SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The spineless RFU are so out of touch - here's what I would do if I was at the very top of English rugby
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Tom Ilube, who stepped down as RFU chairman on Friday, has been thrown under the bus by his fellow English rugby big wigs. Chief executive Bill Sweeney is also very much in danger of losing his position at the helm of English rugby. The furore that has hit the governing body in the wake of the revelation that huge bonuses were paid to Sweeney and his fellow top brass at a time when the RFU were making 40 redundancies and announcing a loss of £37million has been entirely just. But the bonuses are just the tip of the iceberg. The problems at the RFU are so much bigger than just financial.
![[His decision came after chief executive Bill Sweeney (pictured) was paid a hue bonus despite the RFU announcing a loss of £37m]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/22/93370269-14215409-image-a-62_1734735131170.jpg)
They aren’t going to change with Ilube gone as chairman and with Sir Bill Beaumont replacing him on an interim basis. Late on Wednesday night, the RFU issued a statement following a council meeting to discuss concerns raised by the controversial bonuses.
![[I believe the RFU need to be more transparent and open to get out of their current crisis]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/22/93370559-14215409-image-m-64_1734735350855.jpg)
They talked of opening an internal inquiry to investigate the ‘reputational damage done to the sport over the past month’ and called for a ‘radical change in the way that the RFU communicates’. Those quotes make it clear the RFU still do not understand the extent of their failures. This is not just about the last month.
![[The RFU did not handle the Eddie Jones situation well before he was finally sacked in 2022]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/22/93370649-14215409-image-a-65_1734735449649.jpg)
The current administration have overseen a deterioration in relationships, performance, financial stability and culture at almost every level of the game going back years. The salary scandal is simply the straw that has broken the camel’s back. The reason the RFU are in such a mess is because that as an organisation they are not open, accountable and, most importantly, transparent.
![[A cloak of invisibility has shrouded Twickenham for too long, and that has to change]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/22/93370273-14215409-image-a-66_1734735474083.jpg)
