Sport continues to fascinate and puzzle.
Of all the people you didn’t consider for the post of the new head of Wales women’s rugby, Belinda Moore must stand near the top of your list.
It’s eleven weeks since we heard the shock news of her disappearance from the vital post of Chief Executive of the English PWR. She had held it for only 22 months, and a second season was about to launch.
It was a shock not least for the rest of the PWR board. There was obviously no replacement in view. Indeed, the Chair, Genevieve Shore, took on the role of spokesperson, saying, mysteriously, that it was little surprise (for which we must read ‘she was not surprised’) at the news of Moore’s departure. What were the sources of that certainty?
That did not prevent a long interim period, with no-one apparently in charge of the leading club tournament in the world. We have yet to learn whether Shore’s appointment in Moore’s place was the result of lack of applications from others. No new PWR Chair has been announced.
An Executive Role
Moore’s position is far from the one that Ioan Cunningham vacated in early October. She is appointed on a nine-month interim basis only, charged with putting right some, if not all, of the structures in Wales women’s rugby. In other words, this is an executive position, with the naming of an actual head coach delayed even further.
So far as the elite women’s squad is concerned, the news comes as no help at all. The Six Nations inches ever closer – just over six weeks – and the only people who can help the cause in a practical way are the assistant staff members. They may or may not be kept in post when finally the WRU makes its mind up about the choice of a head coach.
Welsh rugby fans have enough to concern them with the men’s game alone at national and regional level. This latest news can hardly fill them with confidence about the board’s ability to get on with things. They may well doubt that one person can correct weaknesses in national structures in so short a period as nine months.
If Moore were to present them with a list of jobs that need doing – structures reorganised or set up; new positions created, new playing squads established – that must take a length of time to put into practice.
To an outsider, two crying needs are a clear pathway from beginner to national squad member, and a thriving club league.
The presence of every single member of the Cymru squad in England is a millstone around Welsh necks, a sign of their own inability to carry on independently. Since the men’s four regions (Cardiff Rugby, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets) are in such disarray, the chances for the women seem slim. Top players have been based at leading English clubs for so long now that they might not find it easy or welcome returning westward to newly (re)formed clubs.
What we cannot know at present is whether Moore had a move of this sort in mind as she vacated her post with PWR. But the WRU must be certain that she will see the new job through. Just as well it’s for less than a year. But how much can an individual be expected to achieve over so short a time-span?
Abi Tierney, WRU’s Chief Executive, speaks of Moore’s gravitas. Do people of gravitas throw in a job the way Moore did?
When the nine months are up, what then? Presumably Moore will have presented the board with her proposals, but history tells us they may well lead to disagreements among the very people who make the final decisions. Underlying the whole business is the unforgiving matter of funding. Any changes are likely to cost a lot of cash; without it progress will remain slow or impossible.
Of course Moore is described as the ideal fit for the new job. But exactly the same was claimed for her previous one, and that came to an abrupt conclusion.
The unanswered question
Who will be named as head coach? It will take a brave person to consider applying, quite apart from any individual talents in coaching. The WRU has a ‘One Wales’ strategy through to 2029’ in place. A long-term strategy is fine, but solutions to current difficulties can’t wait four years.
Moore had a 10-year strategy laid out for the PWR. We still have to learn whether it is still in place or whether adjustments are under way. For a national squad, a 4-year plan is not an obvious way of avoiding another sixth place in the Six Nations, or of doing well at this year’s World Cup.
No doubt all the members of the current national squad are in close contact, trying to assess the significance of this latest news and how it will affect them. We must hope it has lifted their hearts.
