Bill Sweeney’s RFU fate to be decided after Six Nations following U-turn
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Bill Sweeney’s fate as the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive will be decided shortly after the Six Nations following an embarrassing U-turn from the governing body which has now relented to a grassroots rebellion and agreed to a special general meeting.
Sweeney has two weeks to set a date for the SGM, which is expected to be held in either late March or early April, after the RFU confirmed that it is “validating the additional information” sent in a letter by the 152 members – a combination of clubs and constituent bodies – calling for the chief executive’s removal.
The rebels had called for the SGM to be held no later than 28 February but there must be a 45-day grace period and it will not take place before the Six Nations has concluded. The RFU’s U-turn comes after Friday’s council meeting in which Bill Beaumont was ratified as interim chairman before issuing a call for unity in an open letter to all member clubs. The former World Rugby chairman has taken over from Tom Ilube, who stood down shortly before Christmas, and will spend the lead-up to the SGM visiting clubs to “debate and agree a united way forward”.
Ilube stood down, citing how “recent events have become a distraction from the game”, amid widespread fury after it emerged in late November that Sweeney was paid £1.1m, including a £358,000 long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus, while five other executive directors shared close to £1m amid 42 redundancies and the RFU’s record loss to reserves of £42m.
