Lyndon Faulkner has a frank message for anyone who believes that one of the stipulations in his appointment as chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) was to back the toxic plan of cutting the number of regions.

“I am not a yes man and I wouldn’t be taking the job if they were needing me to be that,” Faulkner said. “Look at my resume – I’m just not a yes man. And there has been some talk out there that whoever took this job was under the condition that they can’t talk about the four to three regions or the four to two or whatever it’s going to be. But that is absolutely incorrect.

“I wouldn’t have taken the job with those conditions. So I feel it’s my role to look at everything we’ve got going on, challenge it, probe it, and hopefully bring my experience to bear.”

Welsh rugby’s bitter civil war

Faulkner’s comments in his first interview since being named two weeks ago as the replacement for Richard Collier-Keywood will give hope to the masses opposed to the WRU proposals.

Since these were unveiled almost exactly a year ago, a sporting civil war has brewed, with the tensions at least partly to blame for the likes of big names such as Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake departing the domestic scene to play their club rugby in England.

The WRU has squarely, and quite unashamedly, targeted one of the Ospreys or the Scarlets, declaring that finances dictate there will be one team in Gwent – the Dragons – the Cardiff team in the capital and one in the west. The Scarlets or the Ospreys, Llanelli or Swansea? Pick your hotbed to disappear to the scrapheap – or merge.

As the anger has built – running from fans to legends such as Jonathan Davies to Hayley Parsons, the high-profile businesswoman and GoCompare founder – compromise has seemed in diminishing supply, despite the threat of legal cases and boycotts of the beleaguered national team.

As recently as last month, Dave Reddin, the WRU director of rugby, insisted that the governing body remained committed to cutting one region within two years, despite the backlash.

Negativity has crammed the air and recrimination has reigned. Resignations have been called for, including those of Reddin and Abi Tierney, the chief executive, who have been depicted in some quarters as the architects of the self-mutilation.

It is a comically high bar, but experts and historians claim that Welsh rugby has never before been mired in such uncertainty. And Faulkner, 66, a self-made multi-millionaire who played in the great Pontypool side of the 1980s and is the nephew of front-row legend Charlie Faulkner, has decided to take the non-executive helm of a ship that many fear is sinking.

Why? Well, meeting him at Cardiff RFC on Saturday, it was clear that he has not returned to his homeland on the promises of free tickets and hospitality in the Principality Stadium and beyond.

“It is not just my wife who questioned me – many people have asked me, ‘why?’” Faulkner said. “And let’s be honest, I’m putting my professional reputation on the line. It’s impeccable to date. I’m batting six out of six [from businesses with which he has been involved], so yes, there is reputational risk for me.

“There’s no financial risk. I don’t need the job. This is purely motivated around trying to help and make a difference for Welsh rugby to be better.”

WRU’s £18m deficit came as a shock

That requirement is plainly urgent. Last week, the WRU revealed it lost more than £18m in the previous financial year. Faulkner did not have an inkling when he signed, which is not the most ideal start.

“It’s very worrying and I didn’t know it was coming, no,” Faulkner said. “It was quite a surprise to me and I probably should have asked more of that during the [interview] process but it was much more about the board interviewing me, not me interviewing the board. And of the information I had looked at, obviously previous financials, didn’t look as bad as this one.”

Perhaps the deficit underlines the WRU’s argument to cut at least one region, although, of course, it could also suit those who counter that Welsh rugby’s governing body is not fit for purpose. Faulkner, an uncompromising centre in his day, noted that the bottom line has been severely affected by global events and the cost of living, but he is adamant that he is not on one side or the other in the explosive debate. Not yet anyway. He will be on the case in a week.

“These are all things that I would prioritise to look at early – and actually, we’re going to start looking at them before I’m official,” Faulkner said. “So I’m going to be in the office from November 2, going to meetings. I expect to go out to the regions and meet the teams that are running the regions because I know all of them anyway. They’re all ex-players and things that are in these positions. But I’ll be going to them not as a friend, but as the chair of the WRU.”

He does not start officially until the WRU AGM on November 22, but is beginning his fact-finding mission next Monday. As well as being in attendance for Cardiff RFC vs Bridgend in the semi-professional Super Rygbi Cymru Trophy on Saturday, he later travelled to Swansea to watch the Ospreys taking on the Dragons in the region’s homecoming to St Helen’s.

Passions were inevitably high at the United Rugby Championship derby, but the prospect, even as a Gwent man, did not worry Faulkner.

From a council estate to the top tables

With his history, why should it? Faulkner dealt with figures such as Sir Richard Branson and Robert Maxwell as he quickly graduated from being an electrical engineer to becoming one of the pioneers of the CD and then the DVD markets.

It was Maxwell’s death that led him to leading a management buyout of Nimbus, before the firm was floated in America. In the process, Faulkner, who has amassed a personal fortune of tens of millions, became a respected figure in the United States.

Faulkner, who came from a Newport council estate, laughed when it was put to him that after these experiences that strictly as a business the WRU, even in this state, would not appear such a big deal, even if it is rated as a $100m (£75m) enterprise.

“No, it doesn’t, but they are different things,” he said. “But no, $100m doesn’t frighten me. I’ve been in much bigger organisations where we’ve had subsidiaries bigger than $100m. So I’m pretty sure we’re going to get very quickly to the issues that we need to.”

One stands out: that elephant in the bickering room of dragons. Which way will Faulkner turn? Understandably, he will not begin to know until his feet are firmly under the table, but he is aware of the passions involved.

“I’m empathetic to it all,” Faulkner said. “We’ve got four regions, we’ve got all these clubs, they’ve all got their history in our great game. So I am understanding of the emotions that drive. At the end of the day, though, I’ve got a review to do and look at how that comes out.

“I’ll make tough, honest decisions and make my points to the executive board, otherwise they’ve got the wrong man. There’s no point in appointing me unless they take on board what I say and if I do my job properly, they will agree. Otherwise there might be a problem.

“But look, I’m actually getting into the ring. All these other people are buying the seats at ringside and just shouting from there. They could have been getting in. And it does frustrate me that there’s a lot of voices out there telling everybody what to do, but not many of them are prepared to actually get in the fight.

“To my mind, everyone here wants Welsh rugby to be a success. And that it is worth fighting for.”