governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
of
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
in the country of
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, recognised by the sport's international governing body,
World Rugby
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...
.
The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clubs, the Welsh national team and National Leagues and Cups. The WRU is headed by the President (
The roots of the Welsh Rugby Union lay in the creation of the South Wales Football Union (SWFU) in September 1875; formed, "...with the intention of playing matches with the principal clubs in the West of England and the neighbourhood. The rugby rules will be the code adopted. The South Wales Football Club was superseded in 1878 by the South Wales Football Union in an attempt to bring greater regulation to the sport and to select representatives from club sides to represent the international game. The SWFU though were poorly organised, and although they arranged fixtures between a South Wales team and various English clubs, they were often victims of fixture-clashes and were accused of lacking energy. In 1880,
Richard Mullock
Richard Mullock (3 May 1851 – 1920) was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which bec ...
, secretary of the Newport Athletic Club, decided to take matters into his own hands and without the backing of the SWFU organised an international match against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
The
match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
took place on 19 February 1881, and was won by England seven goals, one dropped goal and six tries to nil. This heavy defeat lay the seeds for further reforms that would lead to the creation of the WRU.
Currently, there is confusion regarding the official date of creation of the Welsh Rugby Union. In March 1880 nine teams supposedly met at the Tenby Hotel,
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
with the intent of creating a new union. These teams are thought to have been,
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...
Haverfordwest RFC
Haverfordwest Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Haverfordwest, West Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets.
Former Wales prop Rob Evans rejoined the club in 202 ...
,
Llandaff RFC
Llandaff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff in Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Rugby Union WRU League 3 East Central B.
History
Llandaff RFC was formed in 1876 by Cambridge graduate Illtyd ...
,
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872.
The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " ...
,
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a whi ...
,
Newport RFC
Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk.
Ever ...
,
Pontypridd RFC
Pontypridd Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It competes in the Admiral Premiership and the WRU Premiership Cup, a trophy which they won for the 7th time in 2025. Their last league title ...
and
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Super Rygbi Cymru. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours.
History ...
. The issue with accepting this meeting is that there is no written evidence, just oral repetition.
On 12 March 1881, eleven clubs met in the Castle Hotel,
Neath
Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...
to form what would be accepted as a Welsh rugby union. After a humiliating defeat in the first Wales international rugby game, the Neath meeting was organised by Mullock to form a union that could organise regular international matches. The founding clubs of the Welsh Football Union (WFU), as it was originally known, were Swansea C & FC,
Pontypool RFC
Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the Super Rygbi Cymru league. Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypool RFC is now a feeder club to the Dragons regional ...
,
Newport RFC
Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk.
Ever ...
,
Merthyr RFC
Merthyr RFC is a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. Merthyr RFC are members of the Welsh Rugby Union, playing in the Principality Premiership, and are a feeder club for Cardiff Rugby.
Early history
Merthyr's fir ...
,
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872.
The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " ...
,
Bangor RFC
Bangor Rugby Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Bangor) is a Welsh rugby union team based in Bangor, North Wales. Bangor RFC is a founding member of the Welsh Rugby Union. The club fields a Seniors, Youth, Juniors and Ladies teams.
History
Bango ...
,
Brecon RFC
Brecon Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club from the town of Brecon, Mid Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for Cardiff Rugby. Since 2024, the club has played in the Welsh Premier Division.
Origins
T ...
,
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...
Llandovery RFC
Llandovery RFC () is a Welsh rugby union club based in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The club is an inaugural member of the Welsh Rugby Union, currently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and is a feeder club for the Scarlets, a Pro14 club. L ...
and
Llandeilo RFC
Llandeilo Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Llandeilo, in Carmarthenshire, west Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Scarlets.
History
Early history
A Carmarthen Journal from ...
. Strangely the oldest rugby club in Wales,
Neath RFC
Neath Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a whi ...
are not recorded as being present, even though the meeting took place in the town of Neath. It is unknown if this was an oversight by the committee to record the presence of the club, or if Neath RFC actually did not attend. The fact that two of the main committee members of the SWFU, John Llewellyn and
Sam Clark
Samuel James Clark (born 18 October 1987) is an Australian actor, singer-songwriter, best known for his role as Ringo Brown on the Australian soap opera, ''Neighbours'' and Leo in the Fox/Paramount live musical television special '' Grease: Live ...
were Neath men, and the creation of the WFU disbanded their union, is generally accepted as the reason for the absence of a Neath representative.
The WRU was a founding member of the International Rugby Football Board, now known as
World Rugby
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...
, in 1886 with
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, with Mullock and
Horace Lyne
Horace Sampson Lyne MBE (31 December 1860 – 1 May 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport Rugby Football Club. He won five caps for Wales. After retiring from play, he became the longest serving ...
the Welsh representatives at the formal signing of the union in 1887.
It was not until 1934 that the current name, the Welsh Rugby Union, was adopted.
Responsibilities
The WRU are responsible for the running of Welsh rugby, including 320 member clubs, the Welsh national team and National Leagues and Cups. The Welsh Rugby Union has a major role in the development of coaches, referees and players throughout all ages for both men and women. They also own the home of Welsh rugby union, the 74,500 capacity
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...
, Cardiff, "an icon of the modern Wales".
After the national team the next highest level of representation in Wales is the four regions based around top club sides, but representing a larger area. These regions came into being in 2003 when the WRU elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby union from nine clubs into five regions modelled on the successful Irish provinces and the
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
franchises in South Africa, Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. The WRU had hoped to reduce the teams to four regions but Cardiff and Llanelli successfully argued for stand-alone status. After one year the Celtic Warriors region was closed down and the four surviving regional clubs are
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
,
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
,
Ospreys
The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...
Pro14
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...
,
European Professional Club Rugby
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) is the governing body and organiser of the two major club rugby union tournaments: the European Rugby Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup. A third tournament, the European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifyin ...
Challenge Cup
The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
) and
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
competitions. Each region may call up players from a set of club teams within their area. These top club sides play in the 14-strong
Welsh Premier Division
The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Admiral Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season.
2025–26 se ...
.
In August 2008 WRU chief Roger Lewis confirmed that the body was looking at a proposal to reinstate a fifth Welsh region, based in North Wales. Lewis admitted that he regretted the decision in 2004 to close down Celtic Warriors. In September 2008 a new North Wales Rugby development team was announced, likely to be based in
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
; ultimately, the team was launched as
RGC 1404
RGC 1404 (Rygbi Gogledd Cymru 1404), formerly "Gogledd Cymru" (, "North Wales"), is a rugby union team founded in 2008 and based in Colwyn Bay, Conwy. They currently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru; after winning Division 1 East at the first atte ...
, and was to be based in
Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...
instead of Wrexham. In the same month Llanelli Scarlets changed their name to simply
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
, believing the new name would better represent their region beyond
Llanelli
; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...
.
Rugby Services Agreement
The current Rugby Services Agreement ''(or RSA)'' has been in place since 28 August 2014, and will be in place between the union and the four Welsh regions (
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams.
Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...
Ospreys
The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...
and
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
) for six years. The RSA delivers £8.7million a year to the Regions guaranteed to be spent on Welsh qualified players with a complex matrix of funding, also guaranteeing a further £3.6million in loan facilities from the WRU repayable during the term of the RSA. Each Region also receives a one-off £500,000 payment on signature of the new RSA.
The new agreement also allows players to be offered a National Dual Contract (NDC), which means the union will pay 60% of a NDC player's salary and their region 40%. They also become available for all Welsh senior matches, despite if the match falls outside
World Rugby
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...
's international release windows in June and November. The WRU retained the right to play up to 13 senior international games each year with a 13-day release facility for squad training before the Six Nations and Autumn series games. The new agreement does state that the national team head coach, currently
Warren Gatland
Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team.
As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of ...
, will be the sole person to decide who gets a National Dual Contract, with a long-term aim of only selecting players based in Wales. The limit on foreign players in regional squads has been capped at a maximum of six while each region will be allowed two so-called time-serving players who will be available for Welsh selection after three years' residency (rising to five years, effective from 31 December 2020).
Horace Lyne
Horace Sampson Lyne MBE (31 December 1860 – 1 May 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport Rugby Football Club. He won five caps for Wales. After retiring from play, he became the longest serving ...
MBE (1906–1947)
*Sir
David Rocyn-Jones
The Reverend Sir David Thomas Rocyn-Jones, CBE, K St J, DL, JP (16 November 1862 – 30 April 1953) was a Welsh medical officer of health and servant of multiple professional bodies within Wales.
Professional career
Rocyn-Jones was born in Rh ...
Harry Bowcott
Henry Morgan Bowcott (30 April 1907 – 14 December 2004) was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh and later became president of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Club career
Bowcott was a product of ...
Kenneth Gwilym
Kenneth is a given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byname m ...
Clive Rowlands
Daniel Clive Thomas Rowlands OBE (14 May 1938 – 29 July 2023) was a Welsh rugby union footballer and coach.
Rowlands was born in Upper Cwmtwrch on 14 May 1938. As recorded in the preface for the book ''The Children of Craig-Y-Nos'', Rowland ...
Graham Tregidon
Graham or Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
Keith Rowlands
Keith Alun Rowlands (7 February 1936 – 18 November 2006), was a Welsh international lock rugby union player and later administrator, who was the first chief executive officer of the International Rugby Board.
Playing career
Rowlands was born ...
Gerald Davies
Sir Thomas Gerald Reames Davies (born 7 February 1945) is a Welsh former rugby union wing who played international rugby for Wales between 1966 and 1978 and was selected for two British Lions tours. He is one of a small group of Welsh players ...
(2019–2023)
*
Terry Cobner
Terence John Cobner (born 10 January 1946) Scrum.com is a former Richard Mullock
Richard Mullock (3 May 1851 – 1920) was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which bec ...
Denis Evans
Denis James Evans (born 19 April 1951) is an Australian scientist who is an emeritus professor at the Australian National University and honorary professor at The University of Queensland. He is widely recognised for his contributions to noneq ...
Richard Mullock
Richard Mullock (3 May 1851 – 1920) was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which bec ...
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. He has amassed more than 700 film and television credits since his debut in 1978, making him one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors of all time.
Roberts' career ...
(1934–1945)
* P.O. Evans (1946–1952)
* Kenneth Morgan Harris (1952–1982)
*Glanmor Griffiths (1984–2003)
*Studid Lee (Beaufort RFC)
*2003 Position terminated.
Criticisms
In 2008 the
Welsh Language Society
The Welsh Language Society (, also often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas in English) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their l ...
wrote to the WRU outlining a "lack of commitment to the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
" and later held meetings to discuss the matter. In a statement to BBC Wales, a WRU spokesman said that it was reviewing its website and would be having more Welsh on the site.
The current logo of the Welsh Rugby Union is based on the
Prince of Wales's feathers
The Prince of Wales's feathers are the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne. The badge consists of three white ostrich feathers encircled by a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German motto (, ...
. There have been multiple calls for the WRU to use a logo "more relevant to Wales" as the feathers are associated by some with the "English crown". Pro-independence group
YesCymru
YesCymru is a non party-political campaign for an independent Wales. The organisation was formed in summer 2014 and officially launched on 20 February 2016 in Cardiff. In 2022 it became a private company limited by guarantee without share cap ...
created mock-up WRU logos using a leek, daffodil and harp instead of the three feathers. Using a
Welsh dragon
The Welsh Dragon (, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales.
Ancient leaders of the Celtic Britons that are personified as dragons include Maelgwn Gwynedd, Mynyddog Mwynf ...
has also been proposed.
The union's patron is
Prince William
William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.
William was born during the reign of his p ...
, the current
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in 2007, with petitions receiving more than 1,000 signatures calling for it to be named after the late
Ray Gravell
Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union Centre (rugby union), centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC.
At international level, Gravell earned 23 cap (sport), caps for Wales national r ...
instead.
Toxic culture allegations
In January 2023, a BBC Wales investigation included multiple former WRU employees who made allegations of a "toxic culture" in the workplace of the WRU. Later that week, Steve Phillips resigned as the chief executive officer of the WRU and was replaced by Nigel Walker. WRU chair
Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Cennydd Evans (born 21 March 1964) is a former rugby union player who played on the wing for Wales and the British and Irish Lions. He is the fourth highest try scorer for Wales behind Shane Williams, George North and Gareth Thomas an ...
said that an external taskforce would be established to deal with the allegations.
As of November 2023, a 133-page review was completed highlighting "bullying and misogyny" in the WRU. A three-person chair of Dame
Anne Rafferty
Dame Anne Judith Rafferty (born 26 July 1950) is an English jurist, who served as a Lady Justice of Appeal of England and Wales from 2011 to 2020.
Career
Educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School before going up to read law at the Unive ...
, Quentin Smith and
Maggie Alphonsi
Margaret Omotayo Sanni Alphonsi (born 20 December 1983) is an English former rugby union player who played as a flanker for Saracens W.R.F.C. and England before retiring in 2014. She was Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in 2010, and was i ...
was appointed for an investigation. The review involved conducting 50 interviews with groups or individuals, and it assembled a 5,000-page document of evidence, the findings were the WRU was suffering a general "failure of governance". However, the organised approach of the report has been noted as being too political for rugby union. After the publication of the findings of the report, the WRU was forced to change the personnel on an executive level in the WRU, involving the appointment of a first female Chief Executive, Abi Tierney, and Richard Collier-Keywood as the new WRU chair.
UK neurological injuries lawsuit
In December 2023 a group of 295 former rugby players sued
World Rugby
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...
, the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
and the Welsh Rugby Union
for allegedly failing to put in place reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of players. This alleged failure is said to have caused disorders such as
motor neurone disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...
, early onset
dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
,
chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...
,
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
and
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
.
See also
*
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...
*
Rugby union in Wales
Rugby union in Wales is considered a large part of Welsh national culture. Rugby union is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1881. Wales are considered to be one of the ...
*
History of rugby union
The history of rugby union follows from various football games long before the 19th century, but it was not until the middle of that century that the rules were formulated and codified. The code of football later known as rugby union can be tra ...
*
United Rugby Championship
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...
*
Welsh Premier Division
The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Admiral Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season.
2025–26 se ...
*
WRU Challenge Cup
The WRU Challenge Cup (currently known as the WRU Premiership Cup, formally called the Welsh Rugby Union Challenge Cup, is Wales' premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby union competition and is organised by the Welsh Rugby Union. A ...
*
WRU National Leagues
Rugby union in Wales is governed by the Welsh Rugby Union. The top level of Welsh rugby is represented by the regional sides, formed in 2003, who play in the United Rugby Championship (formerly the Celtic League, Pro12 or Pro14). Originally cons ...
*
Welsh Rugby Players Association
'
The Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) is a trade union representing athletes who currently play or who have played rugby union in Wales at a professional level. Founded in 2003, the WRPA aims to Represent, Develop, Promote and Protect all ...
Rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...