Gatland 'has our full support' says WRU chairman

Welsh Rugby Union chairman Richard Collier-Keywood says under pressure Wales head coach Warren Gatland "has our full support".

It has been a year to forget for the national men's team, having slipped to an all-time low of 11th in the world rankings.

Wales finished bottom of the Six Nations for the first time in 21 years and lost a summer Test series 2-0 in Australia.

And while the losing run came to an end in an uncapped match against a second-string Queensland Reds team, another defeat to Fiji in November would be a record-equalling 10th successive international loss.

Despite the disastrous results in 2024, Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chairman Collier-Keywood insisted the rebuilding done this year is all "part of the plan".

“I’m a proud Welshman myself and I don’t like the fact we’ve lost the last nine Test matches, but this about rebuilding," said Collier-Keywood.

“We’ve asked Warren to have a specific objective heading towards the next World Cup. Our pathways were not in the position they should’ve been in, so he’s taken this opportunity over this Six Nations and summer series to try out some new players.

“If you look at the performances, you can see that some of the players have tried out really well, we’re starting to get strength in depth and some of these players are on their way of becoming regular internationals.

“It is part of a plan, we’ve asked him to do it and he’s getting on with it, of course we’re going to support him."

Gatland is in his second spell as Wales head coach, having returned to replace Wayne Pivac in December 2022.

Previously, Wales were used to success under the New Zealander, but since his reappointment Gatland has won only six games in 21 Tests with 15 defeats, a success rate of below 30%.

The Wales head coach also came under scrutiny in Australia when he named Cory Hill as captain for their final match against Queensland Reds.

Back in 2021, Hill was named among a group of individuals who damaged a woman's house, though was not charged by police.

Hill ended up withdrawing from the match a few hours before kick-off due to "personal reasons", and after the game Gatland admitted he had made a mistake.

But Collier-Keywood insisted that the WRU remained fully in support of Gatland.

“My hope is we won’t keep losing," added Collier-Keywood. "We’re clearly not going to go from a position and lose every Test match between now and 2027 and reach the semi-final of the World Cup.

“If that strategy is going to work you can clearly see there should be a path of winning over that period of time, Warren has our full support.”

It has not just been the international game which has struggled in Wales in 2024.

Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons all finished in the bottom five of the 2023-24 United Rugby Championship (URC), while the Ospreys reached the play-offs on the final day of the season.

Ospreys would not get any further, however, as they lost 23-7 to Munster in the quarter-finals of the competition.

The four Welsh regions were given a £5.2m salary cap last season, slashed from the original figure of around £7.2m, with the number dropping even further to £4.5m for next season.

In June, the WRU announced a five-year plan, with WRU chief executive Abi Tierney saying the exact details of just how they will achieve their "ambitious mission" will be announced later this year.

This week the WRU's audited annual report said the organisation is "performing below the forecasts set for the 2024" but revealed increased investment into the game in 2023.

The report also warned of upcoming "cost savings" for 2025 and beyond, but said those cuts were the "maximise our investment in rugby".

Asked if the regions can expect to see a salary cap increase moving forward, Collier-Keywood said: "Absolutely I do, I think the teams have probably chosen their teams for the next season and that’s a tough ask as we don’t want to have unnecessary inflation in those numbers.

"But looking for the season after that, we absolutely want our teams to be competitive and we recognise that means a significant raise in the salary cap.

"At the moment we’re talking about the same amount of funding and then attracting private funding as well, because they are independently owned clubs.

"That is our commitment to the clubs, to come back with a reasonable offer that would keep the four at the same level."

Reduced salary caps and a lack of success on the field has made attracting crowds to games all the more difficult.

The United Rugby Championship has failed to draw in large crowds, with only two home games for the Welsh regions - with the exception of Judgement Day and Welsh derbies - having over 10,000 fans watching.

Those games were both at the Cardiff Arms Park, while the Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons' biggest home attendance were 11,282, 8,489 and 7,617 respectively - all in Welsh derbies.

Collier-Keywood said the competition has its positives and negatives, but added that "all options are on the table" in the future.

"I’m totally aware that most Welsh people would want competition against England and that does feel like a good direction of travel," said Collier-Keywood.

"As of now, we’re still committed to the URC. Of course, there are downsides to the URC, but there are also positives, we want to improve the situation from a Welsh perspective.

"We have own priorities, which is to create stability for our four clubs and try and give them a sound next few years.

"When we reach the end of that process then we can come back and discuss what the next goal is.

"I think all options are on the table. Just to be clear."

The next season of the English Premiership will include a trip to the Principality Stadium, as Bristol Bears will face West Country rivals Bath in the Welsh capital on 10 May.

Branded as the 'Big Day Out' by the Bears, the match will see them swap their 27,000 capacity Ashton Gate for the 75,000-seater south Wales venue for the first time in a bid to "reach new audiences and grow our commercial revenue".

Harlequins and Saracens have played an annual showpiece Premiership match each at Twickenham and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in recent campaigns, a template Bristol say they want to replicate.

The match is scheduled to take place while Cardiff are away in South Africa for the United Rugby Championship.

And Collier-Keywood said they will not allow the use of the Principality Stadium for events which would be harmful to Welsh rugby.

“The stadium is a fantastic stadium," said Collier-Keywood.

"Lots of teams want to play there and if it’s financially viable for us to attract people we will.

“It should not be at the expense of putting on an event which will take away from the Welsh clubs.”

The women's national team also finished bottom of their 2024 Six Nations campaign, winning just one game.

It was a set back for Ioan Cunningham's side, who had won three games the previous year and finished third.

In June, Wales scored 52 points as they beat Spain at the Cardiff Arms Park to seal their spot in the 2025 Rugby World Cup and WXV2 this autumn.

However the glaring issue from a Welsh rugby perspective is the vast majority of players in the squad play their rugby across the border in England.

Last season, the most competitive women's rugby teams based in Wales were Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning in the Celtic Challenge.

Although some of Wales' Six Nations squad played for those teams, over half the squad played their club rugby for Bristol Bears or Gloucester-Hartpury.

“We need to have a better solution than having our girls play in England," said Collier-Keywood.

"The next step in the strategy is that we want our girls to play in Wales at Welsh clubs.

“We are absolutely committed and prepared to invest in making that happen.”