SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The spineless RFU are so out of touch – here’s what I would do if I was at the very top of English rugby
Tom Ilube, who resigned as chairman of the RFU on Friday, has been thrown under the bus by his fellow English rugby big wigs.
Chief executive Bill Sweeney is also in serious danger of losing his position at the helm of English rugby.
The furor that has hit the governing body after the revelation that huge bonuses were paid to Sweeney and his fellow chief executives at a time when the RFU was making 40 redundancies and announcing a £37 million loss was entirely justified. But the bonuses are just the tip of the iceberg. The problems at the RFU are so much bigger than just financial.
They will not change now that Ilube is gone as chairman and Sir Bill Beaumont replaces him on an interim basis. Late on Wednesday evening the RFU released a statement following a council meeting to discuss concerns over the controversial bonuses.
They spoke of opening an internal investigation to investigate the ‘reputational damage done to the sport over the past month’ and called for a ‘radical change in the way the RFU communicates’. These quotes make it clear that the RFU still do not understand the magnitude of their failures. This isn’t just about the past month.
For years, the current administration has overseen a deterioration in relationships, performance, financial stability and culture at almost every level of the game. The salary scandal is simply the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The reason the RFU is in such a mess is because as an organization they are not open, responsible and above all not transparent.
Tom Ilube (pictured) has stepped down as chairman of the RFU as problems for the governing body increase
His decision came after CEO Bill Sweeney (pictured) was given a Hue bonus, despite the RFU announcing a £37 million loss.
I believe that the RFU must be more transparent and open to emerge from the current crisis
The RFU talks well about this. But they simply don’t act on those words. If the RFU were open, accountable and transparent they would not be in this position today.
The RFU has become specialists in operating in the shadows and is now doing so again by opening an investigation that focuses only on a fragment of the problem to protect itself from real investigation.
They are full of faceless, nameless committees who do not want their identities revealed for fear of liability. It’s pathetic.
Sweeney did not write his own pay plan. He had not stated in his contract that he would be paid £1.1 million for the last financial year. The question here is: who did that? Was it Ilube? We simply don’t know. It’s not about the RFU asking permission to do things. It’s the complete opposite. It’s about being transparent about who is responsible for key areas and important decisions.
If that was clear and the outcomes – both good and bad – were acted upon, we wouldn’t have the long list of failures that we have.
That list includes the way the Eddie Jones situation has been handled, three Premier League clubs going into administration, the lack of progress by the England men’s team since the 2019 World Cup, a financial loss of £37 million and a complete collapse of relations with the base and the championship. clubs. There are many more!
If the RFU really wants to make a ‘radical’ change in the way they communicate, they need to start revealing who sits on the committees that make all the big decisions. Do they even exist? Or was it just Sweeney and Co checking their own homework?
If I sat on an RFU committee and had my say on the big issues facing the game, I would feel a sense of real pride. I want people to know that my expertise is valued and that I have been put in a position where my opinion matters. If you are one of those people, say so. Show some backbone – something English rugby has lacked at the top for so long.
The RFU did not properly handle Eddie Jones’ situation before he was eventually sacked in 2022
Twickenham has been shrouded in a cloak of invisibility for too long, and that needs to change
My understanding is that the reason these people do not want to be named is fear of social media abuse. If you’re afraid of the keyboard warriors, you shouldn’t be anywhere near a position of responsibility.
The smoke and mirrors are amazing, but nothing new. This whole situation has gotten seriously out of hand. Ilube paid the price and Sweeney may follow suit, although I have a feeling only the former will go.
Even if the RFU leadership is different, nothing will change unless the board changes their working methods. The last thing English rugby needs is a safe pair of hands. A real change agent is needed before it’s too late. Beaumont intervening is hardly that. As a board member of the RFU and former chairman of World Rugby, he is very much a member of the RFU.
Total responsibility and transparency are the way forward, not the cloak of invisibility that has shrouded Twickenham for far too long.