WELSH Rugby Union chief executive Steve Lewis' job could be on the line tomorrow at the most important board meeting the WRU have held since they were formed.

It has been called at the request of Mike Ruddock who last week informed Lewis he would be standing down as coach at the end of the Six Nations Championship for family reasons, only to have the rug pulled from under him and to be told he would be going immediately.

Australian Scott Johnson was put in charge for the rest of the Six Nations in an effort to persuade him to stay until next year's World Cup after he had previously indicated he would be returning home after the Six Nations, also for family reasons.

But Ruddock is not going quietly and though refusing to get involved in a public slanging match over allegations of player power and claims by unnamed players in a Sunday newspaper that he was lazy, his methods were out of the Dark Ages, they coached themselves and they did not progress under him, he has still asked to address the WRU board.

The fireworks begin at 4.30pm tomorrow in a room at the Millennium Stadium, Ruddock claiming the board have not been told the full facts by Lewis.

There is widespread anger about the chief executive's handling of the matter and WRU chairman David Pickering is also being implicated in what many claim is a complete shambles which has made Wales the laughing stock of world rugby again, less than 12 months after winning the Grand Slam for the first time for 27 years.

Board members are astonished they were kept in the dark for at least two days after Ruddock made his intentions known and are furious about Ruddock's claim that certain facts about contract negotiations were withheld from them at last Thursday's board meeting.

On top of that they have been inundated with calls from clubs in their districts and from grass roots members, many of whom have been calling for the resignation of Lewis amid dismay that Wales could shoot itself in the foot so badly.

There is even a possibility Lewis could be excluded from tomorrow's meeting. Board members are anxious to hear Ruddock's side of the story and feel that as Lewis gave his in last week's board meeting Ruddock should be free to do likewise tomorrow.

Either way, it looks difficult for Lewis and he could face a fight to hold on to his job less than two months since being handed the reins after David Moffett's departure, though Moffett's post of group chief executive remains unfilled, another thing the clubs are angry about.

Even if there is no decision at tomorrow's meeting, clubs are queuing up to request an extraordinary meeting of the WRU to call Lewis and Pickering to account.