WRU threatened with High Court action

When WRU CEO Roger Lewis proudly announced a year ago that Millennium Stadium would host matches as part of Rugby World Cup 2015, he stated “This is great news for Wales and great news for Welsh rugby… …It’s the culmination of more than four years of work.”

It’s a pity that Roger and The WRU Board didn’t work a little bit harder in that four years as, due to a stunning piece of incompetence, they now have a major problem on their hands.

Despite the exorbitant ticket prices, there will be little shortage of takers for the matches hosted in Cardiff. They include two of Wales pool matches that are sure to be sell-outs, a match featuring Web Ellis Cup holders New Zealand, France versus Ireland, plus two Quarter Final matches that will attract a huge demand for tickets.

Up until now, the WRU has peddled the line that its Member Clubs must wait in line for access to those tickets. Corporate Hospitality got first choice back in January, followed by members of host nation England’s rugby clubs, who started purchasing their tickets on May 29th. The Welsh Rugby Clubs and their members must wait until June 17th.

But they shouldn’t have to wait. They are entitled to purchase tickets BEFORE anyone else.

If a club or any of its members holds 1969, 1976 or 1983 debentures, they need to contact the WRU immediately and demand the right to purchase RWC 2015 tickets for their allocated seats.

Debentures purchased by many of the WRU’s Member Clubs back in 1969, 1976 and 1983 “entitle the Registered Holder to the right to one ticket on payment… …on the occasion of each Rugby International Match held there” (Clause 3). The eight matches due to be held at Millennium Stadium during RWC 2015 qualify as rugby international matches.

Instead of telling Member Clubs to wait in line with everyone else, the WRU should have been telling those that hold those debentures to exercise their right to buy tickets at the head of the queue. Right now, people in England are buying up tickets to some of the best seats in the stadium, which should have been offered to our Welsh Rugby Clubs. The WRU knows this, but doesn’t want those clubs to know, for obvious reasons.

If that isn’t bad enough, there is a very real legal issue about to boil over. When the 1976 and 1983 debentures were issued, the clubs were actively encouraged by the WRU to purchase the debentures and then sub-debenture at a premium to raise funds. Many, many clubs did exactly that.

As a result, those clubs have a legally binding contract with third parties to provide tickets to specific seats for purchase to EVERY international rugby match at the Millennium Stadium, including RWC 2015 matches.

But the WRU has sold Millennium Stadium to Rugby World Cup 2015 organisers as a “Clean Stadium”, denying the 1969, 1976 and 1983 debenture holders the right to purchase tickets to their specifically allocated seats.

The WRU’s fear is that over 8,000 of these debenture holders may now start to apply for tickets to their seats for RWC 2015 matches. If the Trustees or Committee Members of clubs who have sub-debentured the 1976 and 1983 debentures fail to honour their legal obligation, they will be sued for breach of contract.

If that happens, the debenture holders would have to join the WRU in that action, creating something akin to a class action involving potentially thousands of parties.

Perhaps the WRU hope this problem will just go away, particularly as they have made no mention of the entitlement to purchase RWC 2015 tickets to clubs and individuals who are debenture holders. Instead, they have given them “free” Gold Supporters Club membership, whilst confirming by letter and email that any tickets remaining after the English club members have purchased will be available in the Welsh Rugby version of The Gold Rush on June 17th, which is just over a week away.

The WRU have acted with complete incompetence and total disregard to the rights of its member clubs and all other debenture holders who purchased between 1969 and 1983. Instead of doing their homework properly, they only checked the most recent debenture deeds issued in 1999 and 2002, which don’t contain that right to purchase tickets to all rugby international matches. They are even having trouble actually finding the original debenture deeds for the 1969 – 1983 issues within their own archives. What a complete shambles.

The RFU had a similar problem, but has already, and very sensibly, offered a compromise solution which has allowed Twickenham’s debenture holders to apply for RWC 2015 tickets, but not for their specifically allocated seats. In stark contrast, The WRU continues to deny that debenture holders are entitled, effectively burying their heads in the sand and hoping the problem goes away.

But it isn’t going to go away, as the Members Clubs will now be checking their debentures and wondering why they haven’t been offered the opportunity to purchase tickets for their seats for RWC 2015 matches at Millennium Stadium.

And if they continue to deny the right, and contracts continue to be breached, this will end up in the High Court and become yet another extremely embarrassing and financially disastrous situation for the WRU.

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