But as she continues to help both the governing body and rugby on a global scale navigate the coronavirus pandemic, she is as ready for the current challenge as she was 30 years ago.
Paterson joined the WRU in 1989 as an entry level accountant at just 19 and now sits on the executive board as operations director. She also represents the WRU at Guinness PRO14, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) and World Rugby level and remains fully committed to the roles.
Treading rugby’s corridors of power at the highest level both in Wales and on a global scale has given her an unique insight into current problems and she spends most of her time these days on Zoom discussing a myriad of different issues.
She has problems to solve at domestic, national and international levels and it is all a far cry from when Paterson first started out in rugby administration.
“Rugby has grown out of sight. The business is unrecognisable compared to when I first started,” she said. “My first job was in finance and then there was one tournament a year – the Five Nations.
“It was a very, very small staff with the old fashioned system of having a secretary in charge. There was no chief executive. It was a completely different world. We went professional and it felt like we did so overnight. I’ve gone with the change and I’ve grown too. I like change and Welsh rugby has always wanted to make sure we are at the top table. We have never really taken our foot off the gas.
“From when I started in 1989 we’ve always been one of the main players.”
So too has Paterson.
The WRU became the first union in world rugby to have a woman on its executive staff when Paterson was appointed in 2005 and she has risen up the ladder to the top of the game.
In the last 30 years – to name just three key moments – she has been at the forefront of Wales’ transfer from clubs to regions, the building of what is now Principality Stadium, and the implementation and administration of the Professional Rugby Agreement – formally the Rugby Services Agreement – by which Welsh professional rugby is now governed.
“I definitely never thought I’d get to where I am now,” said Paterson.
“When I started there wasn’t even an executive board. No one could have envisaged where we are today, but the positive of it is – and it might seem strange to say this – that it’s a global issue.
“That’s by no means discounting the impact Covid-19 has had on the world. This is an opportunity to get things right and turn a negative into a positive. As a sport it has allowed us time to breathe and take a step back to look at ways of shoring up the ship so we can come out of the other side of this not just in Wales, but globally too. I’m probably one of the more optimistic ones because I don’t see the alternative.
Julie Paterson joined the WRU in 1989 as an entry level accountant at just 19 and now sits on the executive board as operations director
“Rugby is a fundamental part of our make up in Wales. While it’s definitely going to be difficult not just returning to play but also over the next couple of seasons, do I think we’ll come out of this as we go into the next World Cup? Yes I think we will.”
I’m 30 years in, but there is always the next thing coming over the horizon
Having three brothers meant Paterson was forced to stand up for herself at an early age and she acknowledges her roles with PRO14 and EPCR and reaching World Rugby level as career highs.
Paterson fights Welsh rugby’s corner from the community level all the way up to the very top and now has fellow women Amanda Blanc, Aileen Richards, Marianne Okland and Liza Burgess working in Welsh rugby’s boardrooms. That increased female representation has also been replicated at other unions and within World Rugby.
Paterson is one of 18 women on a 51-strong World Rugby Council after a transformational governance review was undertaken in 2015/16. A fresh review was launched last month.
“My passion is no less than it was and it doesn’t feel like the job is done. I’m 30 years in, but there is always the next thing coming over the horizon,” said Paterson.
“When World Rugby expanded the council they made the point the roles had to be women. That would normally be something which would turn me straight off as I’m not into tokenism, but they assured me it wasn’t. I was appointed and they have been true to their word.
“I have two daughters and a granddaughter now and we joke there is plenty of girl power in my family, but I don’t take myself too seriously. I’d never get too big for my boots.”
