warned the women’s team they could be withdrawn from the upcoming Rugby World Cup if they did not agree to new contract terms.

The report further claims that WRU chief executive Abi Tierney was reluctant to cover travel expenses for the team.

The WRU, however, disputes certain elements of these allegations.

WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood shared that a group representing the players approached him on August 8, voicing concerns about the way contract negotiations were progressing.

In response, he tasked board members Claire Donovan and Alison Thorne with conducting a review of the process.

Exclusive: The WRU threatened to withdraw its women’s team from next year’s @rugbyworldcup if players did not sign new contracts. Some were left "emotionally unwell” and were victims of bullying tactics used by coaches, as well as senior management. https://t.co/rXzv1Hy1CO

— Fi Tomas (@fi_tomas_) October 31, 2024

This review, expected to be released publicly in the coming weeks, has already uncovered that players were warned they would be withdrawn from competition if they failed to sign new professional contracts within a three-hour window.

This ultimatum came after the executive leadership team learned that the ongoing contract disputes might disrupt preparations for a friendly against Scotland on September 6, as players were considering a strike.

Collier-Keywood stated, “It is our intention to sit down properly with the players over the course of the next couple of weeks and deliver the apology.”

He added, “It is absolutely clear we do need to apologise, we just need to get the logistics of that right because players are in all different parts of the country.”

However, Collier-Keywood insisted there was no sexist motivation, saying, “We basically chatted to the women about that and that word just did not come up.

“I know people want to use labels, but it is probably an unhelpful label because that is not representative.

“The reason for that happening was not to do with sexism towards the players. It was to do with a complex ecosystem of things that had gone wrong [for] which we are responsible.

“It is important for us as a board to know exactly what went wrong and not to just take labels because otherwise, we will take the wrong actions in response to those labels.”

Board member Claire Donovan echoed Collier-Keywood’s position, stating that sexism was not a factor: “There are all sorts of things we absolutely could have done better, and there are all sorts of hurt that we need to talk to, but I genuinely don’t believe the decisions that were made were driven by sexism,” she said.

WRU Contract 37 Players For Wales Women And Insists There Is More To Come