New Welsh Rugby Union chair Lyndon Faulkner has confirmed he will review the controversial plan to cut a professional club in Wales. The millionaire business magnate and former rugby player does not officially start his role until next month but has already drawn up a list of priorities, including a review of the future number of regions and the union's "worrying" financial performance.
Faulkner - the nephew of Wales great Tony 'Charlie' Faulkner - hit back at suggestions he has been appointed to simply wave through the highly contested shake-up of professional rugby which will reduce the number of regions from four to three in 2028. "There's talk out there that whoever took this job was under the condition that they can't talk about that [regional shake-up] but that's absolutely incorrect," said Faulkner.
In his first interview since accepting the role, Faulkner admitted he was not aware of the full extent of the WRU's debt until it was announced last week. "I feel it's my role to review everything we've got going on, challenge it, probe it and hopefully bring my experience to bear where I feel we can do things better."
Faulkner has plenty of experience of turning around the fortunes of struggling businesses. Speaking at the Arms Park before a Super Rygbi Cymru match, Faulkner visibly grimaced when asked about the £18m loss posted for the latest financial year. He is "empathetic" to the feelings of distrust from Ospreys and Scarlets - the two sides most at threat from closure.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing