Richard Collier-Keywood was appointed as the Welsh Rugby Union's first independent chair in 2023 [Huw Evans Agency]Gareth Griffiths - BBC Sport WalesSun, November 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM UTC·5 min readWelsh Rugby Union (WRU) chair Richard Collier-Keywood says he was "embarrassed" by Wales' 73-0 defeat against South Africa, but wants to continue to lead the organisation.
The 11-try hammering was a record home loss and the second worst result in Welsh rugby history following the 96-13 loss against the Springboks in 1998 in Pretoria.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCollier-Keywood has been in post since 2023 with Wales losing 21 of the last 23 internationals in the past two years.
He is one of the driving forces behind major change in Welsh rugby with plans to cut professional sides from four to three.
When asked whether he thought he was still the man to take the WRU forward, Collier-Keywood replied: "Yes, I am.
"It's obviously subject to the board and the clubs agreeing with that."
Collier-Keywood was asked whether he thinks Welsh rugby has improved since he took over.
"There's a very significant set of improvements and I'm not talking just about the financial side," said Collier-Keywood.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"When I first came into this role a few things struck me. The first was we were up against our banking covenants.
"We basically didn't have any money to spend on anything. We had significant and onerous contracts, be it with professional clubs or many of the people we were partnering with.
"We've professionalised governance in the WRU and you've got a diverse board now."
Director of rugby and head of elite performance Dave Reddin has been brought in and heavily involved trying to implement change.
"We've brought in Dave and he's been a breath of fresh air since he joined us," said Collier-Keywood.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It's a hard role because undoubtedly we need to make some significant changes there [in the professional game]."
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'Springboks loss shows mandate for change'
Collier-Keywood admitted his raw emotions after watching the Springboks loss which followed autumn defeats against Argentina and New Zealand and narrow victory over Japan.
"I felt very disappointed, very upset, it was hard to take," said Collier-Keywood.
"I was embarrassed, yes. Any Welsh person sitting there would have been embarrassed.
"It was as bad as my worst expectations were. Inevitably you go into games and think about a range of potential outcomes, and that was probably at the worst end.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I was concerned about the boys out on the field, it was clearly a massive mismatch.
"It shows you how far we have got to go."
When asked whether the result gives the WRU more of a mandate to push through major changes, Collier-Keywood responded: "Absolutely it does. It was pretty clear to many of us before major change was needed anyway.
"We've got to reflect back on some of the positive changes Steve Tandy [Wales head coach] has made.
"You've seen a lot of that particularly in the Argentina and New Zealand matches this month.
"To snatch a win at the end against Japan was a great result and showed character.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We've made progress and the disappointing thing, or the reason why I felt hardest about was going into the changing room at the end, was seeing the boys and how down they felt about it.
"Steve did a great job in trying to remind them of all the good things in that campaign, but that [South Africa loss] will have weighed heavily on their minds.
"I've been told by others, who have played professional rugby, you need one good thumping in your life to work out how far we've got to go and inspire you to reach the heights. But that would have felt tough."
Why Wales played Springboks game
The WRU has been criticised for organising the match outside World Rugby's international window with Tandy without 13 players based with clubs in England and France.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"The match was contracted originally back in 2018, meant to be played in 2020 and then got rearranged in 2021 to yesterday because of Covid," said Collier-Keywood.
"I don't think you can cancel matches just because you're worried about the result.
"I can't remember an international rugby game that's been cancelled because a nation didn't want to play it. That would have sent shock waves through the tier one rugby world.
"For those reasons, it wasn't an option to cancel. So we went ahead, that was the right thing to do."
There was also a financial element to the fixture with 62% of the WRU's revenue coming from staging home international matches.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlthough the crowd was only just over 50,000, around £2m is expected to have been raised from the Springboks match, which the WRU say will be reinvested into Welsh rugby.
"It's a substantial amount of income we'd have forgone," said Collier-Keywood.
"Financially, the penalty to pay South Africa if we cancelled the match was more than a £1m."
WRU financial report
Collier-Keywood was talking at Sunday's WRU annual general meeting (AGM) in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The WRU's annual report, which included the financial figures up until the end of June 2025, was presented to the clubs on Friday night, less than 48 hours before the AGM was held.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe WRU report says turnover has risen over the year from £102.7m to £106.1m, while the overall loss has fallen from £10.1m in 2024 to £7.2m.
The report states the operating loss has fallen from £8.8m to £4.7m with the WRU claiming that figure should stand at £0.8m.
The governing body say this is because the costs of acquiring Cardiff in April and an "exceptional circumstances" category should not be included in the final operating loss total.
The exceptional circumstances include costs of redundancy payments to staff and professional services fees, including legal fees relating to the drafting of a new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) with the regions.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGoverning body chiefs say an improved commercial performance meant investment in the professional game, including men's and women's performance pathways, Super Rygbi Cymru and the regional clubs was £45.4m. This is compared to £48.4m in 2023-24, which included a World Cup.
Direct WRU payments to the community game remained at £3.3m, with a commitment to increase this to £3.6m next year.
