Head coach of Wales women’s rugby team leaves amid player contract chaos

Ioan Cunningham is first casualty after Telegraph reported players were pressured, while executive director Nigel Walker gets stern warning

Ioan Cunningham, the head coach of Wales women, has become the first casualty of the fallout from his players’ botched contract negotiations earlier this year.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) confirmed his departure on Friday afternoon, outlining their intention to have a new head coach in place before next year’s Six Nations.
Abi Tierney, the chief executive of the WRU, thanked Cunningham for his services while conceding that the transition to professionalism for the women’s side has proven problematic.
“We are in the early stages of professionalism in the senior women’s game,” she said. “There are challenges which we are addressing with determination and vigour, but our dedication to this integral part of our game is unwavering.”
Nigel Walker, the executive director of rugby at the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), is thought to be staying, although sources have indicated that he has been issued with a stern warning. Tierney would not be drawn on whether Walker’s position had become untenable.
Tierney said: “Nigel acknowledges that we needed to have done things better. We will work together as a team to implement these actions.”
Telegraph Sport’s extensive investigation found that Cunningham repeatedly approached players and spoke to them about signing new deals during this year’s Six Nations, even though the Women’s Rugby Association (WRA) had been appointed to negotiate on the players’ behalf.
Other coercive tactics included threats from Walker, warning that if players did not sign contracts then the offers would be withdrawn and that the union would forfeit the squad’s place at the WXV2 tournament in South Africa. This would therefore surrender Wales’s place at next year’s World Cup in England.
Finally, players were given an ultimatum with a three-hour deadline to sign contracts. The cancellation of fixtures and the removal of training were proposed as consequences.
Cunningham’s relationship with Hannah Jones, the Wales captain, is said to have become extremely strained during the contract negotiations, with other players losing trust in him.
Cunningham’s behaviour will be laid bare in an official review into the chaos, which is scheduled to be published before the end of the month.
Sean Lynn, Rachel Taylor and Alex Austerberry, all of whom coach in Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) with Gloucester-Hartpury, Sale Sharks and Saracens, respectively, will be front-runners to replace Cunningham.
Lynn already oversees a significant cohort of the Wales side at club level, while Austerberry is rated highly enough to have interviewed for the role of Red Roses head coach. The PWR season finishes in March, which would allow any candidate a smooth transition ahead of next year’s Six Nations and the World Cup.
An official press release from the WRU explained that Cunningham’s exit was by mutual consent.
“We have made some significant progress,” Cunningham said. “There are many achievements to be proud of in terms of squad development. In particular, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2021 Rugby World Cup [played in 2022], and third place finishes in both the 2022 and 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.”
A grovelling apology followed Telegraph Sport’s investigation, with WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood stressing that it was “absolutely clear” that the players should receive an apology.
“This is not a good day for us, we totally accept that,” he said. We should have done better and we didn’t, but we have learnt our lessons and we will keep trying to improve,” said Collier-Keywood, who also argued that it would be unfair to “lay the blame at an individual’s door” after a “complex series of events”.
Prior to being appointed as the head coach of Wales women, Cunningham had overseen Wales Under-20s and worked as forwards coach at Scarlets.
Under his watch this year, Wales finished bottom of the Six Nations with one victory from five matches before registering one win from three in the WXV 2 tournament between September and October.