Gareth Davies addressed member clubs for the final time in his capacity as chairman at the Welsh Rugby Union’s ‘virtual’ Annual General Meeting this evening (Wednesday 28th October).
Davies was also joined by departing CEO Martyn Phillips in addressing member clubs at the AGM, which was held entirely online due to the social distancing restrictions currently in place.
“I know I speak for both myself and Martyn when I say we are proud to leave with the WRU’s reputation, both at home and globally, enhanced and are honoured to have served,” said Davies
“We are also proud to have conducted ourselves with the utmost honesty and integrity throughout our every action and achievement at the helm of Welsh rugby over the last six and five years respectively.
“When I played for Wales, I inherited our fly-half jersey from Phil Bennett.
“I looked after it as best I could and when I eventually lost my grip on it, it was picked up by a young Jonathan Davies.
“As chairman, I followed Vernon Pugh QC, Glanmor Griffiths and David Pickering all hugely strong individuals who did their best for our national game.
“I know that I will be followed as chair of the Welsh Rugby Union by someone who also has Welsh rugby’s best interests at heart.
“It is a job that demands this and I wish my successor every success for the future.”
The main business of the meeting saw minutes for the AGM held in November 2019 approved and participants received the Annual Report for the year ending 30 June 2020.
Proceedings began with a welcome from Gerald Davies, making his first address as President, before Martyn Phillips and Gareth Davies appeared in turn.
Finally, new interim CEO Steve Phillips gave a financial presentation for the year ended 30 June 2020, returning to his recently vacated role of Group Finance Director for the purposes of the meeting.
“We are pleased to welcome our new and returning members and look forward to working closely together in the years ahead,” said Phillips.
“Welsh rugby, like many other sports and organisations around the globe, is enduring difficult circumstances at the moment but our strength is in our member clubs, the collaboration and passion of volunteers up and down the country and our collective dedication to the pursuit of success in the professional game.
“We made a £5.3m loss in the year ending 2020 and, as I have already said, the true impact of the current pandemic may not be felt until the conclusion of the year ahead, but we will be doing all that we can to mitigate its effect in the days, weeks and months to come.
“It is our stated ambition to ensure that all member clubs and the whole of Welsh rugby survives this crisis.”