Born in Merthyr, Rees, 71, died after a brave battle against cancer. He is survived by his wife, Sue, sons Nick and Matthew and step son Alexander.
He was recruited from the Midland Bank by Griffiths in the build-up to the 1999 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted in Wales. At the same time the Millennium Stadium had to be completed in time to stage the global tournament and the Welsh clubs were struggling with their finances in the wake of the game going professional.
“I needed help and support with so much going on and I asked the director for Wales at the Midland Bank, where I was working, if I could co-opt someone to work with me at the WRU,” recalled Griffiths.
“I’d worked with Martyn at the bank and already had a high regard for him. He was diligent, dedicated and hard working – simply one of the best.
“We had some big projects to deal with when he first came in and he played his part in ensuring the WRU was able to make such a success of staging the World Cup and completing the Millennium Stadium.
“His financial background also enabled him to offer advice and support to the Welsh clubs at the start of the professional era.”
Griffiths put Rees in charge of Gower Park Ltd, which the union set-up in 1998 to run Neath RFC after the club had collapsed financially, and his was a steady hand on the tiller in stormy waters. As the club’s General Manager he was the man who gave Shane Williams his first professional contract.
Having been taken on by Griffiths on secondment, Rees stayed at the union for the rest of his working life. He succeeded David Stewart as the WRU’s Administration Manager in early 2003 and went on to become Regulations and Protocol Manager.
After his retirement in 2017, he continued on a casual basis until February 2019 before spending more time with his family and on the golf course. He was a member of Cottrell Park for a number of years before joining Llantrisant and Pontyclun Golf Club two years ago.
The WRU offers heartfelt condolences to Martyn’s family, friends and former work colleagues.
