BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Breaking: International Rugby League (IRL) has changed its constitution and its board size with directors Andrew Abdo, Greg Peters and Brian Juliff leaving their posts.
Companies House published this morning that the trio have had their appointments as directors terminated. Abdo is the CEO of the NRL, Peters is the CEO of New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) and Juliff is a director of European Rugby League (ERL).
According to sources, the IRL is attempting to reduce costs and over-governance by shrinking the size of its board.
Under the changes, the ERL and Asia Pacific Rugby League (APRL) will go from having two directors each representing them to just one each.
The IRL board will now consist of three independent directors along with Peter V’landys, the chair of NZRL Justin Leydesdorf, ERL chair Dean Andrew and APRL head Sandis Tsaka.
There will also be a new representative from the RFL, which is to be confirmed following the exit of Simon Johnson last week.
The IRL will need a new deputy chair to replace Johnson.
Juliff is believed to have accepted an invitation to join the IRL’s strategy group, which is chaired by the IRL’s boss Troy Grant, with Peters, Abdo and RL Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones also members.
The IRL is expected to publicly confirm the raft of changes soon.
