Bill Beaumont could take over as RFU chair with Ilube on brink over pay row
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Sir Bill Beaumont could be parachuted into the Rugby Football Union as interim chair in the event Tom Ilube falls on his sword amid the botched handling of the executive pay scandal engulfing the game. The current RFU chair Ilube and Bill Sweeney, the chief executive, were due to be called for talks with the union’s president, Rob Udwin, on Thursday following Wednesday’s emergency council meeting to “discuss a way forward”.
![[RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney (left) and chair Tom Ilube (right) are under pressure from grassroots clubs.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d45daf2a0e73422c90345f9eaca587a0d7f7cf60/468_847_4226_2536/master/4226.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
After the council meeting, an immediate independent review into the controversial salaries and bonuses handed out was also commissioned, with the RFU finally acknowledging the “reputational damage done to the sport”. Significantly, there was also a recognition of “the importance of visible and proactive leadership”, with the beleaguered Ilube under mounting pressure to resign. Beaumont, meanwhile, recently returned to the RFU council after standing down as World Rugby chair in November.
Ilube is under fire amid the pay scandal which resulted in Sweeney receiving £1.1m for the year ending June 2024, including a one-off long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus of £358,000. Ilube’s predecessor Andy Coslett was called to Wednesday’s emergency meeting in an effort to explain the context of the scheme and quell the rebellion, but Udwin’s decision to meet with Ilube and Sweeney on Thursday is considered significant.
While the council’s review is said to have staved off a formal emergency meeting that was scheduled for 10 January and would have allowed for a vote of no confidence in Ilube, a grassroots rebellion is set to bring about a special general meeting (SGM) no later than the end of February.
