Cardiff Rugby which was acquired out of administration in April by the WRU, has appointed former chief executive of SA Brain & Co, Scott Waddington, as its independent chair.
More recently Swansea-born Mr Waddington was chair of Transport for Wales.
The former board of Cardiff Rugby put the business into administration following the failure of its owners, in Phil Kempe and Neal Griffith of Helford Capital, to plug trading losses as required under the club’s funding agreement with the WRU.
In what was a pre-pack deal, following the appointment of Rob Lewis and Ross Connock as joint administrators from PwC, the WRU took over the assets of the club, which saw players and staff transferred over to a new subsidiary company of the governing body.
The union is looking to sell the club back into private ownership, a process that has seen expressions of interest lodged by a number of potential bidders based both in the Ƶ and overseas.
As part of any deal the union is looking for the £6m debt it had passed through to the former Arms Park club, from NatWest and Welsh Government loan, to be taken on by new owners.
However, whether there will be an appetite from potential acquirers to be saddled with a sizeable liability hangover from the former club, is yet to be seen.
The WRU will soon begin a consultation on the future of professional rugby in Wales, with its preferred option of reducing the current number of four clubs to just two.
Mr Waddingon said: “It is a real privilege to be joining Cardiff Rugby as their new chair. I am looking forward to supporting everyone involved in the club and working together to build a successful future, and in the short term, to contribute positively to the current consultation process with the WRU.
“Cardiff has enormous potential both as a rugby club and as the Ƶ’s fastest growing core city, and I look forward to helping fulfil that.”
Mr Waddington, who served as chief executive of pub and brewery company SA Brain (known as Brains) for 17-years before standing down in 2018, succeeds Welsh Rugby Union’s chief operating officer Leighton Davies, who was temporarily appointed to the role after the governing body took over ownership of the club.
Cardiff Rugby interim managing director Jamie Muir said: “We are really pleased to welcome someone of Scott’s calibre to the role of independent chair at Cardiff Rugby and remain very grateful to Leighton for the contribution he has made.
“It was important that we appointed an independent chair, particularly with everything going on in Welsh rugby, and Scott has all the expertise and experience to lead and support us.
“His business acumen is second to none, he has vast experience in strategy, marketing and building brands, and is clearly an astute and inspirational leader.
We are all now looking forward to working closely with Scott as we work together to secure the future of Cardiff Rugby.”
WRU board member and chair of its people, culture and governance committee, Alison Thorne, said: “Scott will take the lead for the club in the ongoing consultation into the elite professional game in Wales, and continue the process of seeking potential new investors in Cardiff Rugby.
“We are delighted to welcome Scott to the Cardiff Rugby Board as independent chair and look forward to working with him at this pivotal time for the game in Wales.
“There’s no doubt he will represent the club to the very best of his abilities and that Cardiff Rugby colleagues and supporters have a chair who is determined to act in their very best interests during the vitally important consultation process we are currently undergoing."
