Bill Sweeney and Tom Ilube could be ousted from the Rugby Football Union early next year with both senior figures facing a motion to be dismissed at a likely special general meeting following a grassroots rebellion.
Led by the Rugby Football Referees’ Union and backed by the Championship clubs, there is a campaign to sign up enough clubs to force a special general meeting. Plans are being finalised to table a motion calling for both Ilube, the chairman, and Sweeney, the chief executive, to be removed. There is a belief among the rebels that up to 300 clubs may eventually sign up – easily surpassing the required 100 and giving Sweeney 14 days to respond, and 45 days to convene the meeting, most likely in February.
An emergency council meeting – hastily arranged by the RFU president, Rob Udwin – was held on Wednesday night after the uproar that has erupted over the levels of executive salaries and bonuses paid despite record losses and redundancies at the union.
Neither Ilube nor Sweeney were due to be present at Wednesday’s meeting but it is understood that Andy Cosslett, the former chairman, was due to attend in an effort to quell the rebellion.
Udwin called the meeting in an effort to defuse the situation and an immediate review was instigated into the long-term incentive plan bonus schemes. The RFU is hopeful that has at least staved off the threat of 20 council members triggering a formal emergency meeting which would likely have led to a vote of no confidence.
That meeting could still be called, however, and if so Sweeney is obliged to call it within 28 days and it is understood that 10 January has been slated. The formal meeting would provide a forum for the 62-strong council to call for a vote of no confidence if they wish in Ilube and, if successful, apply huge pressure on the board to sack Sweeney.
The fury at all levels of the game is widespread after it emerged that Sweeney was paid £1.1m for the year to June 2024, including a one-off bonus of £358,000, while other executive directors shared almost £1m despite the 42 redundancies and record loss to reserves of £42m. There is particular anger among the council that while they were well briefed on the losses, they were given little warning of the pay increases. One well-placed source summed up the feeling when telling the Guardian: “They have to go. All Championship clubs are aligned, clubs have just had enough. Even the Premiership clubs want them gone.”
At Wednesday night’s council meeting it was confirmed that an immediate independent review into the circumstances that led to the huge pay increases would be undertaken by the law firm Freshfields.
A statement read: “Council recognises the reputational damage that has been done to the sport over the past month and is committed to rebuilding trust with our member clubs. Council has called for a radical change in the way that the RFU communicates, setting out clearly all the work that is being done to address the issues that clubs have raised about the challenges in the game. Council also recognises the importance of visible and proactive leadership and the RFU president will be meeting with the chair and chief executive tomorrow [Thursday] to agree a way forward.”
