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Bill Sweeney’s job as RFU CEO is on the line in a vote of no confidence at Thursday afternoon’s special general meeting - Dan Mullan/Getty Images
At 5pm this afternoon at Twickenham, the Rugby Football Union will hold a vote that could have major implications for the future of the English game.
There are two motions at the governing body’s first special general meeting for 20 years. One is a straightforward vote of no confidence in the RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney. Originally it also called for the dismissal of former RFU chairman Tom Ilube, but he resigned just before Christmas.
The other motion has been put forward by the RFU in a bid to address many of the concerns that were raised during its roadshow campaign to shore up support for Sweeney but unearthed a host of complaints from the grass-roots clubs.
This motion is effectively promising greater devolution to the regions to give them more powers to address local issues as they see fit. The rebels see this as a further way to reduce the power of the RFU council to hold the board to account. But the RFU believes that there is now momentum to push ahead with seismic governance reform.
Remote voting opened last week but so far turnout has been alarmingly low, something which is raising concern for the RFU. It is predicted that the overall turnout is likely to be around 500 of the 1,300-odd entitled to vote.
The lower the vote, the shorter the odds for the rebels, who are much more motivated to vote. The RFU has urged council members to man the phones to rally the turnout and Sweeney made an unprecedented number of appearances on podcasts last week to defend this leadership. Sir Bill Beaumont, who was drafted in as interim chairman and immediately threw his weight behind Sweeney, issued a rallying call to support him on Wednesday.
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Acting chairman Sir Bill Beaumont has given Bill Sweeney his full support - Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images
How did we get here?
The RFU has seemingly always been a breeding ground for discontent, and this latest iteration has been simmering away for a number of years.
There are a number of disgruntled council members, former RFU employees and representatives who have been agitating for an overhaul of the governing body’s executive team for a number of years.
The moment that fuel was poured on the flames came with the publication of the RFU’s annual report last November, which revealed that Sweeney had become the highest-paid chief executive in British sport after receiving £1.1million last year – a salary of £742,000, which was an increase of eight per cent, and a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus of £358,000 – despite the RFU sustaining a record loss of more than £37 million and redundancies of 42 members of staff.
Telegraph Sport then revealed that five other executive directors shared a bonus of close to £1 million, with pay for “key management personnel” almost doubling from £2.8 million to £4.9 million.
This triggered anger not just at the size of the largesse but also that the introduction of the LTIP had been justified to make up for the cuts the executive team had taken at the outset of the Covid pandemic, and the anger ranged from the England squad to grass-roots clubs.
The RFU attempted to bury the details at the back of the annual report and refused to front up and explain or own the decision. It served only to intensify the anger, and the handling of an issue that was so predictably controversial raised questions about the executive team’s competence.
Sweeney has faced criticism of his handling of former England head coach Eddie Jones, the timing and cost of the decision to sack him just before the 2023 World Cup, and handling of the tackle-height law-change fiasco. Insiders also condemn what they say is the over-reliance on consultants for RFU decisions.
What is at stake?
The last major threat of a grass-roots revolt came during the governing body’s meltdown in 2011 but then the key protagonists resigned before a vote could be taken, so it is no exaggeration to describe this as a seminal moment for the English game.
While the RFU board has pledged its support for Sweeney ever since the LTIP scandal erupted, and only the board can sack the chief executive, it is impossible to see how he could continue should the vote of no confidence succeed. Even a narrow defeat of the motion would leave the board with a difficult decision to make.
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Sweeney has been CEO of the RFU since 2019 - Dan Mullan /RFU/Getty Images
The RFU’s campaigning literature warned that a vote of no confidence in Sweeney would risk sending the game into “paralysis and creating a costly leadership vacuum”. But those who remember the 2011 internecine fighting will remember similar claims by those in power. Succession planning is at the heart of every well-run organisation.
An overwhelming vote rejecting the vote of no confidence will if nothing else buy the RFU time for Sweeney’s involvement in finalising the World Rugby Nations Championship and overseeing the redevelopment plans for Twickenham.
The RFU would also be able to argue that the rebels should respect the vote and desist from their campaign against the executive.
What does this mean for the future of English rugby?
Some senior figures in the game believe that change is now inevitable, whatever the result of the vote.
Sweeney is 67 and has been in charge for six years. He has insisted that he wants to carry on until the 2027 World Cup but some feel that is now unrealistic.
There is concern over whether the game can really come together and unite at a time when it needs to embrace fundamental change – perhaps even the splitting of the RFU into two bodies, one that runs the amateur game and one that runs the professional game.
Others, who are intending to vote against the vote of no confidence, believe the campaigning in the build-up to the SGM has been antagonistic at a time when there should have been more listening from the RFU leadership.
Some fear the RFU has expended too much time on countering the in-fighting, protecting positions and instead needs to become outward-facing to provide leadership for the world game as the biggest and most powerful union.
What seems certain is that the appointment of the new chair will be critical to the next step forward, irrespective of tonight’s vote.
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