David Davis/PA WireThe chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union has said he cannot guarantee the organization will not attract further negative headlines in the future.
Abi Tierney has appeared before the Senedd’s culture and sport committee following criticism over the way her contract with the Wales Women’s national team was negotiated.
WRU president Richard Collier-Keywood said the lawsuit represented a “failure” of the union’s governance and leadership.
He said the WRU board should be held accountable for not setting up a subcommittee to deal more quickly with women’s rugby, suggesting the “crisis” over contracts could have been avoided if such a subcommittee had been in place.
The committee was established in September.
In emails seen by the BBC, the players were threatened to withdraw from the WXV2 international competition and not take part in next year’s World Cup after contract talks broke down.
They were given a “final offer” ultimatum on 2 August, which required them to sign within three hours or their scheduled matches against New Zealand, Scotland and Australia would not go ahead and the contract would be withdrawn.
Ms Tierney told the committee on Thursday it was “unfair to me” to say the WRU would never face such negative headlines again. “Because culture change is a journey and I think how we respond to those headlines is very important.” .
Ms. Collier-Keywood denied that the contract litigation involved gender discrimination.
He said the WRU failed to fully recognize that female players were employees, unlike male players who were contracted to the club.
He said: “We did not treat women as employees during that term and it was a mess. We did not fulfill our obligations to women that should have been in place at that time.”
Collier-Keywood confirmed that he and Tierney had apologized to the players.
No ‘quick fixes’
Speaking to BBC Wales after the hearing, Mr Collier-Keywood said: “There have been some problems with the WRU.
“We didn’t set up the right level of process, confused their roles as quality athletes and employees, and put pressure on them to sign contracts, which I didn’t feel was right.
“That’s why I think you should apologize when you do something wrong.”
Mr Tierney told the committee “transformative change will take time” and the results of the monthly staff survey were “challenging”.
“But it gives us an idea of where we need to grow,” she said.
She later told the BBC: “There have been systemic problems in Welsh rugby for many years and I don’t think there is a quick solution.
“What I’m trying to do is solve sustainable problems that will take time. I just hope people will be patient with me and have the confidence that I can do that.”
