EditorLATEST WRU TWIST: EGM cannot be cancelled — but clubs have until Friday to stop the vote happening
The Welsh Rugby Union has confirmed that its extraordinary general meeting cannot be cancelled — even after the district that called it asked for it to be scrapped — because company law makes it legally impossible to call off once formally convened.
The WRU issued the statement on Thursday, hours after Central Glamorgan Rugby Union wrote to member clubs saying it intended to withdraw all three of its motions and wanted the April 13 meeting called off. The WRU said it welcomed CGRU’s constructive approach — but made clear it has no legal power to comply with the request.
The WRU said: “Once an EGM has been formally called under company law and our articles of association, it cannot be cancelled. This is not a choice the WRU is making — it is a legal requirement that governs how our democratic processes work and protects the rights of all 282 member clubs, including those who did not sign the original requisitions.”
The meeting will therefore go ahead at 6pm on Monday 13th April at Principality Stadium and online.
However, the WRU has set out a process by which the three motions — the votes of no confidence in outgoing chair Richard Collier-Keywood and former Professional Rugby Board chair Malcolm Wall, and a motion on governance changes — could still be withdrawn before the meeting takes place.
The WRU is writing to all 282 member clubs asking whether any club objects to the three motions being formally withdrawn. Clubs have until 11am on Friday 10th April to register any objection. If no objections are received, the motions will be withdrawn and will not be voted on at the meeting. If there are objections, the EGM will open with a vote on whether the resolutions should proceed.
Either way, the meeting itself will go ahead as an open members’ meeting. It will include a WRU board presentation on key issues in Welsh rugby and a formal opportunity for clubs to put questions directly to board members and leadership — something the clubs behind the revolt have been demanding throughout the crisis. If the meeting is not quorate it will be automatically postponed by one week and reconvened online.
Clubs must register to attend in advance, including by proxy, by 11am on Friday 10th April. Media are welcome to attend but the open discussion within the meeting will not be reported on the record in real time, in line with the practice established for previous member meetings. Journalists will have the opportunity to conduct Q&A sessions with WRU leadership after the formal proceedings.
The WRU thanked CGRU and the 50 clubs whose signatures called the EGM. “The conversations we have had with clubs and districts across Wales in recent weeks have been exactly the kind of meaningful dialogue that Welsh rugby needs, and we are grateful for them,” it said.
The development means the EGM that threatened to bring Welsh rugby’s leadership crashing down will now take place in some form regardless — though whether it results in a vote depends entirely on whether any of Wales’s 282 clubs object to the motions being withdrawn by Friday morning. For the clubs who signed the original requisition, the next few days will determine whether their revolt ends with a handshake or a vote.
The WRU crisis — Swansea Bay News coverage
WRU EGM: Welsh rugby clubs call for extraordinary meeting to be scrapped — after getting what they came for
The CGRU letter that triggered this latest twist — and why the clubs said the meeting was no longer needed.
Collier-Keywood quits: Rugby Union chair says he’ll leave in July
The departure that prompted CGRU to say the EGM was no longer needed.
Seismic showdown: WRU confirms date for ‘fight for survival’ EGM
How the EGM came to be called — and what was originally at stake.
Ospreys lifeline as council seals historic St Helen’s deal
The wider battle for the future of professional rugby in Swansea that sits behind the governance crisis.
