The appointment of Lyndon Faulkner as WRU offers hope of a more positive future

When a journalist asked Lyndon Faulkner about the Pontypool side he played for as a young man, the new Welsh Rugby Union chair reeled off names including David Bishop, Eddie Butler and Jeff Squire with the ease of someone recalling old friends rather than reciting a team-sheet.

It was a revealing moment. Here was a man about to assume the leadership of Welsh rugby who understood its history, not as an abstract concept, but as something lived and remembered.

In a game where identity and tribal allegiance count for almost as much as results, that matters.

His predecessor, Richard Collier-Keywood, also arrived with an impressive CV. But where Collier-Keywood attracted criticism for suggesting supporters might follow players rather than teams, Faulkner appears to understand instinctively that Welsh rugby is about far more than the individuals who take the field.

It is about clubs, communities and loyalties passed down through generations. That understanding will be important. Whether it will be enough is another matter.

Saturday marked Faulkner’s first public appearance in Welsh rugby since his appointment, and his first opportunity to face a group of journalists who have spent years covering the game’s increasingly turbulent affairs. You can read the full interview here.

The meeting had been scheduled for Pontypool, where Faulkner spent much of his playing career. But after the match was called off, there was a hurried dash to Cardiff Arms Park to meet the man who will take the helm next month at one of the most precarious moments in the WRU’s history.

Outside, Storm Boelo was raging, providing an apt metaphor for the turmoil engulfing Welsh rugby.

Last week, the WRU published its annual report, revealing losses of £18 million, with chief operating officer Gavin Marshall insisting that the governing body could no longer afford to fund four professional clubs.

He is a solutions man

Put that financial reality to Faulkner and he acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. But there was little sense of a man prepared to accept defeat before the battle had begun. His instinct, rather, was to look for solutions.

“Most of the time, people say that's never going to be a success. CDs, DVDs, Xbox,” he said, referring to his previous roles that saw him launch some of the most revolutionary things the world of entertainment has seen.

“You name it, we always had a team that was a can-do team.

“That's what I'm hoping we're going to have here. That's the culture I think we want on and off the field.

“We want a winning culture, whether it's on the field, off the field, and that's something I will do my best to drive.”

It is an appealing philosophy. But if the finances dictate that Welsh rugby can sustain only three professional sides, or even two, Faulkner will face decisions that no amount of cultural understanding can make painless.

Not afraid to make decisions

He did not come across as a man who would shy away from them if he believed they were necessary for the greater good of the game.

Faulkner was at pains to point out that his appointment was not predicated on signing up to the plan to reduce Welsh rugby to three professional teams.

He is there to challenge the board and the executive while also helping them find the right solution. But while the chair may be the most influential voice in the room, he remains only one member of a 12-strong board that voted unanimously in favour of the current proposals.

The WRU is not a dictatorship, and Faulkner cannot simply sweep the existing plan aside. If he believes he has a better solution, he will have to persuade his fellow board members before putting it to a vote.

He was under no illusions about his role. “I'm not going to be the person in the office telling everybody what to do,” he said.

“That's not my role. I'm a non-executive role. I will be calculating what I think they should change, what I think we might improve.

“And then I'll be arguing my case on why I've come up with that and what I believe they should be doing. And if I do my job properly, they're going to struggle to argue against it.”

It is an ambitious declaration. But Faulkner's influence will ultimately depend not simply on the strength of his convictions, but on his ability to persuade the rest of the board that he has a credible alternative.

Faulkner's arrival does not mean end of WRU plan

Those hoping his appointment might spell the end of the plan to cut to three teams should not count their chickens just yet.

Sentiment, history and a deep understanding of Welsh rugby will not balance the books. Ultimately, the number of professional sides the game can sustain will be dictated by what it can afford.

Yet there is a distinction between understanding the financial arguments and recognising the consequences of acting on them.

Every decision taken in the WRU boardroom will reverberate far beyond it, affecting clubs, communities and generations of supporters.

Faulkner appears to understand that. Whether he can reconcile the financial demands with the cultural lifeblood of Welsh rugby is another question entirely.

That is the challenge awaiting him when he takes office next month.