00:00I feel really excited about the changes we've announced today. All the investments in the
00:07fundamental infrastructure of Welsh Rugby are absolutely necessary for us to succeed going
00:13forwards and I think we have also grasped the nettle that hasn't been grasped for a very long
00:18period of time as to how to create some competitive professional clubs in Wales.
00:23Good boards make their best decisions with two things. First of all, really good data and insight.
00:29They don't put their fingers in the rear and say what do we think people are thinking? Where do
00:32we think we should go? What do we know? What do we know about the game in Wales? What do we know about
00:36the rest of the game across the world? And what does that mean for us as a board of making decisions
00:40for the best of Welsh Rugby? It's been fascinating. It's been a really intense five or six weeks talking
00:46to people across Wales, all different affiliations and different roles within the game and all of
00:52them have brought incredible passion and insight. I've learnt a huge amount and that's helped us to
00:58make some really good decisions. Having carefully considered all the inputs we're announcing a
01:03clear plan for the future of elite Welsh Rugby which will see us move to a three club professional
01:12structure for men's rugby in Wales. Equally funded and playing in the URC with much greater collaboration
01:22between the professional clubs and the national team.
01:25There are people in this country who supported some of these clubs for 20 years or more. There are
01:30kids that have known nothing different than those clubs so it would be a huge sense of loss. My
01:36commitment in that is that I want to build a better future and there's something that those people who
01:41felt the loss that there's something there for them to reconnect to and be proud of in the future.
01:46We will be investing over the next four years in 12 player development centres across Wales to feed our
01:54Men's National Academy programme. This will include a focus on supporting promising players in North Wales.
02:03I think the investments in the national academies and the pathways are really really significant changes
02:29for the future of Wales. They really create massive opportunity for us to once again produce top
02:38talent in big volumes. It's going to take some time but I think they're the sort of unseen things that are
02:43really important and alongside that I think the investments in coach development are massive.
02:49It's been under invested for a while. We've had some incredible coaches from Wales over the years and it's
02:55about time we got back to that level. So it's been great to have those conversations around the board
03:01table openly, honestly, straightforwardly and I think the board has wrestled this to a really good
03:07solution. I think this is the biggest moment in Wales Rugby for 25 years. It's our best opportunity
03:14to change the long-term success of Wales Rugby.
