Boards
Abi Tierney
Group Chief Executive Officer
The Director General for Customer Services at the Home Office joined the WRU as Chief Executive Officer in January, 2024.
Before joining the Civil Service, Tierney was a Business Development Director at Serco, where she also held a number of operational roles, including Regional Director and Chief Executive of Suffolk Community Services.
Prior to this, she was a Director at University Hospitals of Leicester and Aberdeen City Council and was previously Marketing Leader for IBM’s Global Services Business.
She has Welsh connections, as her father hails from Barry in South Wales, and she is a life long supporter of Welsh rugby.
Dave Reddin
WRU Director of Rugby and Elite Performance
Reddin was announced as the new director of rugby and elite performance in April 2025 ahead of officially starting his role with the WRU in September.
His 30-years’-plus experience in elite professional sport includes an array of achievements across rugby union, football and the Olympics.
His rugby experience began in 1996 as a fitness coach with Leicester Tigers before going on to be part of the management team for the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning England side and the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005.
As Head of Performance Services for the British Olympic Association, he led the provision of sport and athlete support at the Olympic games in Vancouver in 2010 and London 2012.
During six years with the Football Association, he was a key part of the organisational transformation of England National teams which led to one of the most successful periods in English Football history.
In club football he was part of a management team who led the acquisition and transformation of third tier Spanish Football club, CD Castellon, creating the circumstances for their promotion to the second tier of Spanish football.
He has also worked with UK Sport and assisted on developing strategies for the future of the UK Olympic sport system.
Lydia Stirling
Chief People Officer
Lydia Stirling was appointed to the Welsh Rugby Union Executive Board as its new People Director in July 2021.
Stirling, whose family hail from Dinas Powys, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and joins from multi-national engineering and consulting business Arup, where she was Head of HR for the Consulting UK, India, Middle-East & Africa region.
She was also previously HR Business Partner at Mclaren Racing.
Tomos Grace
Chief Commercial Officer
Tomos Grace, who is Cardiff-born and fluent in Welsh, German and French, brought more than 20 years’ experience in the global sports media industry to the role when he began in January 2026.
His career has spanned roles in London, Paris and Berlin, beginning at Canal+ in France before moving to Eurosport as head of business development, where he helped launch early digital services.
In 2011, Grace joined YouTube’s sport team and rose to become head of sport for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He later expanded his remit as head of media and sport for the region, delivering major partnerships with organisations including FIFA, the IOC and BT Sport, notably overseeing free-to-air streaming of UEFA Champions League finals on YouTube. He also led media strategy and operations at YouTube.
Grace’s role assumed responsibility for the WRU’s commercial strategy across sponsorship, broadcast and digital rights, fan engagement, communications and maximising the commercial potential of the Principality Stadium as a major multi-use venue.
Geraint John
Community Director
Joined the Group in 2015 and was appointed Head of Rugby Performance in 2016. Geraint is now Community Director.
He had returned to Wales in September 2015 as the Group’s Elite Coach Development Manager. Previously he had spent 10 years working abroad, with Rugby Canada as High Performance Manager and then Sevens Head Coach, before joining the Australian Rugby Union as Program Director of Sevens and Men’s Sevens Head Coach in June 2014.
He is a former Wales assistant coach, who has also coached at Llanelli, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Cardiff Blues.
He played for Cardiff and Llanelli, featured at every representative schoolboy level and was capped by Wales A.
Richard Collier-Keywood – Chair
Richard Collier-Keywood is a former UK managing partner and Global vice-chair of PwC, has been a senior adviser to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and became the first independent chair of the WRU in July 2023.
He is also on the Board of the National Community Lottery Fund and Women of the World, which promotes gender equality internationally.
Jennifer Mathias
Jennifer joined The Openwork Partnership in December 2024 as Group CFO and Board Director, a leading UK financial advice company known for its extensive network of over 4,200 financial advisors across 700 firms.
Prior to this she was Group CFO at Rathbones Group, the £1.75bn UK wealth management firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Starting her career at Lloyds TSB, Jennifer held a number a senior management roles at Lloyds TSB Group including finance director of Corporate Banking division during and post the global financial crisis.
In 2012 she joined Coutts private bank as the Global Chief Finance Officer before moving to EFG Private Bank (UK) in 2015 as chief finance officer and deputy chief executive officer before taking up the position at Rathbones in 2019.
Jennifer is a qualified accountant with nearly 30 years of banking, credit, risk management and M&A experience
Born and brought up in Pembrokeshire on a family farm, Welsh rugby has been a lifelong passion. Jennifer lives near Tenby, West Wales.
Andrew Williams
Andrew Williams was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director (iNED) in Novemver 2023.
Williams led Halma plc, a global group of life-saving technology companies with operations in over 20 countries, for 18 consecutive years of growth and increased its market capitalisation from £600million to over £8.5billion.
He is also a Founding Patron of GlobalWelsh, the Welsh diaspora organisation, and has been a lifelong Cardiff supporter and gained an in depth understanding of the professional game in Wales as a former Cardiff Rugby Board member.
Whilst leading Halma, he transformed the leadership and culture of the organisation, culminating in Halma being ranked No.2 out of 600+ companies across Europe for gender diversity in leadership positions and Williams himself voted by his peers for a prestigious Involve HERoes Women Role Model award as the No.1 global ‘Advocate Executive’.
Originally from Heath in Cardiff, he attended Llanishen High School followed by gaining an Engineering degree at the University of Birmingham, and subsequently qualifying as a Chartered Engineer.
He has also studied in the Advanced Management Programme at The Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.
Since December 2024, he has been an executive advisor, for KKR Private Equity.
Alison Thorne
Alison Thorne Alison is the Senior Independent Director of the WRU (SID).
She has had a corporate global career in retail, starting as a trainee in David Morgans Cardiff leading to executive board commercial roles at Mothercare, George at Asda and B&Q. She then founded ‘atconnect’ an executive search and mentoring business.
Currently she is Chair of the National Dance Company Wales and Chair of Barcud Housing Association. Alison builds on her lifelong equality work as the Wales Lead for WB Directors, having formerly been Chair of Chaware Teg and also as an Independent Panel Member for Public Appointments for the Welsh Government.
She has previously served as a board member for Sport Wales, and a Governor for Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Her love for rugby stems from teenage years when her Father Tony Thorne worked on the ground staff for the WRU.
Amanda Bennett
Amanda Bennett, a former Welsh international who has played, coached and led women’s rugby over a stellar 40-year career, took up the new position of iNED with specific experience of the Women’s and Girls’ game at both professional and community levels in October 2023.
Bennett is a decorated former player with Saracen’s women, was Wales’ first women’s flyhalf in the inaugural 1987 side and is a veteran of two Rugby World Cups who later became head coach in 1998-2000.
Her achievements off the pitch are just as impressive as those on it, a former teacher she worked for UK Sport for a decade and has since established FairPlay Enterprises Ltd, advising on governance, leadership and EDI for the likes of the Premier League and all four home Unions. In 2021, respected around the globe as a leader in her field, she was asked to become a member of the independent panel which carried out a strategic review of the WRU Women’s Performance programme.
Jamie Roberts
Former Wales international, Jamie Roberts, joined the WRU Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in October 2023.
Considered a Welsh rugby legend, Roberts gained 94 caps for Wales in a career which includes Grand Slam wins in 2008 and 2012, a Six Nations Championship title in 2013 and a RWC semi-final appearance in 2011. Roberts has also represented the British & Irish Lions on two tours in 2009, where he was voted Player of the Series, and the 2013 winning tour to Australia.
Roberts has also enjoyed success with Cardiff Rugby winning the European Challenge Cup in 2010 and he played at the region from 2006 to 2013. His playing career spanned 16 years in which he also featured for Racing Metro Paris, Harlequins, Bath Rugby, Western Stormers, Dragons RFC and New South Wales Waratahs.
Alongside his professional playing career Roberts completed a degree in Medicine from Cardiff University, gaining first class honors for an intercalated degree in Sport & Excercie Science (BSc) in 2013
He also sits on the Board of the Lions Trust and serves as a player representative on the World Rugby High-Performance Committee.
Since his retirement from international rugby, Roberts has become a well-known voice of Welsh rugby as a commentator for broadcasters including Sky, BT Sport, BBC, ITV, Amazon, and most recent at the Rugby World Cup for ITV.
Abi Tierney
The Director General for Customer Services at the Home Office joined the WRU as Chief Executive Officer in January, 2024.
Before joining the Civil Service, Tierney was a Business Development Director at Serco, where she also held a number of operational roles, including Regional Director and Chief Executive of Suffolk Community Services.
Prior to this, she was a Director at University Hospitals of Leicester and Aberdeen City Council and was previously Marketing Leader for IBM’s Global Services Business.
She has Welsh connections, as her father hails from Barry in South Wales, and she is a life long supporter of Welsh rugby.
Colin Wilks
Joined the Board in November 2021. He is also a District Council Member for District A, and current chair of the WRU Competitions Management Committee.
A former director, chairman and secretary at Risca RFC, Colin also served as director at the Dragons region for two years from 2021 – 2023.
Now retired, his business background was as a manager in both the mining, and steel industries, spanning both manufacturing and commercial sectors.
A former School Governor, he is a University of Glamorgan engineering graduate and holds a postgraduate degree in business administration from the University of Wales.
Chris Jones
Joined the Board in 2018 and is now a District Council Member for District G.
A one club man, he was a founding member of Newcastle Emlyn and has been its Secretary since its formation in 1977.
He is a life member of the club as well as a past player, captain and coach.
He is a former coach to the Welsh Schools Intermediate (Under 16) international side.
He also chaired the Intermediate Group and the Schools Council.
He represented the Schools on the old WRU Committee.
Educated at Llandysul Grammar School and Loughborough Colleges, he taught PE for 35 years until his retirement in 2010.
Malcolm Wall
Malcolm Wall was appointed to the Board in March 2022, having been appointed to chair the Professional Rugby Board.
A former chair of Premiership Rugby side Harlequin F.C., Wall has extensive high level business experience including a range of high profile non-executive directorships and several chief executive (CEO), chief operating officer (COO) or managing director (MD) roles, across the media industry.
He has recently chaired three separate media companies – including dock10 Ltd, the Media City production facility and largest independent television studios in the UK. He was CEO and then advisor to the board at Abu Dhabi Media before forming his own consultancy Malcolm Wall Media in 2013.
Wall has been Meridian Broadcasting deputy CEO, lead the multinational media company United Business Media as COO and was CEO, Content for Virgin Media and was chairman of UKTV.
John Manders
Was elected as a National Council Member in July 2020 and was re-elected in September 2021.
A former sergeant with South Wales Police, he was capped by Wales at youth level and toured South Africa in 1980.
He played for Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd but is a stalwart of Old Illtydians rugby club.
After retiring from the Police Service, he has continued to work as an assessor, lectures in law at the University of South Wales, is also artistic director at Tickledom Theatrical Productions and a director of learning at Credwch Ltd.
He was elected to the position of Community Game Board chair in November 2022 which saw him also join the WRU Board in place of outgoing WRU chair Rob Butcher.
Claire Donovan
Was elected as a National Council Member in September 2021.
An experienced Board Director and Technical Director working in the high profile food sector who has held Director positions on several international fresh produce companies, including G’s Fresh, one of the largest salad producers in the UK & Europe, and is the owner/director of 3i Technical Consulting.
A former Wales Women international, with 75 caps at second row, Claire played in two World Cups, and was a Saracens Women’s player for over 15 years. She is passionate about Women’s and Girls sport and ensuring there is access for all. She has also worked as a lobbyist translating the needs of the horticultural industry into government policy and as a government advisor.
Whilst in position at the WRU she has engaged with external stakeholders around many areas, including access to rugby for Women and Girls, Governance and improvement of facilities
She was a member of the all-party government working group on licencing of labour provision which lead to the Gangmasters (Licencing) Act 2004 (2003- 2004). This involved leading a diverse group of industry unions (T&GWU and the NFU) Charities (Ethical Trading Initiative) retailers and both sides of the Houses of Commons and Lords, influencing and advising in order to fundamentally change how seasonal workers are treated and protected
Chaired by John Manders, all National Council Members and District Council Members Council Members are entitled to be members of the WRU’s Community Rugby Board, together with a maximum of two Executive Board members with responsibilities for Community Rugby (which includes Geraint John, given his Executive responsibilities as the WRU’s Community Director).
The Community Rugby Board is responsible for managing and delivering the execution of the strategy for Community Rugby as set by the WRU Council and approved by the WRU’s Board of Directors from time to time.
ABI TIERNEY
Abi Tierney, one of the UK’s senior civil servants, will be the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
The Director General for Customer Services at the Home Office will join the WRU as Chief Executive Officer in January, 2024. Before joining the Civil Service, Abi Tierney was a Business Development Director at Serco, where she also held a number of operational roles, including Regional Director and Chief Executive of Suffolk Community Services.
Prior to this, she was a Director at University Hospitals of Leicester and Aberdeen City Council and was previously Marketing Leader for IBM’s Global Services Business.
Abi has Welsh connections, as her father hails from Barry in South Wales, and she is a life long supporter of Welsh Rugby.
MARK WILLIAMS
Joined the Group in 2013 after a distinguished career in the military.
He joined the WRU after a military career spanning 20 years during which he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in The Royal Welsh. He served on multiple tours of duty in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq and he was decorated for his actions in combat in Iraq in 2007.
During his military career, he held high-profile military appointments in both training and operational environments including time as a Battalion Adjutant, Company Commander and Battle Group Chief of Staff with the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh.
He played rugby for Neath College, Glynneath and his Regiment.
Paul Orders
Paul Orders is Chief Executive of the City of Cardiff Council, taking up the post in December 2013. He has responsibility for the officer leadership of 17,000 staff and strategic management of council services in the Capital City of Wales.
He is also lead chief executive of the Central South Education Consortium – which aims to raise standards in schools in Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend and Merthyr.
Previously, he was Chief Executive of Dunedin City Council, in New Zealand, where he led council management and staff through a period of change, focusing on financial management, the delivery and performance of council services, organisational development, and city development.
This followed 13 years working for Cardiff Council in a succession of roles, ending up as Corporate Director with management responsibilities that included economic development, regeneration, planning and transport, parks, leisure, venues, and waste management.
Since joining the Council he has contributed to many of the major projects and initiatives that have underpinned Cardiff’s development as a successful European Capital City. Paul comes from Maesteg and attended Archbishop McGrath Comprehensive School, in Tondu.
He is a graduate of the Universities of Cardiff, London and Cambridge, where he obtained a doctorate in history, and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University. He is married with three children.
Sameer Rahman
Officially appointed to the Board in January 2020.
A well-respected and sought-after leader specialising in data and digital transformation.
Has held several senior roles in financial services organisations across Wales including companies like GoCompare and as a consultant advising companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Legal and General, Shell, Royal British Legion and Marie Curie.
He is currently employed as a part of the leadership team at The Royal Mint to support and drive the data and digital re-invention of the Mint.
He has also held various non-executive roles and is currently serving non-executive director at The Glamorgan Cricket Club. In the past, he has also served as the Chairman of Chartered Institute of Marketing in Wales.
Sameer has lived in Cardiff for 16 years and is dedicated to making sports more accessible, engaging, entertaining and far-reaching through the adoption of digital technologies. He firmly believes that sport is one of the best ways of learning life skills such as teamwork, communication, coping with pressure, thinking and other cognitive and collaborative skills.
He holds multidisciplinary educational qualifications, a MBA preceded by Computer-Science Engineering degree and postgraduate degrees in data management, web analytics and digital marketing.
He is also an international author having published books and journals on data and digital related topics.
Huw Thomas
Cardiff City Council appointed Board Director
The Professional Rugby Board is a gathering of representatives from each of the five professional entities in Welsh rugby: Cardiff Rugby, Dragons, Ospreys, Scarlets and the WRU, its members share equal responsibility for the professional game.
The PRB comprises representatives from each of the five professional entities in Welsh rugby and consists of the four regional representatives, Richard Holland (Cardiff Rugby), David Wright (Dragons RFC), Lance Bradley (Ospreys) and Simon Muderack (Scarlets), WRU CEO Abi Tierney, Malcolm Wall, who is chair, and Marianne Økland.
Gareth Lewis (WRPA) and Jon Daniels (RMB Chair) will also be observers with no voting powers
National Council Members
John Manders
Claire Donovan
Anthony Buchanan
Sue Butler
Steve Powell – Joined the council as a national representative in 2024. He is the chairperson and a director of Cefn Cribwr RFC.
The bulk of his career was spent in the management consulting industry and he has worked in a large number of sectors and geographies. He has been the director/owner of a number of successful businesses and is now retired.
Steve holds a BSc in Information Technology and a Diploma in Company Direction.
District A
Bryn Parker – Joined the Board in 2016 and is now a District Council Member for District A.
During a productive playing career, he played for Blaenavon, Pontypool, Talywain, Garndiffaith and Croesyceiliog. He has also managed and coached Blaenavon, Talywain, Garndiffaith and Croesyceiliog.
He was honorary secretary of Cwmbran from 2006 – 2018, is now a Life member and a member of the Committee. He has been team manager of Monmouthshire County since 2004.
He is a Level 2 Coach. He works in various schools, supporting children of all ages, abilities and behaviours. He was formerly a senior technical process operator and training officer. He has also been a children’s mentor/ co-ordinator for Children in Need.
He is a former community councillor and was appointed chair of the Pontypool Community Council in 2016 and is a former School Governor.
Colin Wilks – Joined the Board in November 2021. He is also a District Council Member for District A, and current chair of the WRU Competitions Management Committee.
A former director, chairman and secretary at Risca RFC, Colin also served as director at the Dragons region for two years from 2021 – 2023.
Now retired, his business background was as a manager in both the mining, and steel industries, spanning both manufacturing and commercial sectors.
A former School Governor, he is a University of Glamorgan engineering graduate and holds a postgraduate degree in business administration from the University of Wales.
District B
Lloyd Morgan
Hayley Dunne
District C
Roy Wilkinson
Jamie Willis – Joined in November 2024. A life member, former player, team manager, secretary, and fixture secretary at his local club Beddau, a club with whom he has been associated with since the age of six.
He has also held the post of secretary of the Mid District Rugby Union / WRU District C and Chairman of the Rhondda & East Glamorgan Rugby Union.
He currently holds the post of assistant secretary with Glamorgan County RFC and is a trustee and Secretary of the George Morgan Young Player Trust, a charity set up after the passing of the former WRU President, to support young sportspeople.
A governor at Gwainmeisgyn Primary School, he is a data coordinator at GE Aviation where he has been employed for fifteen years.
District D
Steve Owens
Kerry Frey
District E
Jeff Davies – Joined in 2019 as a District Council Member for District E. He is a director and chair of Seven Sisters Rugby Club Ltd and has been a Community Councillor of Seven Sisters for over 12 years.
A qualified level 3 coach, he is a former player, captain and was integral in setting up Women’s Youth and Girls Rugby in the club. The club now also runs the Valley Hawkes Girls Hub.
As the chairperson for Seven Sisters for over 10 years he guided them to become a limited company.
He is also chair of the Dulais Valley Food Bank, a director of the Community Hall Association Of Seven Sisters Ltd and works as a Business Development Manager for DANSA LTD, which provides wheelchair accessible transport services to communities in the Dulais, Afan, Neath, Swansea & Amman Valleys.
Peter Hansford – Joined the council in November 2024.
He is a past player, coach and is still actively refereeing, having refereed in 16 countries and Territorial LAU’s. Whilst living in California he wrote the submission for Nor Cal RFU to introduce the yellow card sin bin system for the USA, which was adopted after the trial and feedback.
He has served in board positions for both Nor Cal RFU and the Nor Cal referee society which included sourcing sponsorship for the Conference for the Game, a biannual national conference for USA Rugby. He worked with Vaughn Mulder of the WDA on the 1997 Wales team visit to San Francisco. He has refereed women’s rugby since 1989, across many countries. He also became an accredited iRB trainer and iRB level 3 referee whilst in California.
He regularly contributes to rugby publications, and has had letters and articles published on three continents. The bulk has been with The Rugby Paper based in the UK.
Whilst living in Belgium Peter coached a U15 team at the International School of Brussels.
He has held junior and senior committee roles at Swansea Uplands RFC and has been the treasurer since 2015. He volunteered for the World Cup in Cardiff in 2015, heading a team responsible assisting disabled persons into the games. He was the recipient of the inaugural Dysgu Cymru award in 2024. He has been active with community rugby and is a friend of Matt’s Café in Swansea occasionally assisting with projects.
After teaching and marketing qualifications, Peter has a post graduate MBA from Leicester University. During his work career, Peter had many roles in sales and marketing, with his final role with Coca Cola prior to retiring.
District F
Kevin Lewis
District G
Chris Jones – Joined the Board in 2018 and is now a District Council Member for District G.
A one club man, he was a founding member of Newcastle Emlyn and has been its Secretary since its formation in 1977.
He is a life member of the club as well as a past player, captain and coach.
He is a former coach to the Welsh Schools Intermediate (Under 16) international side.
He also chaired the Intermediate Group and the Schools Council.
He represented the Schools on the old WRU Committee.
Educated at Llandysul Grammar School and Loughborough Colleges, he taught PE for 35 years until his retirement in 2010.
District H
Delyth Summons
District J
Alun Roberts – Was elected as a District Council Member for District J in September 2021.
He is a director and founder member of Clwb Rygbi Caernarfon having begun his involvement as a player, he became a coach, secretary and committee member and is a former chair, and is currently the President.
He is also former chair of the North Wales Rugby Union Council, and continues to be a member of the Executive.
He retired from full time employment with BT/Openreach in 2018 after 37 years of service, including as project manager for the rollout of Superfast Broadband across Wales.
He now volunteers at Hosbis Dewi Saint.