WRU says EGM must take place after call to cancel

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) says the extraordinary general meeting on 13 April will still take place despite the Welsh district that initiated the event calling it for to be cancelled.

The Central Glamorgan Rugby Union (CGRU) initially succeeded in receiving the required 10% of backing from Welsh clubs to call the meeting.

It had proposed three motions, which included a vote of no-confidence in WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall.

The third motion involved governance changes which included how the four council WRU members - who sit on the WRU board - are elected.

After it was announced Collier-Keywood and Wall would be leaving their respective roles, the district wrote to clubs this week stating it would withdraw the motions and believed the EGM should be cancelled.

The WRU confirmed on Thursday it has received the formal request from the CGRU to withdraw the three motions, but rejected calls for the EGM to be called off, saying legal obligations dictate it must go ahead.

The WRU has outlined why the EGM cannot be called off after 50 clubs called for the emergency meeting.

A statement said: "We have enormous respect for the request that CGRU has made, their engagement with the process and that of the 50 clubs whose signatures called this EGM.

"However, we want to be completely transparent about an important point.

"Once an EGM has been formally called under company law and our articles of association, it cannot be cancelled.

"This is not a choice the WRU is making - it is a legal requirement that governs how our democratic processes work and protects the rights of all 282 member clubs, including those who did not sign the original requisitions.

"The EGM will therefore go ahead as planned on Monday, 13 April 2026 at 18.00 BST which will be staged at the Principality Stadium or can be attended online."

The WRU did postpone an EGM in March 2020 because of the emergence of Covid-19.

The WRU says it has only received the request to withdraw the motions from CGRU, but it expects to receive supporting requests from the other clubs.

If sufficient requests are received, the WRU is proposing the following:

Whether or not the formal motions proceed, the EGM will be an open members' meeting and will include a WRU board update and presentation on key issues in Welsh rugby.

It will also present a formal opportunity for clubs to put questions to the WRU board members and leadership.

Collier-Keywood has been in position since 2023 but will exit on 16 July after deciding not to seek a second term and a replacement will be appointed.

He is the second major figure to leave Welsh rugby's governing body in recent weeks after Wall also left in March at the end of his tenure.

Former Harlequins chairman Wall has been replaced on an interim basis by Marianne Okland.

Calls for the EGM also followed the WRU's controversial plan to cut the number of professional teams from four to three by June 2027.

That proposal has been met with criticism, protests and legal action from both Scarlets and Swansea Council.

The potential impact of the latest development on the WRU's plans to cut a team was not directly addressed in the letter sent by CGRU, but the district urged the WRU to pause its plans for the professional game.

A WRU statement continued: "We want to thank CGRU for the constructive spirit in which they have engaged with us during this process.

"The conversations we have had with clubs and districts across Wales in recent weeks have been the kind of meaningful dialogue Welsh rugby needs, and we are grateful for them."