IN the first installment of ARGUS SPORT'S inquiry into Welsh rugby, we deliver a no-holds barred interview with WRU chief Glanmor Griffiths published in two parts. These are the answers to our first four questions in full.

Question: There is widespread condemnation of the way the WRU is structured and run. Do you accept the need for change? If so what change (s)? If not why not?

Answer: As a governing body we've tried many times before to reshape ourselves to better serve the game in Wales. It's not a question of having to work harder. We have to be wiser, more professional and more creative. Rugby Union may be a century old sport in Wales, but it is a relatively new business.

We know we have to grow our current group turn over of £28 million per year to a much, much larger figure. But we have been reasonably successful in building our business when you consider that in 1996/97 the WRU's turnover was £10.6 million. That income growth has allowed us to channel more money into the game at all levels. Our success in that field will ultimately determine our success on the world stage.

A successful Welsh rugby team is a proven catalyst for a happy Welsh nation and a buoyant business community.

But the WRU has successfully run the game of rugby union in Wales for more than 120 years. In that time much has been achieved. Wales is the only nation to have beaten every other team in the Six Nations Championship more times than they have lost, we have won the Grand Slam eight times, compared to Scotland's two, Ireland's one and France's six, and we finished third in the inaugural Rugby World Cup.

We hosted the most successful Rugby World Cup of all time, both commercially and on the field, in 1999 and the decision taken by the 231 rugby clubs in membership of the WRU to build the Millennium Stadium brought into being arguably the greatest sporting arena in the world. Rugby union has been a professional sport for almost seven years now and it has taken time for every Union in the world to adjust.

Of course I accept the need for change from a business perspective. That's why the WRU general committee commissioned the Sir Tasker Watkins review. Much of the report we agree with wholeheartedly, while on certain issues the general committee has put forward its own proposals for change. Both groups will be putting their suggestions forward to the membership and the new way forward will be decided by the membership at a special general meeting to be held in the near future.

That will give us an idea of how the people who run the business of rugby in Wales really feel about the governance of the game in Wales and how they want to see it move forward. It is, after all, the clubs, their members and supporters who are vital in this process. The WRU is a Union of clubs and it is the needs of those clubs that has to be uppermost in the minds of the people who serve them.

Q: Is it justifiable that a family of four should pay up to £152 to see an international against France when the same family could see a soccer international against the World Cup favourites Argentina for a maximum of £60?

A: Your use of figures is obviously trying to sensationalise the amounts. A family of four could actually come to a Six Nations game for as little as £56.

Ticket prices for Six Nations matches at the Millennium Stadium are £14, £25, £32 and £38. Prices for other games at the Millennium Stadium this season have been even lower. For instance, when we played Argentina and Tonga in friendlies, a family of four could attend for as little as £30.

And you could have seen some of the world's greatest players playing for the Barbarians against Australia for as little as £10 per head. Even at the top end, they would have to pay less than in any other Six Nations country. While the top priced tickets at the Millennium Stadium for championship matches are currently £38, the same tickets are priced at £56 in France, £48 in England, £42 in Scotland, £40 in Ireland and £40 in Italy. I would also suggest that the facilities and viewing at the Millennium Stadium far exceed those at any of the other grounds.

The Millennium Stadium is one of the key commercial pillars of the game in Wales and the revenue generated at matches held there is ploughed directly back into the game. The prices charged by the Football Association of Wales for the friendly international against Argentina you allude to in your question are a matter for them, but when you consider they don't have to pay the wages of any of the players they select is easy to see why finance is not a major priority for them. Neither do they have to fund a stadium of their own. It is also worth pointing out that if it had not been for the sliding roof at the Millennium Stadium, that game would never have come to Cardiff.

Q: Is the ticket money from Welsh rugby internationals being spent wisely in Wales? Where does it go?

A: Since rugby union was declared an open game in 1995 we have all had to wrestle with the uncompromising demands of a professional game in order to try to establish a firm foundation on which to build a stable future.

The figures presented to the 2001 annual meeting of the WRU show the dramatic increase in financial activity within our game.

The turnover of the WRU Group stood at 28m, with the WRU itself contributing 18m to that global figure. The net profit over the year before depreciation was 2.6m for the Group and a loss of 100,000 for the Union. As regards the WRU, television is the most important contributor with 58% of the income coming from that source.

That figure also shows how valuable our Welsh international and club rugby properties are. The new deal we secured with BBC Wales and S4C is worth 22.5m over five years. International matches are big revenue earners and bring in 23% of our income.

In terms of outgoings, 41% of the 18.2m revenue generated by the WRU goes to the clubs. A further 12% goes to the international players, 9% is spent on international matches and their marketing, 17% is invested in National Squads at all age levels and junior rugby development, 9% goes to the Affiliated Bodies and the Dragons Trust, 8% goes on administration and 4% is taken up by finance andmaintenance.

As the figures increase, the underlying principles don't change. We want to generate enough wealth across the group to ensure our national sport can flourish at all levels. we are on the right track, especially now that the Millennium Stadium has been completed and our borrowings are being steadily reduced.

Q: What is about running the Welsh team that made Graham Henry go from inspiring match winner to burnt-out loser in such a short time?

A: While Graham Henry admitted to feeling 'burned out' when he asked to be released from his contract as Wales national coach 20 months early, he made it perfectly clear that he considered three years to be the maximum period a coach should serve at international level.

The pressures are enormous, the expectations immense. Graham handled all of these with great character and dignity and was responsible for delivering to Wales some of its finest rugby moments.

I'm sure I don't have to remind the true rugby fans at least that under Graham's guidance, Wales beat the Springboks for the first time in 92 years, defeated Argentina 2-0 in a Test series in South America, reached the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 1987, beat France in Paris for the first time in 24 years, and then did it again two years later, and beat England at Wembley.

He also took the British Lions to within an ace of beating the world champions Australia in their own back yard. For anyone to suggest Graham was 'a burnt out loser' after three years is totally unfair and inappropriate.