WRU chair Lyndon Faulkner open to scrapping plan to cut a Welsh region

Lyndon Faulkner does not formally take his seat at the head of the Welsh Rugby Union until the end of November. He has already said he will review the union's plan to shrink its professional game, and that he is prepared to recommend dropping it.

The incoming chair says he will look at the evidence behind the plan to cut Wales from four professional teams to three. If that evidence persuades him the decision is wrong, he will advise abandoning it. BBC Sport asked him whether he would be willing to reverse the WRU's decision to cut a region, and he said he would.

A lot rides on that review. The shake-up would take Wales down to three regions in 2028, and either the Ospreys or the Scarlets would go. They are the two sides most at risk.

No yes man

Faulkner denied that his appointment came with a condition that he could not discuss the regional cut. He said he would not have accepted the role on those terms.

"I wouldn't have taken the job were it to be me needing to be a yes man," he said. He added: "They picked me because of my experience so it would be foolish to not take consideration of what I say."

His influence has limits, though. The chair's role is non-executive, so Faulkner will chair the board but will not be part of the executive team.

A union under pressure

He arrives at a difficult time for the WRU. The union posted an £18m loss for its latest financial year, figures Faulkner called worrying. He said the loss surprised him.

Once the loss was made public, Swansea council leader Rob Stewart, former player Alex Cuthbert and businesswoman Hayley Parsons each demanded that the WRU's leadership step down. Faulkner takes over as chair from Richard Collier-Keywood.

From Pontypool to the boardroom

Faulkner, 66, is the nephew of Wales great Tony 'Charlie' Faulkner. He played centre for Pontypool in the 1980s and won the Welsh Cup.

His business career followed. He helped bring the Xbox and Microsoft Office to market, and at Nimbus he won the backing of Richard Branson.