The Extraordinary General Meeting of the Welsh Rugby Union called by member clubs last month has been confirmed for 6pm on Monday 13 April.
The meeting will take place at Principality Stadium, and for the first time under the new governance framework introduced in 2023, the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) will be accessible both online and in person, making participation easier and more inclusive for all member clubs.
Members that are unable to attend will also have the option to submit their votes in advance through a formal proxy process as normal. This ensures every member club has the opportunity to be represented.
A requisition notice for the meeting was signed by 50 out of the 282 members of the Union, with three motions to be voted on.
The Motions (in summary) are:
1)New elections for the four elected WRU Council member Board positions within 14 days.
2)Amendments to Articles affecting Council representation such that the WRU Council members can comprise any four Council members rather than being prescribed as two District Council members and two National council members.
3)A vote of no confidence in the Independent WRU Chair (which we have presumed to be a vote of no confidence in Richard Collier-Keywood as a director and not just his chairmanship). A vote of no confidence in the current Chair of the Professional Rugby Board (which has been removed from the resolution as the Chair’s tenure has already reached its end)
For clarity these are described in the following way in the official EGM notice:
1)Proposed as a special resolution: That the four Board of Director positions held by persons elected from District Council Members and National Council Members be vacated and that the WRU Council hold elections for those board positions within 14 days of the date on which this resolution is passed (such election process to be overseen by the Board of Directors).
2)Proposed as a special resolution: That with effect from conclusion of the meeting the Articles of Association of the Company be amended by: Deleting Articles 43(a) and 43(b) in their entirety and replacing them with: “43(a) four Council Members (to include the chair of the Community Game Board) from the pool of National Council Members or District Council Members elected by Members in accordance with these Articles, who shall be appointed following an election process overseen by the Board of Directors”. Further article amenments are added to address consequential cross referencing changes caused by Article 43(b) being deleted;
3)Proposed as an ordinary resolution: That a vote of no confidence be passed in respect of Richard Collier-Keywood, the current independent chair of the Company who shall resign from the Company’s Board of Directors with immediate effect.
Resolutions 1 and 2 above are ‘special resolutions’, and will therefore require a 75 per-cent majority to pass. Resolution 3. is an ordinary resolution and therefore requires a 50 per-cent majority to pass.
The WRU Board recommends that members do not vote in favour of either the two special resolution or the ordinary resolution and has also issued an explanatory note to explain why it has made this recommendation.