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Bill Sweeney, the RFU CEO, has abolished the governing body’s council - PA Wire/Kirsty O'Connor
The Rugby Football Union Council, once described by former England captain Will Carling as “57 old farts”, is set to be abolished as part of a radical shake-up of English rugby’s governing body.
Little over a month after Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, survived a vote of no confidence at a special general meeting, a proposal by an independent review called for the role of the council, which holds the RFU board to account, to be scrapped.
The Governance and Representation Review Group, chaired by Malcolm Wharton CBE, proposes two new models which include no place for the traditional council, which it describes as contributing to a “dysfunctional” governance model unfit for the 21st century.
In the first proposed model, “game representation” would be embedded within all decision-making bodies and in the second a “national advisory group” would be established.
Telegraph Sport understands that the council were given no advance notice that its role was under threat before they were informed by the RFU at midday on Wednesday, three hours before it was published publicly. One council member described the reaction as “stunned silence.” The council were aware of the executive’s appetite for reform but were shocked by the fact their survival was not even listed as an option. “No one saw it coming,” one member said.
One member of the review panel, Ed Warner (chair of GB Wheelchair Rugby and former chair of UK Athletics) also wrote in support of the proposal. Warner described the current model as a “dysfunctional framework, effectively established back in the 19th century, that is clearly unfit for the modern era.”
Should either proposal be adopted it would leave the RFU executive – headed by Sweeney – and the board in complete control of the English game in what amounts to a stunning power grab. The council is seen as the biggest stumbling block towards the permanent removal of promotion and relegation from the Premiership in the move towards a franchise system. Sweeney endorsed the franchise system on Monday, claiming that promotion and relegation does not work. There are fears within the game that scrapping the council would remove a critical layer of scrutiny and accountability. For all its faults, it is democratically elected by member clubs and bodies and boasts a wealth of expertise in different fields among its current 63 members.
It is not yet clear how the RFU intends to appoint the members of either the national advisory group or game representation. It has been pointed out that the review into the long-term incentive plan (LTIP) scandal, which prompted the resignation of chair Tom Ilube and led to the vote of no confidence in Sweeney, found responsibility lay with the board. Yet it is the council which is in the firing line. “The irony is not lost on us,” one member said.
The Whole Game Union (WGU), which led calls for Sweeney’s removal, sounded its alarm at the proposal. “The proposals put to the RFU’s membership on changes to the governance show exactly why 200 clubs called for rule changes at the SGM and will do again at the AGM in June,” the WGU said in a statement. “While the role and composition of Council is sorely in need of reform, these proposals will reduce scrutiny of the Board and Executive, the two bodies that have brought the RFU to its knees.”
Sweeney also won a second vote at the SGM promising governance review, including devolution of powers to the regions, with 80 per cent of the vote. This has been interpreted as a mandate to press ahead with radical reform.
The RFU says that the board will be held to account directly by its member clubs and that they would have the power to appoint and remove directors. “None of this lets the RFU board and executive off the hook,” Warner writes. “In fact, it makes it near impossible for them to wriggle out of their responsibilities. Which is just as it should be. All, then, will rest on the effectiveness of the system established to identify appointees to the Board, and on the willingness of clubs to exercise their influence, as enshrined in their voting rights, to ensure that the directors and the executives they employ are held firmly to account.”
The RFU will now launch a nationwide consultation with its members on Wharton’s report, which was started 14 months ago. In the foreword to his report, Wharton wrote: “I believe few in the game would dispute that the RFU’s current decision-making structure is complex, slow, and, at times, frustrating. A review of the RFU’s governance and representation is, therefore, both timely and essential. It presents an opportunity to create a more progressive, inclusive, and agile governance structure with enhanced transparency.”
The consultation period will last until June 30, at which point the review group will make its final recommendations to go to the 63-strong council, who could effectively approve its own demise. Even if it rejects the proposal, the RFU board is likely to demand a special general meeting, which would be a requirement of such a governance change anyway.
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