Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney has slammed the ‘toxic tactics’ of her critics, insisting it will be ‘cataclysmic’ for Wales if the country doesn’t follow through on the plan to cut one of its four men’s domestic teams. In July, the WRU reiterated its proposal to move to three sides from 2028, with the Newport-based Dragons and capital side Cardiff – who are owned by the governing body – to be handed licenses to continue. That left the Ospreys and Scarlets to compete for the one remaining spot in west Wales. The WRU’s move has come in response to more than three years of poor rugby performance and significant monetary challenges. But the proposal has been met with strong criticism. Hayley Parsons, the founder of GoCompare and a former Cardiff board member, has led calls for Tierney and the entire WRU executive board to resign with dual code Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies and others backing her up. Breaking her silence in her first interview in months, Tierney has hit back at the self-appointed ‘coalition of the willing’ and doubled down on the WRU’s aims.‘It’s really hard,’ she tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘But I’m not doing this to be popular. I’m doing it because based on all the evidence and analysis, I genuinely believe this is the best thing for Welsh rugby. WRU Chief Executive Abi Tierney has hit back at her critics’ ‘toxic tactics’ In 2019, Wales were Six Nations Grand Slam champions, World Cup semi-finalists and briefly, World Rugby’s No1-ranked side ‘I love Welsh rugby and I want to see it survive. I’m really worried several previous regimes have had reports done which have all said we need to do this, but when it’s got nasty, people have backed away from making that decision. That’s why we are where we are. That’s why we’re struggling financially. That’s why we’re struggling with our performance on the pitch. ‘There are two choices – we either continue to struggle, we’ll see further decline and we could see Wales drop out of the world’s top 12. With promotion and relegation potentially coming into the Nations Championship in 2031, that becomes cataclysmic for us as a nation. The national team funds the rest of the game, so that would have a big impact. ‘The other choice is the plan to go from four to three and none of that has changed. ‘I look myself in the mirror every day and ask myself if is this the right thing for Welsh rugby. Can somebody show me another credible plan that’s out there? I haven’t seen anybody else produce one, other than a big document produced by ChatGPT.’ Addressing Parsons and Co directly, Tierney continues: ‘It’s interesting that that same small group of people have also been involved in previous situations. There’s been a long-standing issue there with the WRU. If I step down, I’ll be OK. ‘But whoever comes into this role, they’ll be faced with the same decision in another year or two, if not sooner. It’s about being brave to do the right thing. ‘The style of the campaign really worries me. The personal attacks are unjustified and not OK. The decision has been made and we’ve got a plan to get there. They’re trying to get that decision overturned by saying it isn’t justified. ‘These are toxic tactics to stop a decision that our board has not taken lightly. If I left now and then looked back and Welsh rugby has declined, I would carry that really heavily for the rest of my life and think that we should have stuck at that.’ Wales are now ranked 10th in the world and Tierney fears they could drop out of the top 12 Wales were wooden spoon ‘winners’ at this year’s Six Nations, their sole win coming against Italy In 2019, Wales were Six Nations Grand Slam champions, World Cup semi-finalists and briefly, World Rugby’s No1-ranked side. But since then, the country’s national game has struggled badly both on and off the field and Wales are now ranked tenth in the world. Tierney’s detractors say they want to see further evidence to back-up the three-team proposal. The WRU plans on releasing more, independently assessed data in the coming months. How it will move to three sides remains unclear. The Ospreys and Scarlets – bitter rivals – have said they have no plans to merge. ‘The criticism I hear is it’s taking too long,’ Tierney adds. ‘The counter argument to that is this is people’s livelihoods. Putting stability in the system, doing it right, and having consideration for the impacts it has is also really important.’ Tierney has been director general of the passport office working on significant British government and international political projects including immigration proposals surrounding the wars in Ukraine and Afghanistan. Tierney has also undergone treatment for cancer while heading up the WRU but she admits the WRU challenge is enormous. ‘This is the hardest job I’ve ever done,’ she says. ‘The politics, passion and how much people care make it the best job in the world. It also makes it the hardest job in the world.’ Asked if she thought the WRU had lost the belief and trust of the Welsh rugby public amid the ongoing political wranglings, Tierney defends the level of rugby expertise on her board. ‘That trust is being eroded every single day by those small minority of very loud critics,’ she counters. ‘That’s what’s eroding our ability to sell tickets and to secure sponsorship because it’s damaging the brand so much. It’s difficult. They’re part of the cause and effect because they’re saying things that are unjustified and aren’t true.’ Ospreys supporters protest against the WRU and the plan to reduce the number of Welsh clubs from four to three Wales fans are also up in arms about the performances of their national teamWelsh rugby remains at a crucial juncture. A new full-time chair is planned to be in place by November following the departure of Richard Collier-Keywood and a whole host of other work remains ongoing in the background, chiefly around improving the country’s academy structures. It is likely that the governing body’s next set of financial results will sharpen the focus as to why moving to three teams is required. The big question is how the WRU will get there. ‘Our turnover varies but it’s just over £100million. Once we’ve covered costs, we’re left with £20million to invest in the professional game,’ Tierney says. ‘That would have four teams on about £5million each with costs going up and commercial deals and media deals going down. If you compare that to teams in PREM Rugby and others in the United Rugby Championship, we’d be way behind them. We’ll see a continuing decline if we have clubs funded at that level.’ Asked what her message is to the Welsh rugby public, Tierney responds: ‘Try to put the noise to one side and come out and support our teams in the next few months. I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t think we could thrive again.’