Wales head coach gone as WRU make announcement

Ioan Cunningham has left his position as head coach of Wales Women by mutual consent after three years at the helm.

The Welsh Rugby Union have been heavily criticised for the way it handled the negotiation process over new contracts with its national women's players. Executive director of rugby Nigel Walker has come under fire for giving the players a three-hour deadline to sign contracts, while also allegedly saying if they did not put pen to paper they would have to forfeit their place in the WXV2 competition in South Africa this summer and by extension the World Cup.

A report in The Telegraph also claimed Cunningham had repeatedly approached players about signing new deals during this year's Six Nations despite the fact the Women's Rugby Association (WRA) had been appointed to negotiate on their behalf. There have been calls for Walker to lose his job but Cunningham is the one to pay the price.

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This comes less than a year after a report by Dane Anne Rafferty found elements of sexism and misogyny within the WRU.

The WRU say a new coach will be appointed ahead of next year's Six Nations. “We would like to formally thank Ioan Cunningham for his contribution to the senior international women’s game in Wales over the last three seasons,” said WRU CEO Abi Tierney.

“Ioan has been in charge for the transition of the team from amateur to professional status and led the side to a first ever win over Australia this year after seeing them finish third in Six Nations 2023 and reach WXV1 in the Autumn of that year. We are in the early stages of professionalism in the senior women’s game, there are challenges which we are addressing with determination and vigour, but our dedication to this integral part of our game is unwavering.

“The women’s and girls’ game remains a priority for Welsh rugby and is a key part of our new strategy for the game in Wales.”

Cunningham, who helped the Scarlets win the PRO12 as forwards coach in 2017, had a 38% win rate which includes 13 victories and 21 defeats after succeeding Warren Abrahams as head coach of Wales Women.

“We have made some significant progress and there are many achievements to be proud of in terms of squad development," said Cunningham. "In particular, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2021 Rugby World Cup (played in 2022), and third place finishes in both the 2022 and the 2023 Six Nations, where a top three placing enabled us to qualify for the top tier WXV1 tournament.

“But the time is now right for someone new to take the helm and I wish the new regime and everyone involved in this elite programme all the very best for the future.”

Meanwhile, the WRU board met on Tuesday evening to further consider the recent review into contract negotiations with the Wales Women’s international squad.

This first draft of the review, which was instigated by the WRU Board in August in immediate response to a letter from players, was considered with some further work to be completed by the panel this week. Once the Wales Women’s squad and other contributors have commented then the board has indicated that they will publish the review.

“We are already working on implementing some of the recommendations that we know are going to be included in the review and I confirm that we have committed to ensuring that the women players are brought within our normal employee processes," said Tierney.

“Discussions have already taken place on installing an external mediator to support players and the WRU’s ‘Have a Voice’ initiative for staff is to be revisited with the Wales Women squad.

“This will be an important component for change and will ensure that we can directly access the views of the players into the future.”