Statement by the Rugby Football Referees’ Union and Member Clubs of the RFU

10th January 2025

A letter signed by more than the necessary 100 Members has today been sent to Bill Sweeney, CEO of the Rugby Football Union, requiring him to convene a Special General Meeting of the Union.

The initial resolution under debate at the SGM will include a motion of no confidence in Mr Sweeney and a call for the RFU Board of Directors to “terminate his employment…as soon as practicably possible”.

However, to provide a coherent vision for the future, further resolutions will be submitted that will recommend an action plan and changes that will stabilise matters and subsequently restore democratic rights to member clubs. Further resolutions may well be tabled following the publication of the Freshfields review into extraordinary bonus payments made in a year of extraordinary financial losses.

The letter was signed by member clubs across the levels of English rugby and every region of the country as well as the Rugby Football Referees’ Union. In all, 141 signatories have so far lent their names to the call for reform of the game for the benefit of its members.

Clubs and members from County Durham to Cornwall, Cumbria to Kent, have signed in a final effort to have their voices heard.

The dissatisfaction specifically identified in the letter included:

• Negative reaction to the remuneration of Chief Executive Officer, Bill Sweeney, and senior RFU directors
• Excessive bureaucracy and a flawed GMS computer system that has caused huge additional workloads to the thousands of volunteers who keep rugby alive in the towns and villages of England
• Poor financial results, including losses of £130m over the last two World Cup cycles and a background of staffing cuts both at Twickenham and among the ranks of development-officers serving the lower tiers of English rugby
• The “debacle” over the introduction of a new tackle-height in the community game
• Poor governance of the game at the highest levels of the RFU
• The wasted money spent on sacking England coaching staff

Scores more clubs have indicated their support for the calling of an SGM and will add their names to it in days and weeks to come. The number of signatories reflect the breadth and depth of dissatisfaction with the current administration’s failure to find a whole-game solution to the whole-game problems English rugby faces.

The signatories to the letter now urge other member clubs and Constituent Bodies who have not been able so far to join – or have not been aware of this mass movement to bring about reform and positive change – to add their weight. They can do so by contacting the Secretary of the Rugby Football Referees’ Union at: ajw@rfru.co.uk or by talking to neighbouring signatory clubs represented on the letter, a list of which is attached to this statement.

A sample of the supporting views of some of the 141 signatories and other club representatives follows:

Paddy McAlpine the chairman of Chichester RFC (South Central 2, Tier 6), said: “What you are seeing today is the result of years of frustration that have affected every level of our game – excessive compliance demands, too much bureaucratic waste flooding down from HQ, an impossible, inadequate GMS registration system, exasperated volunteers, the loss of our development officers at local level – to name just a few of them.

“Now, they have just erupted as a result of the anger clubs felt when the Executive were paid their bonuses. Every club I know wants to see change at the top, new leadership and a new approach to taking English rugby forward at all levels.”

Dave Penberthy, President, Redruth RFC (National 2 West, Tier 4), said: “We signed this letter primarily because of the lack of recognition of community rugby. It is the long-standing foundation of the English game and deserves better treatment. Instead, we have been left to stand alone by the RFU and fund our operations completely by ourselves, which for us includes a £30,000 travel bill to places like Macclesfield.

“Of course, England should be the focus, but is the rest of the money being spent in the right places and are these the right people to decide on that spending? We are also concerned about the stripping of the structure of the RFU down, making people redundant who have been really important to the development of the community game and losing the development pathways for young players.”

Jon Sharp, Chairman of Coventry RFC, (Championship, Tier 2), said: “Coventry Rugby stands with the Championship clubs who are unanimous in their call for an SGM. This is not just for the Championship however, but for the whole future of the game at every level.”

Dickon Moon, Director of Rugby, London Cornish (Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex, Tier 7): “It’s becoming clear that the RFU is becoming driven by data and not by empathy or understanding of how adult male club rugby is run. The numbers of adult male players is falling dramatically across the country and the impact of constant change to rules and structures that affects our levels will see many administrators also lost to the game.

“Just one example is the imposition of a massive re-organisation of leagues which has meant Level 6 having to be redrawn across the country every season – the RFU’s own stats didn’t even support it and yet it seems like it’s going to be permanent now.”

Ray Stephenson, President, Rochford Hundred (Regional 2 Anglia, Tier 6): “I always talk to the president or chairman of every club we have played in Tier 4, 5 and now 6 over recent seasons about the RFU and I don’t think I have come across anyone who thinks the RFU is doing a good job. The feeling is overwhelming. It’s universal. It’s not just one club or group of clubs that have the ire with the RFU.

“They have enjoyed huge increases in what they get paid and we have been starved of even the basic money we need to help with our travel costs. We have lost access to development coaches and they just keep spending money on themselves while at the same time making 42 of their own staff redundant. What more can I say?”

Mike Priestly, Chair, Rugby Match Officials take seriously their responsibility to uphold values and standards, fairness and equity in the game. The RFRU has taken the lead on this issue to give the game a fair voice. It was clear not only from our members but also many Community clubs and CBs around the country that they didn’t feel heard. Our hope is that through a SGM the RFU will start to listen to the game.

David Morton, Secretary, Carlisle RFC (Regional 2 North, Tier 6): “The recent decision of the RFU to award bonuses to senior staff is beyond belief. RFU keep trumpeting community rugby as the lifeblood of the game whilst at the same time seemingly treating them like paupers.

“It is the volunteer staff out in the shires that should get a bonus for all the extra work that gets sent there way to be done, work that the paid staff should be doing. Despite RFU claims that times are hard they can find the money to pay bonuses to well paid staff. What they should be doing is spending money more wisely to reinstate all the community coaches that were taken away because the RFU couldn’t afford them.”