RFU rebels vow to fight on as bid to oust Sweeney stalls

A grassroots rebellion has accused the Rugby Football Union of "postponing the inevitable," after the governing body rejected an attempt to force the removal of the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, amid the pay and bonuses scandal.

- Gerard Meagher

On another remarkable day at the RFU, a group of 141 members from across the country called for a special general meeting and a vote of no confidence in Sweeney, only for the union to declare the motion invalid on bureaucratic grounds. The rebels - who later said their support had grown to 152 members - demanded an SGM no later than 28 February and said they were calling on the board of directors to "terminate [Sweeney's] employment as soon as practicably possible".

The threshold to call for an SGM is 100 clubs, so the rebels were confident they would succeed in forcing a vote but the coup has failed, at least temporarily, on the grounds that "it does not comply with the relevant requirements".

The rebels consider the setback a minor obstacle but the procedure to call for an SGM is notoriously bureaucratic and a similar putsch failed during the tackle-height debacle in January 2023.