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Meet the woman handed one of the biggest jobs in Welsh rugby
A former chief executive of Zurich Insurance Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa has been appointed as the new independent chair of Welsh rugby’s professional rugby board (PRB).
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Amanda Blanc, a senior businesswoman who has also been group chief executive of AXA UK, PPP & Ireland during a distinguished 30-year career, was previously named woman of achievement by Women in the City and twice voted the UK Insurer CEO’s CEO of the year (2013 and 2015), as well as featuring on the 2019 list of Yahoo Finance’s 100 women executives.
Originally from Treherbert in the Rhondda Fawr valley, she automatically joins the Welsh Rugby Union Board (WRU) by virtue of her position as the chair of the PRB, succeeding David Lovett. “A passion for Wales, for Welsh rugby and the communities that the game serves around the country has brought me to this role and I am relishing the challenge ahead,” said Blanc.
“The PRB obviously has a vital and integral role to play, not only in safeguarding the future of our national game, but also ensuring that it thrives at a time of huge potential change and it will be a great pleasure to do all that I can to help facilitate its aims and ambitions.
“I’m looking forward to bringing my corporate board experience to the WRU and PRB. Having been used to the complexities involved in running large organisations I know that this will be invaluable in helping Welsh rugby strive towards achieving greater success.”
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The PRB is a gathering of representatives from each of the five professional entities in Welsh rugby and consists of the four regional chairmen, Alun Jones (Cardiff Blues), David Buttress (Dragons), Rob Davies (Ospreys) and Nigel Short (Scarlets), WRU CEO Martyn Phillips, WRU finance director Steve Phillips and two independent members (one of whom is chair – this position is to be filled by Blanc after approval by WRU board on Thursday – with another independent member to be recruited).
It has operated as a sub-board of the WRU since a modernised governance structure was passed by its members, clubs and districts at its AGM in October 2018 and its stated general approach is to ensure all five entities have equal opportunity for success.
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Its most significant achievement to date has been to establish a new professional rugby agreement (PRA) for the professional game in Wales, which has led to a doubling in direct funding by the WRU from approximately £10million to around £20m per annum, excluding competition income.
"My boy was playing under-11s rugby and we could barely get nine or ten players to come out and play whereas with football they were scratching two sides together." @ShaneWilliams11 talks regional rugby decline with @heagneyl ???https://t.co/opEhls2mH2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 1, 2019
Blanc becomes the third female board member of the WRU, joining Liza Burgess – who became the first woman to be elected to the board at the AGM in October 2019 – and non-executive director Aileen Richards, who has been in place since her appointment in 2015.
“This is a hugely significant appointment for the PRB, but one which will also have a direct and positive impact on the WRU board,” said Richards. “To attract someone of Amanda’s experience shows the high esteem in which Welsh rugby is held around the world and I’m greatly looking forward to working with her in the best interests of our national game in the years ahead.”
https://twitter.com/Amandas_Shoes/status/1208009601729388544
Blanc has wide-ranging experience in the boardroom having chaired many organisations, subsidiaries and committees and sat on various regulated boards across Europe. “Amanda is an important addition to both the WRU Board and the PRB, not least because she comes with a skillset and high level of business experience in the financial sector unrivalled elsewhere,” said WRU chairman Gareth Davies.
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“And to have another female voice in a boardroom which has been a traditionally male environment is a hugely welcome by-product of securing the services of such a high calibre business-woman. Chairing PRB meetings is not an easy task, with five separate entities determined to pull in the same direction and speak with one voice off the pitch, but with necessarily conflicting agendas on it.
“It is widely known that these are changing times for the world game, with talk of new structures and potential new ownership rife and it will be part of Amanda’s challenge to help ensure the PRB and Welsh rugby not only keeps pace but takes its place, rightly, at the forefront of imminent progress.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
This just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
16 Go to comments