Richard Collier-Keywood, chairman of the WRU, says he's helping Welsh rugby flourish. . Were it not for a “blinding revelation”, the new chairman of Rugby Wales could have ended up in Twickenham rather than the Principality Stadium.
The passionate rugby supporter, former UK Managing Partner and Global Vice Chairman of PwC says that when he was contacted by bounty hunters a few years ago about the possibility of becoming Rugby Union's next chairman, he expressed interest.
“I seriously thought about it,” recalls Collier-Kaywood, who was born and raised in Nottingham, lives 50 miles south of London in East Sussex and even owns places in Twickenham.
>“I had a couple of conversations with bounty hunters. As for sports, I like rugby the most. I also play some tennis, and one of my clients at PwC was the Lawn Tennis Association, so I'm also familiar with the governing bodies.
“But rugby is my sport where I never miss an international match. For me it was a dream job. It was about combining 35 years of professional experience with your passion and trying to make a difference by bringing everything you've learned from years and years of study into an organization that you think you can really make a difference for.”
Dream job or not, a long conversation with a close friend helped crystallize his growing doubts about applying because of the strength of his Welsh roots.
Passionate Wales supporter Collier-Kaywood says the role of the WRU chairman is a "dream job" Photo: Mark Lewis/Huw Evans Agency
His mother was Welsh, one of four sisters who grew up in Maesteg in south Wales. Her teaching job took her to England, where she met his father, an RAF officer during World War II, on a train ride and later married and settled in Nottingham, his father's hometown.
But Collier-Keywood, despite his accent, grew up Welsh. His childhood memories are filled with summer holidays spent with six cousins in Wales, as well as regular family trips to Portcaul, Sandy Bay or Llanharan.
“Mom was a pretty dominant character,” he added with a chuckle. “She was 4ft 11in but what she said was that we had no choice but to be Welsh! One of my earliest memories was watching Wales play first on black and white TV and then on color TV, with my mother sitting on the edge of her chair watching every second of the game.
“All my heroes were from Wales from 1976 to 1979. Growing up in Nottingham, I felt outnumbered, but I didn't care. I like it. I wanted to be Welsh and everyone at school knew it.”
He has hardly missed the Welsh national team since childhood, he is also indebted in the Principality and proudly wears his Welsh shirt as he watches his mother's land play at Twickenham, a sense of identity that would be decisive.
“When I was thinking seriously about the position of the RFU, it dawned on me,” he added. “There aren’t many pictures of me on social media, but two on my WhatsApp show me wearing a Wales jersey during a 2015 World Cup match in Cardiff.
“The other one is me on top of Kilimanjaro, having conquered Kilimanjaro, I took the Welsh rugby jersey to the top and put it on. This was my photo. When my friend reminded me of this, I realized that I really could not be the chairman of the English trade union.
“I had no idea that this job (chairman of the WRU) would appear later. My parents died in 2013, and when I was chatting about the position of the RFU with my friend, he just said: “You can’t!”
“And he was right, not that I got this job anyway (Tom Ilube was appointed chairman of the RFU in 2021). For as long as I can remember, I've been rooting for Wales against England, and I couldn't be part of the RFU and root for England against Wales.” Kilimanjaro
Even when bounty hunters Odgers Berndtson came back a couple of months ago to ask if he was willing to put his hat in the ring for Wales' position, the 61-year-old still harbored doubts. His portfolio was already full, travel was a problem, and he had no direct experience of professional or community rugby.
But a key part of his former role at PwC was managing crises and creating organizational change. And as Welsh rugby faced its own annus horribilis – the sacking of Wayne Peevak, a BBC Wales investigation alleging a toxic culture combined with sexism, misogyny and homophobia, leading to the resignation of Steve Phillips as chief executive, the threat of a players' strike during the Six Nations and funding problems in four regions of Wales, he felt he could make a difference.His appointment to succeed Iwan Evans as chairman comes after the Welsh clubs voted overwhelmingly to overhaul the union's governance, including increasing the number of independent non-executives, including the chairman, and the number of female board members.
At the end of his first week, he had already met with all key stakeholders, including Wales head coach Warren Gatland, and promised to fully implement all recommendations when an independent panel appointed to review the culture and behavior of the union a, will publish its findings next month.
With the appointment of a new Chief Executive expected to be confirmed shortly – Interim Chief Executive Nigel Walker has been appointed to the new position of Wales Rugby's first Chief Executive – Collier-Caywood sees an exciting future.
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He supports Gatland's tenure, aims to get the four Welsh regions to work with a more collaborative approach and create a culture that everyone in the governing body is proud of. Growing rugby fan base and increasing commercial revenues are also key.
“It took a bit of work when this position came up, but a key part of what I have been doing over the last six years at PwC has been crisis management,” added Collier-Caywood, who will be in the position two days a week and is currently looking for an apartment to rent in Cardiff. “That includes understanding the situation, identifying what is going wrong, and offering support in those situations and creating change.
“Once I decided to go for it, everything was on fire. I can imagine the appearance from a strategic point of view. Yehuan and Nigel have already done a great job. The union is doing so much good work in society and it's a key part of the decision to take the job and also the women's game. Rugby is the Welsh religion and this platform for better community service and a successful game for men and women is what inspires me.”
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