Bill Sweeney’s survival as RFU chief executive following a vote of no confidence in his position should and must prove to be a seminal moment for English rugby.
The RFU has to use Thursday’s special general meeting as a game-changer – one which enacts a real and significant move away from Twickenham’s current working methods.
But, my very real concern is that Sweeney retaining his position will merely serve to maintain the status quo. That simply cannot and must not be allowed to happen.
Sport is a tough business. You do not often get second chances. Sweeney must look in the mirror and see this as an opportunity to write a new chapter. The time for change is now.
The RFU now needs real leadership and to take the bull by the horns to enact a significant transformation. Time will tell if Sweeney really does have the skillset to lead that change.
The RFU likes to think of itself as a world-leading sporting governing body. But, simply put, it is not. It has not been since rugby went professional over 25 years ago.
Bill Sweeney’s survival as RFU chief executive following a vote of no confidence in his position should and must prove to be a seminal moment for English rugby
The vote of no confidence in Sweeney was won by the RFU CEO by 466 to 206, with 36 abstentions
Sweeney, seen here with RFU executive director of performance Conor O’Shea, must now show real leadership
However, it can get there if it uses this week’s meeting as a line in the sand to start over and begin afresh with new, transparent working principles.
The vote of no confidence in Sweeney was won by the RFU CEO by 466 to 206, with 36 abstentions. I’ll come on to those who didn’t even bother to have their say later.
The margin of Sweeney’s win was comfortable. That said, the RFU cannot simply brush under the carpet that the vote and special general meeting even took place in the first place.
It is clear that throughout the English game and particularly at the grassroots level, there is a significant level of disenfranchisement with how the RFU are running things. That much is obvious.
The RFU seem far too happy looking at their direct competitors in rugby and across English sport to judge how they are doing. That’s a big mistake.
They must compare themselves with the world’s top sporting bodies and businesses and most importantly, always be totally transparent in all their dealings.
The RFU has been left behind on the global sports stage. Sadly, and if we are being brutally honest, the same could be said for rugby as a whole.
The litmus test for any rugby governing body is whether or not your senior national teams are doing well. England’s women’s side is obviously in a great place and will hopefully win a World Cup on home soil later this year.
England’s women’s side is obviously in a great place and will hopefully win a World Cup on home soil later this year
Steve Borthwick’s men’s outfit had a good Six Nations to finish second and despite some very close results, seem to be making real progress
But I think England’s performances came in spite of Sweeney and the RFU not because of them
Steve Borthwick’s men’s outfit had a good Six Nations to finish second and despite some very close results, seem to be making real progress. But I think their performance came in spite of Sweeney and the RFU not because of them.
A big well done to Steve and the team for his work. But he will know the jury is still out on this current English team and him as head coach. For England to be even more successful on the field and compete for honours, it needs the RFU to be successful and run competently off it.
So, to be clear, the RFU simply cannot have a repeat of the bonus scandal that forced the vote of no confidence in Sweeney and a significant period of off-field unrest. It can’t happen again.
For Sweeney to receive a salary of £1.1million last year when the RFU made a loss of nearly £40m and made around 40 employees redundant just beggared belief. It was wrong. It just didn’t stack up. But it really is the tip of the iceberg.
Even though Sweeney has survived, there will be some further fallout unless real change is seen. I think Sweeney and the RFU have been clever, possibly too clever, in how they have handled all this.
RFU chairman Tom Ilube became the fall guy, while Bill Beaumont as interim chair was able to restore order amongst the grassroots ‘rebels’ who have now subsided.
But what now? In Beaumont, Sweeney and the president Rob Udwin, the RFU has an elderly and tired leadership trio. It doesn’t fill you with inspiration.
The RFU needs some fresh blood. With three Premiership clubs going out of business, the England sevens team disappearing and redundancies, it is clear to me the status quo at the RFU has not been working. So, now is the time for change.
RFU chairman Tom Ilube became the fall guy, leaving his post in December last year
Sweeney should swallow his pride and invite Francis Baron (right) back to the RFU
During my time at the RFU, we got things right off the field through Baron and wins on it soon followed
What would I like to see happen? There are a number of things.
The first is that the RFU must split up the governance of the professional and grassroots game. At the moment, it’s all under one banner and it is just too unwieldy.
The professional game includes the England teams and should be governed by a board made up of rugby specialists including ex-players and coaches and commercial experts.
Anyone who is currently on the RFU council or board by virtue of the fact they are a big wig at their local rugby club should be nowhere near the professional game. The grassroots is their area, so stick to it.
Sweeney has to step away from managing the rugby side of things which he clearly loves and throw his tracksuit away. He is not remotely qualified to assess Borthwick and the national teams.
As CEO, his job is purely to make sure the RFU thrives commercially, thus providing the national teams with a platform for success. That’s what Francis Baron did when I was coach. Sweeney should swallow his pride and ask Baron to come and help him. But that somehow does not fit within the Sweeney DNA.
During my time at the RFU, we got things right off the field through Baron and wins on it soon followed. The RFU is the world’s richest union. But any organisation that makes a £40m loss isn’t doing things right. Changing that must be the first priority moving forwards.
The second is getting the grassroots game right. The fact there were 36 abstentions on the Sweeney vote is, to me, extraordinary. And what about the huge number of clubs who didn’t vote at all, even with the option of doing so remotely? How can you not vote?
There is a lot of malaise out there and some people aren’t even bothered about how English rugby is being run
The biggest issue I’ve had with Sweeney’s RFU leadership has been the lack of transparency
That shows me there is a lot of malaise out there and some people aren’t even bothered about how English rugby is being run.
To me, such apathy is the road to ruin.
The biggest issue I’ve had with Sweeney’s RFU leadership has been the lack of transparency. If that doesn’t change now on the back of this, it never will.
We simply have to remove the faceless, nameless committees that make English rugby’s big decisions.
Those nameless committees for me sum up Sweeney leadership and have led to this chaotic situation.
These people have to be named and must be accountable. I find it absurd they hide away from facing the music in fear of social media abuse. You could not make it up!
Finally, the RFU must also front up to its head injury crisis. It is not doing so currently with the huge number of ex-players currently suing for alleged negligence.
This is a big issue that isn’t going away. In February, I attended a concussion conference in London. There was no-one from the RFU there. It didn’t surprise me.
If the RFU can’t change now after this no-confidence vote, I’m not sure it ever will
But it summed up their lack of accountability or even passion for such key elements of the game. That has been the case for too long now.
If the RFU can’t change now, I’m not sure it ever will.
The fact the proposal for governance and representation reform was so widely passed by 554 to 127 was a clear indication that those that matter with English rugby aren’t currently happy with the status quo.
It is now down to Sweeney to enact that change. I wish him every success as the game needs some real leadership at this critical point in its history.
