More details have emerged about an allegedly “toxic” culture at the Welsh Rugby Union, with a former employee claiming to have heard a senior manager joke about child sexual abuse. It was also reported that the former chairman of the Professional Rugby Council had alerted the union he clashed with equality and diversity “ticking time bomb” in his devastating resignation speech.

In the called program BBC Wales investigates: Welsh rugby in the spotlight Former WRU performance and development manager Mark Roberts says that during a team building event, he overheard an employee making a joke about child sexual abuse.

He also claims that a senior WRU official repeated the same statement to the same person.

Welsh rugby union accused of ‘toxic culture’ as former employee exposed

“Very early that day, someone on the westbound bus mentioned someone from a private school, and since they were going to a private school, the teachers were molesting kids and stuff. Roberts told the BBC.

“I was very surprised by this terminology. When we got off the bus, the main manager for that particular trip repeated the same statement to the same person.

“There was unprofessional behavior on that particular day, to the point where a third-party company actually investigated that day.”

The WRU insists this is new information and has promised to investigate its allegations immediately.

A WRU spokesperson said: “As soon as we became aware of these new allegations, an investigation procedure was initiated and due process was followed.

“Action will be taken and comments like this have no place in Welsh rugby.”

The program also revealed details of former Rugby Professional Council chairwoman Amanda Blank’s resignation speech. Blanc is the chief executive of Aviva and her resignation in November 2021 was seen by many as a significant blow to Welsh rugby in general. She left the role because they “didn’t listen to her”.

The BBC reports that Blank said she was extremely disappointed by a review of the women’s game commissioned in 2021, which she said was offensive to women. He also mentioned a meeting held to discuss allegations of abuse against an employee, but he claimed the board spent most of its time talking about how to protect the accused.

She went on to say that she was surprised to hear an elected WRU member say that women should “know their place in the kitchen and iron” and that some board members felt it was very unfair to take away too many free tickets. him as a sanction.

The BBC said that in his speech, Blank said: “To sit in a room and hear some of you say that it would be completely unfair to accept that many free tickets from that person would be beyond insulting.

“I would say that some of you need to sit down and stop and think, what response would you give to the Select Committee if you were given this evidence? What would you say to the nation when a parliamentarian asks “does the WRU respect women?”

The WRU has never published its analysis of women’s football, and the BBC says that of the 20 areas, including strategy, training and culture, none have performed well.

Labor MP and former Wales international Tonya Antoniazzi was furious at the WRU’s reluctance to publish the review and its conclusions.

“What is the Welsh Rugby Union hiding?” he said.

“I find it very shameful and harmful. No screening guidelines for women have been published.

“They may have been taken, but they are not in the public domain. Where’s the transparency?

Former WRU rugby general manager Charlotte Watan, with whom the union recently settled out of court following the commencement of labor court proceedings, was also interviewed on the programme.

She alleged that a colleague told her at her hearing and in the presence of other WRU officials in the office that he wanted to “rape” her. Mrs. Watan claims a senior manager witnessed the comment but said nothing.

The WRU says the allegations remain unsubstantiated after a thorough independent judicial investigation. You can read more about the WRU’s allegations and response here.

The WRU says it is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and that developing the game for women and girls is a key strategic objective for the organization and will continue to do so in the future, with female gamers winning professional contracts for the first time. last year.

When Wales Online reached out to the WRU for comment, we received the following statement: “Our people are very important to us and we cannot stress enough how saddened we are to hear the sentiments expressed by the program as we work with them to find a solution. . . At WRU, we take any allegations made by our staff very seriously, particularly about the behavior, attitudes and language depicted in the program. If any allegations are confirmed we will act very quickly as this type of behavior has no place in WRU or Welsh Rugby.

“We do our best to foster a culture at WRU that values ​​our employees and their opinions, and we have robust procedures in place to handle complaints made by our employees. We follow up on all issues raised through internal or external investigations. We reached an agreement which included confidentiality obligations for both parties, leaving us with no choice but to decline the BBC’s request for an interview on the matter.

“It is vitally important to keep in mind that we, as employers, have a duty of care to both whistleblowers and the reported. This duty of care continues and we are deeply concerned about the impact of this program on these individuals, as the allegations made remain unsubstantiated following a thorough independent judicial investigation.

“The BBC highlights two more cases, one which was investigated at the time and resolved with the withdrawal of the complaint, and another which was also investigated to the end but now contains new information released by the BBC which will be followed up and acted upon accordingly.

“Again, in both cases, we are also in a position where we cannot release private information or details of the investigation and the conclusions reached and we strongly assert that the correct and proper procedures and processes were followed in each case.

“We strongly reject any suggestion that women’s football has been ‘restricted’ or limited by the issues described. In fact, we’d like to acknowledge the significant progress we’ve made in this area recently. The development of women’s and women’s rugby is a key strategic objective of the WRU and will continue to be into the future.

“We are extremely disappointed that the BBC asked us to participate in the program in January 2023, primarily to respond to comments made by Ms. Watan in a BBC interview in October 2022, when the BBC is fully aware that we cannot. do not answer.” in view of the terms of the agreement signed.

“We reiterate how sad it is to hear how people feel portrayed on the show and we will continue to work with our team to ensure they are valued and heard. At WRU we are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We work hard in this area and employ full-time dedicated staff to ensure the best and most appropriate practices.”

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