His questioning their transparency comes at a time when he himself is under sustained criticism over openness in dealings that could see the Ospreys lose their professional status.
Collier-Keywood appeared before the Senedd’s Culture, Communications and Welsh Language Committee amid mounting pressure from member clubs, local politicians and supporters, following the decision to move Welsh professional rugby from four professional teams to three.
That decision has triggered two forms of legal action and an EGM, requested by member clubs, which will include a vote of no confidence in both Collier-Keywood and Professional Rugby Board chair Malcolm Wall.
READ MORE: WRU Face Busy Diary . . . Court Case, CMA Case, and now EGM
In evidence to the committee, Collier-Keywood claimed that the proposals being put forward at the EGM risk undoing recent governance reforms and handing power back to an ill-defined group.
“We entirely respect the EGM process and we will be complying with our obligations in full,” he said.
“I was brought in as an independent chair on a mandate of change. Change is never easy, we recognise that and we are in the midst of significant change.
“The first thing would be it really feels like a step backwards when you look at some of the requests in there.
“We are not paying consultants to do our jobs. We are skilled independent directors and administrators.
“We’ve brought back Steve Tandy as a brilliant coach with a culture of collaboration across the teams. We’ve brought back Sean Lynn who was the top PWR coach.
“The second message is we have professionalised governance. It would be a totally backwards step if you reversed the changes brought in at the EGM in 2023 and brought in an opaque group of people to do the jobs we are doing.”
READ MORE: Swansea Council Goes to High Court to Block WRU Plan Over Ospreys
That language will raise eyebrows given Collier-Keywood’s own position in the unfolding controversy around Y11 Sports and Media’s proposed purchase of Cardiff Rugby, a deal which has intensified fears that the Ospreys will be sacrificed in a back room agreement with Y11.
Swansea Council has accused the WRU of a lack of transparency over discussions with Y11, warning that completion of the deal could see the Ospreys downgraded to a semi-professional Super Rygbi Cymru side.
The council have claimed the move is a "stitch-up" and are exploring legal avenues to block it, Thay have also described the three-team model as “not fit for purpose”.
READ MORE: Swansea RFC Pour More Cold Water on WRU Ospreys Plan
Collier-Keywood repeatedly rejected the assumption that the Ospreys are destined to miss out on professional licence, insisting that no final decisions have been taken and that a “fair and transparent process” will determine who holds the single licence for west Wales.
No-one among the members of Senedd asked him if Y11 would be bidding for licenses on behalf of both Cardiff and the Ospreys.
“The assumption then was that the Ospreys was going to be the club that was killed off,” said Collier-Keywood.
“That is not the case in terms of what will necessarily happen as a result of Y11 owning two clubs.
“There is a totally separate process the WRU are going through of how we decide to award the licences.
“There is one west licence.
“Going forward I expect that we will carry out a fair and transparent process to determine who gets that licence. We have not done that yet.
“We will carry out that process because there may be some conditions we will put into that licence about where rugby needs to be played.
“For example, it could be that rugby has to be played across the west region, for example.”
Despite those assurances, supporters of the Ospreys have staged protests, while committee member Alun Davies accused Collier-Keywood of living in a “parallel universe” if he believed Scarlets supporters would travel east or that Swansea-based fans would follow a rival region.
Pressed further, Collier-Keywood conceded that relations with the professional clubs have deteriorated badly.
Later in the session, he accepted it was a “fair reflection” that the WRU had “really struggled to bring the professional clubs with us on this journey.”
Independent non-executive director Alison Thorne acknowledged the depth of feeling but insisted views among the grassroots game were divided.
“There’s also a very strong number of clubs who don’t feel like that,” she told the committee. “And so when we’re in the districts, we hear both sides of those elements.”
The WRU maintains that reducing to three teams is the only viable option to secure the long-term future of the professional game and to fund wider rugby infrastructure, including a national academy and coach development.
“The fact remains is we have four teams who do not have enough money to be competitive,” Collier-Keywood stated.
“We do not have enough money to fund four teams and fund the necessary rugby infrastructure within Wales to take the participation all the way through to elite pro rugby.”
He also warned that removing him at an EGM would leave the union without a clear alternative strategy.
“There is no plan B,” he said.
“The benefits are very significant. Financially, we will be able to put enough money into our teams to be competitive.
“Do you want four teams who have struggled in URC or three teams where at least some of them get to the knockout stages in URC?
“What Steve Tandy and Dave Reddin tells us is they want the best players to play together more closely for longer periods in time. We have to achieve that.
“We are paying for a system with a lot of NWQ players. The Board reached a unanimous decision on three teams.
“They understand what this all means. The board was unanimous in this view.
“Am I inclined to throw that away? Probably not.
“You asked me to bring this change so that Welsh rugby would have a strong, proud and sustainable future.”
The EGM, expected to be held after the Six Nations, will debate three motions, including the no-confidence vote and proposals to force elections for WRU board positions.
As Welsh rugby grapples with on-field struggles and off-field unrest, Collier-Keywood’s insistence on transparency from others is likely to continue drawing scrutiny — particularly while questions remain over the WRU’s own dealings and the future of professional rugby in west Wales.
