The SGM of the RFU’s 1,500 or so members is being held in The Live Room at Twickenham (aka Allianz Stadium), and simultaneously online, with a 5pm kick-off.
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An audience with the most despised man in rugby
Read MoreThis will be introduced by Paddy McAlpine, who is chairman of Chichester RFC and one of four co-chairs of a loosely-formed rebel collective named the Whole Game Union (WGU), comprising clubs from the second-division Championship down through the leagues, and a number of constituent bodies including the Rugby Union Referees’ Society.
It is likely to recommend devolving more RFU decision-making to local and regional bodies. This resolution appears aimed at heading off any accusation of the SGM ratifying the status quo.
The news exploded like a grenade as it accompanied the RFU’s annual losses of almost £38m, 42 redundancies, plus a losing England men’s team.
Bill Sweeney congratulates Jamie George after his 100th England cap (Photo: Getty)
The eye-catching figures quickly became rolled up by protestors into existing resentment over issues from the cost of sacking previous England coach Eddie Jones and the botched announcement of a new tackle height in the community game, to a flawed player-registration computer system and cuts to grassroots development officers.
What did the RFU do next?
Sweeney and the RFU’s interim chair Sir Bill Beaumont embarked on a nationwide roadshow – which the WGU point out would not have happened without their revolt – at which they are said to have met “over 550 members and 800 representatives”, although the press were not invited.
Former RFU chief executive Francis Baron has painted an alternative picture of a worsening position over the next few years.
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The RFU’s £30m-a-year funding of community rugby is already half what it used to be as a percentage of RFU investment, and less than the £33m a year Sweeney recently signed off to the 10 Premiership clubs under the Professional Game Partnership.
Bow told The i Paper this week: “Sweeney has ripped the heart out of this league”. He also pointed out criticism of English rugby’s governance goes back to a DCMS select committee in November 2022 when Sweeney was accused of being “asleep on the job” over the demise of Worcester Warriors and Wasps.
Bow’s main charge is that RFU executives have “built a corporate body that doesn’t represent the true status of a members’ organisation”.
“The chief exec and the chair need to be seen and they need to be heard, not hidden behind closed doors.”
Is Sweeney in danger of being ousted?
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The WGU say they can count on 150 to 200 votes, and are waiting on how many others they have persuaded. Sweeney told a recent The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast: “If the board tells me to go, that’s fine. If they believe I’m doing a good job – and I do believe I’m doing a good job – then I’ll stay.” He has a notice period of 12 months.
Beaumont has told the membership: “To force our chief executive to step down… risks creating a costly leadership vacuum and I believe it would be a huge mistake at a time Bill is leading vital negotiations on a range of areas and when he has led the game through some of its toughest periods and helped it to emerge in a financially strong position.”
What comes next after Thursday?
This would stand separate to the Wharton review. The mood music in the sport hints at a separation of the running of the professional and amateur games.
Bow says: “Regardless of which way Thursday’s vote goes, if members of the RFU have engaged in any way in this process, it is a start. They realise now they have got a voice. My view is if they read the press and what people like the WGU have put out, there is no way they cannot support change at the RFU.”
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