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Nigel Walker has resigned as executive director of rugby at the Welsh Rugby Union as the Wales women’s team prepared to file a complaint against him.
Walker was under increasing pressure to leave his position due to the role he played in botched contract negotiations with the team, which intensified over the summer.
The 61-year-old told the players that if they did not sign the contracts they were offered last August, the WRU would lose their place in the squad for next year’s World Cup in England.
The explosive revelation, published as part of a wider Telegraph Sport investigation into the treatment of the Wales women’s team, forced the WRU to issue a groveling apology last month.
In a statement released on Friday afternoon, Walker cited the performances of the Wales men’s team – winless under Warren Gatland this calendar year – and the women’s team, who finished last in the Women’s Six Nations. this year, as the main reason why he tendered his resignation.
But it can now be revealed that the Wales women’s team lodged a formal complaint against Walker on Friday through the WRU, the same day the organization confirmed her departure.
In a letter sent to the union, the players expressed their anger that Walker remained in his role despite Ioan Cuningham, the former head coach of the women’s team, leaving his post after the revelations.
It is understood that players were particularly concerned about Walker having a say in the next head coach of the women’s team.
A WRU spokesperson said: “A letter was received by the People team yesterday at 4.30pm. It has no connection with Nigel Walker’s decision to stand down from office and was received after he made that decision. The letter repeats and adds nothing to complaints that were taken extremely seriously and were already thoroughly investigated in a recent study. The results and recommendations of this review should be published soon.
Interim director of performance Huw Bevan and community director Geraint John will take on Walker’s executive duties in the short term before a new director of rugby is appointed in the new year.
The WRU had planned to release a report into the contracting process at the end of November, but players appear deeply unhappy with the way parts of it were worded. It has not yet been made public.
The entire recruiting process left many players “emotionally unwell” and some were even reportedly victims of intimidation tactics used by members of the women’s coaching staff and senior management, including him.
Walker becomes the second high-profile casualty to leave the organization in the wake of the contract saga. Ioan Cunningham, the former head coach of the women’s team, stepped down after the revelations were made public by Telegraph sport last month.
The WRU has apologized for the way it handled these convoluted and complicated negotiations. The body had planned to release a report at the end of November, but this was delayed.
Walker joined the WRU in 2021 as director of performance and oversaw the introduction of the union’s first central contracts for the women’s team that year. However, it appears he has become deeply hated by players for threatening to pull the team out of next year’s women’s rugby competition in England.
Asked last month whether Walker’s position was untenable, Abi Tierney, the WRU chief executive, replied: “Nigel accepts we should have done things better. »
Walker said of his departure: “This decision has not been taken lightly as I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Welsh Rugby Union, but it is time for a new leader for the performance department.
“My tenure has not been without its challenges and we have achieved a lot but, ultimately, it is right that I am judged on my performance on the pitch and both of our senior teams have found the last 12 months extremely difficult and I therefore believe it is the right time for me to withdraw.
“We live in times where everything is changing rapidly, we have launched a new comprehensive strategy for Welsh rugby which is inextricably linked to a new professional rugby agreement which will be signed shortly between the WRU and our four regional clubs.
“We are changing our high performance team management structure in relation to our Wales senior women’s team, with a new head coach to be appointed soon. In senior men’s football, the role of our high performance department and how its systems and structures can enable the success of all our professional teams is under scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Warren Gatland will remain as Wales head coach for the 2025 Six Nations, even after Tierney said his position was “in play”.
New Zealander Gatland, 61, oversaw Wales’ record 12 successive Test match defeats, ending with autumn defeats to Fiji, Australia and South Africa.
Tierney presented the review’s findings at a WRU board meeting this week.
Although Gatland remains in the job, the New Zealander has been warned there will be a further review of his performances after the tournament.
“I have had a number of honest conversations with Warren and I will make no secret of the fact that her position was in play as we undertook our review,” Tierney said.
“Furthermore, like any head coach in any sport, he knows that the security of his position is directly linked to the performance of the team and it is a situation that will continue to intensify.
“There is a difficult challenge ahead, but Warren is more than ready to take on that challenge. We also think he’s up to the task.
