What next for English rugby as Sweeney survives vote?

“The time for division is behind us. Now is the ideal time to work together.

Following the special general meeting (SGM), where chief executive Bill Sweeney was confronted and survived, RFU interim chair Sir Bill Beaumont was quick to assess the future.

The meeting was a highly significant event for English rugby – the first of its kind in 20 years and an opportunity for the game at all levels to hold the powers-that-be to account.

The 67-year-old has been given a clear mandate by the game to continue in his position despite the uproar that followed Sweeney’s £1.1 million pay packet in the autumn and the various perceived governance failures of the past few years.

But what will come next and what will the game’s future hold at all levels?

With more than 700 votes cast on Thursday, including those from clubs at all levels, constituent organizations, unions, and various individuals, the turnout was among the highest in recent memory. Just under 66% of the votes were in favor of Sweeney while the motion was opposed.

The embattled chief executive had some big-hitters in his corner. Former England captain Beaumont has been trying to persuade Sweeney to stay in the community game since taking over as interim chair just before Christmas, and the efforts have paid off.

Another board member who vigorously defended Sweeney’s record was respected board member Wayne Barnes. Barnes opposed the motion at the SGM and told the BBC afterwards losing Sweeney would have “damaged the game”.

Rob Udwin, the meeting’s chairperson, made it abundantly clear where his fervors lie.

Despite suggestions before the SGM that it would be just the start, not the end, of the rebellion, Sweeney’s opponents struck a more conciliatory tone when they spoke to the BBC afterwards.

They argued that making the RFU board accountable to the SGM was a victory in itself.

In addition, the board’s suggestion to give more of the responsibility to the community game appears to have had a significant impact on halting the uprising.

“We want to work together”, said Paddy McAlpine, chair of Chichester Rugby Club and co-chair of the Whole Game Union (WGU).

“Tonight’s news is really encouraging because all those rugby players from the smallest club up to the Championship now have a voice,” said one player.

“And we will demand accountability for those who are our game’s leaders.” We look forward to all the changes and improvements that they are going to put in place. “

Alistair Bow, the chairman of Championship club Nottingham and co-chair of the WGU, added, “This was never really about one person.”

We felt that the game was failing to the point where we needed to look at the top. We went to the game and the vote has been cast.

“But we actually received what we needed,” she said. No winner or loser was ruled out right away, but what we did was completely transform our situation.

” The game has had an opportunity]to voice concerns] and there were some very interesting questions raised in there tonight.

Surprisingly, Sweeney’s whopping pay packet and bonus was barely discussed throughout the 90-minute meeting, despite it being the catalyst that rallied the grassroots in the first place.

The RFU released a report from Freshfields into the contentious bonus plan in February, and while it raised more questions than answers, particularly in relation to the scheme’s metrics and methods, it has done enough to draw attention elsewhere.

How the grievances vary, from the Championship clubs unhappy with their funding cuts and blocked routes to the Premiership to the rank-and-file referees put in an invidious position by the union’s bungled tackle-height change, is clear from the questions raised at the meeting and from the nationwide roadshows of the past few months.

Meanwhile, some community clubs have spoken about how they don’t feel represented while other clubs have cited the lack of rugby expertise – in their opinion – on the RFU board, as well as ongoing concerns about the sustainability of the professional game.

There are still ideological disagreements regarding the RFU’s role, function, and decision-making authority.

Sweeney and Beaumont, however, would not have started the roadshow and may have remained subdued from the various resentments felt in English rugby.

“We have had thousands of conversations in clubhouses up and down the country in recent weeks”, explained Beaumont.

“Most of the feedback has been constructive, though some has been difficult to hear. We have listened. We have responded.

Sweeney is valuable to the point of being irreplaceable, according to Barnes, a board member for the RFU since September.

I’ve been asking myself this question for a while: Is Bill the right person to lead this organization? “the former World Cup referee added.

“The answer is unquestionably yes. That’s what I said to the audience today. He is someone who leads our game, who leads the game across the world. Losing him would have hurt our game.

Sweeney’s position has been strengthened, with both the RFU board fully backing him and the wider game supporting him. However, the Twickenham executive team would be wise to take into account the residual resentment from RFU foot soldiers, who endured stressful job losses while their bosses savaged record bonuses.

Meanwhile, the appointment of the next permanent chair is crucial, with Beaumont’s interim role ending in the coming months. In time for the RFU’s annual general meeting in June, the shortlist will be announced.

Tom Ilube, the previous chairman, is a highly regarded businessman who was aloof from the majority. The genial Beaumont, an English rugby grandee, has done his job in building bridges with the community game.

According to senior RFU figures, these governance reforms are a” once-in-a-lifetime opportunity “to revolutionise the running of the game.

The RFU believes it has a mandate to modernize the governance and give much more flexibility to local areas to run the game as they see fit, with less centralised control over matters like where money is invested and league structures. At the moment, almost all decisions that affect clubs are made in Twickenham.

In a new devolved structure, Beaumont remarked, “We will give local clubs a more direct voice and influence.

” We will embark upon this process with renewed vigour in the months between now and the Annual General Meeting. “

The RFU have committed themselves to a period of proper change, McAlpine said of the WGU.

They will work with us to make that change, and we will consult on it. So that has to be a good thing. “

Beyond the grassroots, Beaumont also pledged to work with the Championship, whose clubs were the driving force behind the uprising, and to keep the professional game relevant.

Because this is being monitored, “we are all going to have to work very hard together,” added Nottingham’s Bow.

” I am not downhearted. We ultimately have something to work with. Tonight, the RFU made some significant commitments.