Welsh Rugby Union disbanded their union, is generally accepted as the reason for the absence of a Neath representative. The WRU was a founding member of the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, in 1886 with Scotland and Ireland, with Mullock and Horace Lyne the Welsh representatives at the formal signing of the union in 1887. It wasn't until 1934 that the name, the Welsh Rugby Union, was adopted. The WRU are responsible for the running of Welsh rugby, including 320 member clubs, the Welsh national team and National Leagues and Cups. The Welsh Rugby Union has a major role
1998–99 Welsh rugby union rebel season would refuse to pay. Despite not formally sanctioning the games, the English RFU were accused by the governing body of rugby union, the International Rugby Board (IRB) of not doing enough to prevent the fixtures from taking place. A day after the WRU had fined the two Welsh clubs, the IRB announced that the RFU would miss out on £60,000 of funding that they were due to receive from the IRB Trust, effectively imposing a fine on the union for not taking action. Despite not competing in either the Welsh Premier Division or in the European Cup, both Cardiff and