Cardiff Rugby announce Scott Waddington as newindependent chair

Cardiff Rugby is delighted to appoint Scott Waddington as the club’s new independent chair with immediate effect.

The former chief executive of  SA Brain joins joins the club at a crucial time for professional rugby in Wales and will ensure Cardiff has a strong and clear voice in ongoing discussions about the future structure of the elite game. 

He boasts an impressive CV as a Non Executive, having served seven years as the chair of Transport for Wales and in the business world with a reputation for growing commercial revenues and building strategies with  customer and colleagues’ engagement. 

Speaking of his appointment, Waddington said: “It is a real privilege to be joining Cardiff Rugby as their new chair. 

“I am looking forward to supporting everyone involved in the club and working together to build a successful future, and in the short term, to contribute positively to the current consultation process with the WRU. 

“Cardiff has enormous potential both as a rugby club and as the UK’s fastest growing core city, and I look forward to helping fulfil that.” 

Waddington succeeds the Welsh Rugby Union’s chief operating officer Leighton Davies, who was temporarily appointed to the role after the governing body took over ownership of the club in April 2025. 

Cardiff Rugby interim managing director Jamie Muir said: “We are really pleased to welcome someone of Scott’s calibre to the role of independent chair at Cardiff Rugby and remain very grateful to Leighton for the contribution he has made.

“It was important that we appointed an independent chair, particularly with everything going on in Welsh rugby, and Scott has all the expertise and experience to lead and support us. 

“His business acumen is second to none, he has vast experience in strategy, marketing and building brands, and is clearly an astute and inspirational leader. 

“We are all now looking forward to working closely with Scott as we work together to secure the future of Cardiff Rugby.” 

Waddington will take the lead for the club in the ongoing consultation into the elite professional game in Wales, and continue the process of seeking potential new investors in Cardiff Rugby. 

“We are delighted to welcome Scott to the Cardiff Rugby Board as independent chair and look forward to working with him at this pivotal time for the game in Wales,” added WRU Board member and chair of People, Culture and Governance Committee, Alison Thorne. 

“There’s no doubt Scott will represent the club to the very best of his abilities and that Cardiff Rugby colleagues and supporters have a chair who is determined to act in their very best interests during the vitally important consultation process we are currently undergoing.”