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Bill Beaumont, the interim chairman of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), has urged clubs to vote against a no-confidence motion in embattled chief executive Bill Sweeney or risk sending English rugby into a state of “paralysis”.
Beaumont was brought back to the union after the resignation of Tom Ilube over the bonuses scandal that caused uproar within English rugby and placed Sweeney under severe pressure.
The CEO accepted a bonus payment of nearly £400,000 in a year where his organisation announced record losses. A special general meeting (SGM) has been called for 27 March after a formal letter including the signatories of 141 RFU member clubs and referee societies issued a vote of no confidence.
Sweeney, Beaumont and other senior RFU figures have since been on a charm offensive around the country as they try to soothe the sores in the sport ahead of the SGM.
The Whole Game Union — a group led the Championship clubs and the Rugby Football Referees Union — have meanwhile been trying to rally support to oust the chief executive.
But Beaumont, who served as chair of World Rugby until last November, has urged clubs to vote against the motion, tabling their own to bring about governance reform after a damning review was released earlier in February.
“I urge member clubs to vote in favour of this resolution which can bring about meaningful governance change, and against the motion that members have no confidence in the chief executive officer,” Beaumont wrote in a letter sent to clubs.
“Any decision relating to the employment of the CEO is the responsibility of the RFU board and the board unanimously supports Bill Sweeney remaining as CEO.
“A vote of no confidence risks sending the Union into paralysis and creating a costly leadership vacuum, especially at a time when we are recruiting a new chair and when our CEO is spearheading vital commercial and broadcast negotiations that will play a huge role in safeguarding our future financial sustainability.
“It is worth remembering that the call for an SGM initially came from the Rugby Football Referees Union and some Championship clubs. The group who now call themselves the Whole Game Union have called into question the integrity of fellow volunteers and suggested highly misleading statements about the RFU.
“From our conversations with you, our member clubs, our understanding is that the WGU do not represent the wider views of our game and that we can collaborate effectively to deliver the changes you want.”
About 1,200 clubs will have a vote at the SGM, though they do not have the power to remove Sweeney. The RFU’s constitution states that only the board can remove the chief executive.
While fighting for his job, Sweeney has been also been involved in key discussions around competitions including the Six Nations and new Nations Cup. Both events require broadcast deals for next year onwards.
Fiji and Japan are expected to be confirmed in joining the Six Nations and four Rugby Championship sides in the latter competition when it launches, with an inaugural finals weekend understood to be set to be held in London next November.
A number of key stakeholders are understood to have met with World Rugby in south-west London this week for further conversations on the shape of the game.
