FORMER Wales coach Mike Ruddock has requested an urgent meeting with the Welsh Rugby Union board because he believes they have not been told the full facts over his decision to quit.

The board held an emergency meeting on Thursday night when they were updated about the whole saga by chief executive Steve Lewis.

The Argus reported yesterday that some rank and file clubs were unhappy with the treatment of Ruddock and could force an extraordinary meeting of all 245 clubs in the Union.

Then yesterday morning Lewis explained: * That at no time had he discussed Ruddock's future with senior players;

* Ruddock had never brought such an issue before him;

* Ruddock had requested a £20,000 bonus payment for winning the Grand Slam be paid into a pension fund which had been agreed and was in the process of being done;

* And that a contract was agreed last year.

"That was produced for Mike to sign last August, but Mike chose not to and then other things were introduced so that by the Six Nations we were renegotiating a contract which was not appropriate to conduct during the Six Nations," said Lewis.

He said he met with players on a regular basis, most recently to discuss insurance issues in the event of injuries.

"They also asked me what could we do to secure the long-term future of Scott Johnson," he added. "Mike knew that because I told him, but at no time was I involved in discussions with the players about Mike Ruddock.

"Mike knew he had got 100% WRU support. We told him we'd like him to work with Scott Johnson and Andrew Hore and if he didn't like it to tell us, but Mike was our appointment."

Lewis also claimed that Ruddock had told the Press of his decision to quit before informing him, and that when he was told he asked Ruddock to delay an announcement until after the Six Nations, but Ruddock refused because he had already gone to the Press with the story.

Faced with all this, Ruddock has now asked to meet the WRU board because he says they are not fully aware of all the facts.

Former WRU chief David Moffett, Lewis' predecessor, has defended the current regime. "Mike said he wanted to leave for family reasons, so what were the WRU supposed to do, refuse it?" he said from his French home.

But Ian Stephens, Ruddock's former Wales A team manager, says Lewis and WRU chairman David Pickering should resign over the issue.

"It's ridiculous that Mike should step down during the Six Nations when he asked to see it out," he said. "It's absolutely crazy, they (Lewis and Pickering) need to look at themselves and resign."

Newport chairman David Watkins, who captained Great Britain at rugby union and league, admitted he was 'staggered' by events.

"I thought Mike was the man for the job, he handled himself well and Wales won the Grand Slam and championship," he said.

"If it is all about player power it's a very sad state of affairs because the game is bigger than individuals. Three or four of the players won't be there much longer anyway.

"We had a very poor coach when I was at Salford, but we were more worried about our own performances than the coach. It was the management's job, not the players'. You can't have workers running the factory."

* Johnson remains the man the WRU want to succeed Ruddock as full-time coach.

He has taken charge for the remaining three games of the Six Nations Championship after which he will make a decision about whether he will return to his native Australia.

He has family issues there which could well force his return, leaving the WRU looking for a coach all over again little more than a year before the World Cup.

Johnson wants to stay in Wales, but it could be out of his hands and reports from Australia confirm that he has been lined up for the post of assistant coach to the national team alongside Michael Foley and working under new head coach John Connolly.

But the WRU are redoubling their efforts to try to persuade Johnson to stay.