New Welsh Rugby Union chair Lyndon Faulkner has confirmed he will review the controversial plan to cut a professional club in Wales — and insists he is “no yes man” brought in to simply wave the shake-up through. Faulkner will be formally elected as WRU chairman in November, but he has already drawn up his list of priorities.
Lyndon Faulkner (Credits: BBC Sport)
The contested plan would reduce the number of Welsh regions from four to three in 2028, putting Ospreys and Scarlets — the two sides most at threat — in an agonizing battle for survival. Faulkner hit back at suggestions he took the job on condition he would not question it.
WRU Chair Lyndon Faulkner to Review Region Cut
“There’s talk out there that whoever took this job was under the condition that they can’t talk about that, but that’s absolutely incorrect,” Faulkner said. “I wouldn’t have taken the job with those conditions or if it were me needing to be a yes man. That’s not me.”
Asked if he would be prepared to row back on the decision to cut a region, he replied: “Absolutely — and that’s on anything I see.” He added that it is his role to review everything, challenge it, probe it and bring his business experience to bear where things can be done better.
Faulkner, 66, is the nephew of Wales great Tony ‘Charlie’ Faulkner. A knee injury ended his own playing career, after which he built a business career that included owning Welsh technology company Nimbus, helping launch the Xbox and Microsoft Office, and floating a business on the New York stock exchange.
WRU’s £18m Loss and Worrying Finances
Faulkner admitted he was not aware of the full extent of the WRU’s debt until it was announced last week. The union posted an £18m loss for the latest financial year, figures he described as worrying and a surprise given previous finances had not looked that bad.
“There is an absolute business aspect that has to be fixed and without that, we haven’t got the right investments to go where we need the investments to go,” he said, pointing to rising utility bills, minimum wages and national insurance costs affecting businesses across the UK.
While Faulkner will chair the board rather than sit on the executive team, he expects his voice to carry weight: “They picked me because of my experience so it would be foolish to not take consideration of what I say.” He said he is empathetic to the distrust felt by Ospreys and Scarlets supporters, but does not want the review to prolong a decision that has already dragged on.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
