Tierney insists she won’t shy away from the tough decisions
WRU CEO Abi Tierney says she will not shy away from making a tough decision that could see the loss of a professional team in Wales.
Tierney maintains the current desire is to stick with four teams, but if the WRU cannot find a way to plug a £35m funding gap over the next five years, a seismic change potentially awaits.
Tierney says the current status quo simply cannot go on, with the Union losing millions every year and regions struggling to be competitive.
Asked by the BBC if she had the strength to make the type of big decision that could see Wales reduce teams, she insisted she will do what is best, no matter what.
Tierney said: “Absolutely. There will be some people out there who think we should have made that decision and made it earlier but if you are going to make a decision I think as long as you can explain why you have made it and you have the evidence and the data, and you know it is going to deliver the overall goal then you can back yourself to make that decision.
“If we don’t make that decision, what we are doing now isn’t working, so we need to make a decision, either to invest more money or have a different structure.
“If you look at my background. I have been involved in the NHS and local authorities who have gone through really difficult times from a financial prospective. I’ve had to make really difficult decisions on how many schools and hospitals they can actually afford. So I will not shy away from making difficult decisions but it is about making sure they are data-led.”