Over recent months the only noises in the public domain have been of dissention and gloom from what I believe to be a hard core of ill-informed people.
We all know who has been shouting the loudest as we hear the familiar criticisms reciting, parrot fashion, their doom-laden message of despair.
Well, Welsh rugby has suffered enough and the damage being done to our reputation in and outside Wales must come to a stop.
Please be assured I am not aiming my anger and disappointment at any one individual. The campaign by David Moffett has been damaging and personally painful to me, but I genuinely hope his life away from Welsh rugby progresses in the way he wishes it to. Good luck to him on that level.
For today be under no illusion this weekend’s Extraordinary General Meeting is of massive importance to the future of rugby in Wales at all levels – from the grassroots upwards.
The WRU needs a firm mandate from the clubs to carry on working on their behalf and represent their interests.
Of course there are justified arguments and serious questions from some clubs which need to be answered. That has always been the case and that robust and healthy debate will always continue: this is Welsh rugby after all!
In Sunday’s meeting we will engage directly with our clubs and we will answer all and any questions that are put.
I urge as many of our clubs and their delegates as possible to attend in person if they are able.
We are happy to listen and learn from any previous mistakes, but firmly believe the WRU is well set to take rugby in Wales to the next phase.
I would urge our clubs to think very seriously about the implication of alternatives and the uncertainty and upheaval they bring with them.
No governing body of 320 clubs will make decisions which pleases tens of thousands of participants and followers all the time.
But there is a proper place for that feedback – both negative and positive – and there are forums within which the answers can be sought and given.Â
An EGM will take place, but it is important to remind our clubs that robust dialogue must remain part of our normal routine to ensure we share our concerns and aspirations.
We are not immune from criticism and we welcome and expect feedback from all parts of the rugby community.
The problem right now is that we have all heard so much negative propaganda and spin that some people may begin to believe some of it.
There is no doubt it is going to take some time for us to restore our reputation both at home and abroad. Be assured we will work to achieve that once we are through the upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting of our clubs.
We enter that forum confident that the clubs will leave with the answers and reassurance they need and seek.
Right now, I ask you to cast your minds back and remember how, just a few short months ago, Welsh rugby enjoyed a well-earned reputation for delivering success at many levels of the game.
We had expounded a philosophy which at its simplest stated that a winning Wales team was the financial engine which fuelled the whole of Welsh rugby.
Since 2007 the WRU has invested in the Welsh team set-up and the academies and structures which feed talent through our clubs and Regions into the national squad.
At our new WRU National Centre of Excellence that philosophy is epitomised with the best backroom staff using the best facilities to get the best from our young players.
The four academies funded by the WRU nurtured even more talent and streamed them to the Principality Premiership and the Regions to develop those players even further.
In recent years the policy has been paying off. We have won four championships including three Grand Slams, reached a World Cup semi-final, seen our U20’s defeat South Africa and watched our sevens squad become world champions.
From the springboard of that success the Welsh Rugby Union has boosted its turnover by some 40 per cent to more than £60m a year and record breaking distributions have flowed back into the game.
With the national squad structure properly supported and funded for the professional era the spotlight has turned onto the community game.
We have protected the core grant through economically challenging times, increased it to £2.6m a year from this July with the Premiership distributions up to £1.5m at the same time, funded the operation of the community game by up to £4m a year and focused more than 50 staff onto grassroots rugby through development teams and a club operations unit.
The WRU has also used profits accumulated by outperforming our budgets in recent years to deliver nearly £3m extra into rugby through facilities grants and a Participation Points scheme for clubs. We are soon to announce our involvement in a scheme to introduce more 3G pitches around Wales.
Over the past five years the WRU has either directly distributed or helped clubs identify funding sources which have delivered some £28m into the grassroots game.
This huge body of work is something we should all be proud of as clubs across Wales have benefitted on and off the field with a variety of projects ranging from new clubhouse floors to new floodlights and changing rooms.
Our new Head of Rugby, Josh Lewsey, has also completed a comprehensive review and unveiled proposals to boost schools rugby and endeavour to strengthen links with the clubs players will eventually join.
The work goes on and in listening to our clubs we will endeavour to identify even more ways we can help them survive and prosper.
There are schemes to boost ticket sales and evidence of that is in how we are encouraging fans who want to watch Rugby World Cup 2015 at the Millennium Stadium to join a local rugby club to get their tickets.
I could go on and talk further about our initiatives and plans but the core point I want to make is that Welsh rugby is being cared for and nurtured and we believe it is in good health, but can get better still.
Ok, let me be honest and say there seems to be evidence that we could have done more listening and talking directly to the clubs.
This year a triumvirate of myself, the President and Chief Executive have visited all the districts and come away encouraged by the level of debate we have taken part in.
The clubs want us to keep listening and I can promise here and now that this will be an area we will focus on in future.
But for now I ask you to put all the criticisms and attacks, some personal, many venomous, into context and realise there is another side to this story.
The Welsh Rugby Union has refrained from joining that debate because our job is to govern and not to engage in unseemly and undignified rows or slanging matches.
But now, we face an EGM of our clubs and we look forward to being able to talk openly and honestly to answer questions posed directly by the clubs.
I urge as many delegates as possible to turn up as we cannot be complacent and we must ensure a balanced view from across the whole of Welsh rugby is represented on the day.
We will answer every point raised and we will remain determined to stay on course and keep developing Welsh rugby for the future.
Also remember, we have a fantastic international team and an inspirational coach in Warren Gatland. Our job is to support him as well as the clubs, teams and players sitting under that success at every level.
We have possibly the most talented senior squad we have ever had. We need stability at all levels to ensure they get the full support they need to emulate and improve on their heroics in New Zealand in 2011.
But for now I ask you all to pause, think about the reality of where Welsh rugby stands today, and join together to make sure the mischief makers do not have their way or their day.
By David Pickering
WRU Chairman
