Welsh Rugby Union was “unforgiving, even vindictive” workplace for some – report

The Welsh Rugby Union was an “unforgiving, even vindictive” environment to work in for some of its employees, an independent report has found.

Witnesses interviewed as part of Dame Anne Rafferty’s review of the union reported feelings of powerlessness and fear, with the WRU described in the review’s report as an organisation which was “unsure on its feet”.

The review was launched on February 13th, following a BBC programme aired in January which reported allegations of racism, sexism, misogyny and homophobia connected to the WRU.

The union workplace “contained elements of bullying and discrimination” and was experienced as “toxic” by some employees, the Dame Rafferty report found.

The union’s leaders were criticised for “allowing problems to develop” and for having “a tendency to manage the problem rather than the underlying issue”,  it said.

The organisation’s former chief executive, Steve Phillips, quit within days of the BBC programme airing, with Abi Tierney’s appointment as his permanent successor confirmed in August. She takes up her role in January.

The review makes 36 recommendations in all, covering governance, complaints handling, the union’s approach to inclusion and diversity and investment in the women’s game.

“For anyone who cares about rugby in Wales it is a very difficult read and it is a particularly difficult read if you work at the WRU,” the organisation’s chair Richard Collier-Keywood said in response to the report.

“It is clear that there were many opportunities to avert the serious problems described which were simply not taken.

“We have a lot of work to do to win back the trust of our colleagues our players, the volunteers who are the heart of our community game, and the supporters that buy tickets