Gethin is the 49th President of the national governing body of rugby in Wales and will have served in the position with distinction for 12 years when he officially leaves the post next November.
Prospective candidates need to be nominated by two different member clubs ahead of an early August deadline and the 320-plus member clubs and districts will vote for the position in September (assuming multiple nominations), with gender diversity across nominees a key stated ambition of the process.
The search for a new President is the latest opportunity for the newly modernised governance structure of the Welsh Rugby Union to come into its own.
Former Wales captain Colin Charvis, who is vice chairman of Swansea Rugby club, and the former CEO of Disability Sport Wales Jonathan Morgan OBE attended their first WRU Council meeting earlier this month, after being elected from a strong field of candidates.
Member clubs were asked to ‘break the mould’ in their nominations for the two Council positions by WRU Chairman Gareth Davies who was keen to highlight this important step to improving diversity – and therefore the breadth of knowledge, experience and influence – at Council and, consequently, Board level (as the majority of directors will now be elected from the Council).
Charvis identified his work as a ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ ambassador and for the JAG Foundation, which cares for high risk children in South Africa, as a key attribute during the application process and a significant strength of Morgan’s application was his extensive career and influence in the disability sport sector.
Both candidates also bring many other impressive qualities to the role and were successful over a long list of high calibre applicants and Davies now wants the standard of nominations for the next WRU President to reach the same heights in terms of both diversity of background and experience.
“We want to ensure the WRU is as representative as possible of the communities it serves and that our President is able to represent and speak for the whole of Welsh rugby,” said Davies.
“The successful individual will be the key ambassador for our game both around the world and in rugby clubs throughout Wales and the ability to acknowledging and promote our core values, heritage and traditions will be a vital attribute.
“This is an exciting time for our national game and taking over from someone of the calibre and stature of Dennis Gethin will not be an easy task, but whoever succeeds him will have a unique opportunity to shape the development of the role to meet the evolving needs of the WRU.”
Once applications are in, by the first Monday in August, an election process is due to follow in September before the new President takes up position at the end of the WRU’s Annual General meeting on 17th November.
Others who will stand for re-election, or vacate positions at their own discretion at the end of their respective terms, this year are: National Council Member Anthony Buchanan (also a director) and District Council Members Geraint Edwards, Ian Jeffrey, Gwyn Bowden, Rob Butcher (Chair of the Community Game Board and a director) and Alan Jones.
The new President will be appointed for a maximum term of three years.
Previous Presidents have included Cliff Jones, Clive Rowlands, Sir Tasker Watkins VC and, most recently, Glanmor Griffiths (2007) and the first President in 1881 was Cyrill Chambers.
Gethin is due to be the longest serving WRU President in recent history surpassing Sir Tasker who presided over Welsh rugby for 11 years from 1993 to 2004, although Welsh rugby’s figurehead at the turn of the century Horace Lyn is a match for both together, serving 41 years from 1906 to 1947.
