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RFU council revolts against leadership of Bill Sweeney and Tom IlubeExclusive: Nearly half of the 65-strong RFU council signed a letter citing 'insufficient leadership' but its timing has proved divisive
By Gavin Mairs, CHIEF RUGBY UNION CORRESPONDENT, 16 September 2023 ? 1:37pm
The Rugby Football Union board is facing its biggest internal revolt in over a decade after half their council members signed a letter outlining concerns over the leadership of chief executive Bill Sweeney and chair Tom Ilube.
Telegraph Sport can reveal that 30 members of the 65-strong RFU council have signed a letter outlining a series of fears, claiming the board is "providing insufficient leadership, controls, and scrutiny over the performance of the RFU executive". The letter also claims the governing body is likely to make substantial losses equating to ?161 million over the next nine years.
It was received by the RFU board on the eve of England's victory over Argentina in Marseille last Saturday and was sent to the governing body's president Rob Briers on Monday, sparking an angry reaction that the crisis could overshadow England?s World Cup campaign in France.
The move is seen as a direct challenge to the leadership of Ilube and Sweeney, with demands that the concerns be debated at what is expected to be a heated council meeting later this month.
"This letter demonstrates the strength of feeling of a significant number of Council Members about the material concerns both in the running of the RFU and the sport nationally," it reads.
"If the present situation is allowed to persist, there is significant risk to the future of the Union, the way it operates and its ability to invest in, sustain and grow the community, semi-professional, and professional games. As such, failure to act will further call into question the confidence we have in the senior leadership of the RFU.
"We are aware that the RFU's reputation across the Game is at an all-time low, and much of that is of our own making. We should not allow our inevitable focus on RWC to delay consideration of the points above and we would expect them to be raised at council in September with subsequent in-depth discussions to agree a way forward.
"There may be some who support it but have not yet indicated as such, and naturally there will be others who disagree and are not able to support it. However, the overriding principle of this letter is to begin a more meaningful dialogue and collaborative approach to meet the challenges that the RFU is currently facing, so that the membership, Council, Board, and executive are more aligned."
An undated handout picture released by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) on September 14, 2021 shows newly appointed chair Tom Ilube posing outside Twickenham stadium in southwest London
Ilube, in a statement to Telegraph Sport, described the proposed council resolution as "deeply disappointing".
"It was emailed on the eve of the opening of the Rugby World Cup when the game should be focussed on supporting the England team," he said. "It also comes as important discussions regarding the Professional Game Partnership are taking place, while a consultation is underway on investing in the community game of the future, together with meetings with World Rugby and International Unions regarding the structure of the global calendar and Nations Cup at which the RFU plays a key influential role.
"Now is the time when the Board and Council should be working collaboratively on these transformational opportunities that will be in the best interests of the community and professional game for decades to come."
While the letter, entitled 'Governance and Operations of the Rugby Football Union' claims to have support of other council members who are not yet able to publicly support it, it is understood it has also created anger within other council members and 'distinguished members' at the timing of the letter.
"It is disgraceful to be raising these issues at a time when we should all be getting behind the England team at the World Cup," said one source.
Another former council member with long-term service said: "There is a lot of support for the concerns raised, but this was not the time to do it."
Internecine bickering is said to have reached levels not seen since John Steele was ousted from his position as chief executive ahead of the 2011 World Cup over the failure to appoint a performance director.
The key concerns centre around the financial performance of the RFU, the control and monitoring of the executive staff "including increases in headcount, total payroll costs, budget, and consultancy fees" and the side-lining of council members, who are elected volunteers by the executive.
"Whilst the impact of Covid-19 cannot be understated, nor the potential impact of the current challenging economic climate, recent forecasts show that the RFU is likely to make a substantial loss in every year bar one over the next nine years equating to ?161 million," the letter claims.
"This represents an existential threat to our game. Few private, public, or third-party organisations would survive such continuing levels of loss, and their Boards would also be held to account. The RFU Board appears to be breaching one of the key objects of the union."
"We ask, also, that the Chair and Board require the CEO to produce an urgent turnaround strategy to return the RFU to profit over the next RWC cycle and plans are presented to Council on December 1, 2023."
A senior source challenged the accusations at the management of the RFU's finances.
"From a financial perspective, we have no debt, we're cash rich, our reserves are good. We do have a challenge on the operating p&l as we're coming out of COVID but that's nothing we all don't know and we are taking steps to address that, which the council are aware of, but we will go through with them again."
The distribution of the letter is understood to have prompted an emergency meeting of the RFU board on Friday to consider the next steps, and Briers will now meet the council on the eve of their next council meeting.
"The RFU executive regularly present Council with financial reporting and business planning information, with opportunity to raise questions and debate but very few questions have been raised on the finances during my time as chair," added Ilube.
"The Board understands many Council Members were not aware of the letter or its contents with some feeling misled by those who wrote the letter, this has resulted in considerable frustration and differences in opinions within Council. Therefore, the RFU President has arranged a Council debate to be held on the evening before the next Council meeting so all views can be considered and heard."
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