Nigel Walker: 'They came to a view they couldn't substantiate the claim'
Acting Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Nigel Walker has warned the very future of the game in Wales is at stake over the allegations of misogyny, sexism, racism and homophobia that have rocked the organisation.
Allegations of a “toxic culture” at the WRU were aired in a television documentary last week, resulting in the resignation of chief executive Steve Phillips on Sunday.
An independent taskforce is to be set up to tackle the allegations, with Sport Wales – a Welsh government-funded body – advising on the make up and remit of the panel.
WRU chair Ieuan Evans said it was his responsibility to “go out to clubs and drive change” at an EGM proposed for March, and Walker admits Welsh rugby is in a perilous position after member clubs voted down governance reform in October.
Asked how clubs could be persuaded to support change, Walker said at a press conference in Cardiff: “You come up for a compelling argument for change because where we are now is not sustainable.
“If we are not prepared to change, the future of Welsh rugby and the Welsh Rugby Union is in danger. I can’t put it any more bluntly than that.
“We’ve accepted we need change and we want to get to that change programme as quickly as possible.”
A number of former WRU employees took part in an investigation by BBC Wales with accusations about their time at the organisation.
Charlotte Wathan, general manager of women’s rugby until her resignation last February, spoke of how a male colleague said in front of others in an office that he wanted to “rape” her, while another unnamed contributor said she was left contemplating suicide by her experiences of bullying and sexism at work.
Former Olympic hurdler and Wales wing Walker, who described the allegations raised in the documentary as “harrowing and despicable”, said the rape claim had been investigated by a leading law firm.
He said: “They came to a view they couldn’t substantiate the claim and that investigation, if required by the taskforce, will be turned over to them so they can look at it and they can say it needs to be investigated again.
“If this person needs to be interviewed or that person needs to be interviewed, we will comply with it. We’re opening up our shop, no question is off the table, they can have access to everything.”
Walker wants a rapid conclusion into the investigation of the WRU – “I would hope that it would be weeks” – and a meeting was due to be held on Monday to set its terms of reference.
“You can have it as wide as possible and it’s going to take quite a bit of time, or we can have a more defined terms of reference highlighting specific areas where perhaps the taskforce will meet and come to a conclusion more quickly,” said Walker, who was appointed WRU performance director in July 2021.
“That’s the balance we’ve got to strike. We don’t want to be sitting here in three, four, five months time without it having been reported because the terms of reference are so wide.
“We want to get those recommendations as quickly as possible and be fit for purpose. We need to undertake that we will implement the changes required.
“The acid test is what we do with the organisation and what people think about it. It’s about restoring credibility and it will be up to people outside the organisation to tell us when they think we’ve restored credibility.”
Amanda Blanc, who chaired Welsh rugby’s professional board between 2019 and 2021, warned the WRU it had a problem before the recent claims emerged.
Blanc, now chief executive of Aviva insurance company, told the WRU it had “deep-rooted” culture and behavioural problems, but Evans insisted Phillips had a part to play in the future of Welsh rugby at a press conference last Wednesday.
Asked if those comments had damaged his own credibility, Evans, who has called for an independent WRU chair and is due to be questioned in the Senedd on Thursday over the allegations, said: “In my heart, I’m very loyal. I like to think I have integrity.
“It’s up to others to judge whether I have or not. Steve Phillips had made changes. But when he decided he would like to step down, we accepted that resignation.
“We feel now is an opportunity to move forward. We need greater diversity and a greater skill set on our board to challenge and support our executive.”
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis 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.
27 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.
9 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.
27 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?
11 Go to comments