The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has announced that a vote will be held by clubs across England on the future of its Chief Executive Bill Sweeney.
English rugby stakeholders have criticised Sweeney’s leadership after it was reported last year that he had received a yearly income rise from £684,000 in 2023, to £1.1m in 2024. These bonuses came while RFU’s financial losses widened over the 2023/24 campaign.
Sweeney’s salary increase, along with pay rises for other executives, sparked widespread anger and led to RFU Board Chair Tom Ilube stepping down from his position.
The vote on Sweeney’s future is scheduled to take place after the men’s Six Nations concludes on 15 March, with an exact date to be announced within two weeks.
The RFU initially resisted the vote, rejecting a petition on 9 January, claiming it lacked the necessary number of signatures to trigger a meeting of its nearly 2,000 clubs and organisations.
However, the group pushing for the vote accused the RFU of “merely postponing the inevitable” and insisted it had sufficient support, pledging to resubmit its documentation.
Within 24 hours, the RFU conceded to holding a special general meeting to discuss a motion calling for Sweeney’s removal. While the vote itself cannot directly remove Sweeney, a substantial result in favour of the motion would place significant pressure on the RFU to act.
Despite the mounting criticism, the RFU has defended Sweeney. In a statement, the governing body said: “The notice to request an SGM contained a significant number of inaccuracies. However, the RFU respects the right of its members to call for an SGM and for their views to be heard.”
To help navigate these challenges, Bill Beaumont, former Chair of World Rugby, has been brought in as interim RFU chairman. Beaumont has written to member clubs, defending the RFU’s management while acknowledging legitimate concerns surrounding the bonus scheme that led to Sweeney’s pay rise.
In the letter, Beaumont stated: “Objectively, we should ask whether English rugby, in the aftermath, was managed effectively. Having seen all countries wrangle the same problems, I can say with confidence, in comparison to many other countries, the RFU has come out of this period very well.
“The RFU did not receive any government or World Rugby loans. It did, however, successfully negotiate support on behalf of community clubs and facilitated professional clubs’ access to government loans, which ensured rugby received more financial support in England than any other sport.
“There is much work needed to reset and come together as a united game, and I am committed to supporting that.”
Beaumont further emphasised the importance of unity and the grassroots game, stating that neither the men’s nor women’s England teams could succeed without a thriving community rugby scene.
“I want us to have unity, and the stability required to deliver this. If we work together, we will succeed. If we work against each other, English rugby will not be the winner on or off the pitch,” he concluded.