Under-fire RFU CEO Bill Sweeney: ‘I’ve never thought about stepping down’

RFU CEO Bill Sweeney is adamant he is the right man to lead the organisation forward through the next men’s Rugby World Cup cycle to 2027 despite a Special General Meeting (SGM) called by clubs to remove him from his role.

Sweeney came in for heavy criticism after he received a long-term incentive bonus (LTIP) of £358,000 and an overall pay of £1.1 million in annual accounts published in November despite the RFU reporting a record operating loss of £37.9m and having made 27 staff redundant. Further bonuses totalling around £1m were paid to five other executives.

The discontent prompted calls for a SGM, in which a resolution calls for the removal of Sweeney from his role “as soon as practically possible.” The RFU has confirmed the meeting will be held on March 27.

Speaking on Thursday, Sweeney said the easiest path amid this furore would be for him to walk away from the role, but he is adamant he is going nowhere. He rejected suggestions he was planning to leave the organisation after this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup and doubled down on his plans to stay with the RFU as CEO through to the next men’s World Cup in 2027. He also said if the outcome from the SGM went against him, then it would be up to the board to decide on whether he stays or leaves.

Sweeney declined to apologise for the long-term incentive plan (LTIP) that has resulted in him being paid that bonus of £358,000 on top of an increased salary of £742,000 for the last financial year.

“I’m certainly committed to go through to the end of this cycle, which is the end of 2027. I’ve never thought about stepping down,” Sweeney said. “I saw something about [my departure] being timed at the end of the Women’s World Cup because I was getting a bonus for the performance of the women in the World Cup. That’s nonsense. I don’t have a bonus related or any payment related to the performance of the Red Roses at the World Cup. But there’s been no conversation whatsoever about standing in until at the end of that competition.

“This might sound strange and I don’t welcome an SGM, but it does bring the opportunity to get a lot of things out on the table that perhaps haven’t been on there before.

“I look at all of the initiatives that we’re putting into the game, how they’ve come about and my own personal influence … I think there’s unfinished business here and I’m the right person to see it through. That’s why I haven’t considered stepping down.

“The easiest thing to do right now would be to walk away. Given the challenges, the easiest option would be to say ‘I’ve had enough.’ I don’t feel anywhere near that. I still feel I have genuine value to add.

“The moment I look in the mirror and say ‘I don’t think I’m adding any value to this,’ then I would quite happily stand down. The biggest satisfaction I get out of this job is that I think I’m adding value to a sport I love.”

Sweeney denied the RFU CEO role is an “impossible” job having taken on the job in 2019. He also revealed he turned down the post in 2017.

“There were three reasons I didn’t take it in 2017. The one that’s probably most relevant to today is the view of people who’ve been around a lot longer saying that the RFU regularly implodes, you can set your watch to it, there’s political shenanigans behind the scenes, and all the rest. It always happens in rugby. That’s why I didn’t take the job in 2017,” Sweeney said.

“I don’t think it’s an impossible job. I think it needs to be changed and structures need to be changed but I do think we’re making progress.”

Sweeney said he wanted payment of the LTIP to be deferred, but did not apologise for receiving the sizeable bonus.

“I don’t think there’s a need to apologise for it,” he said. “I’ll go back to [the fact that] it wasn’t my decision to create an LTIP. I had no involvement in the setting of the quantum and I had no involvement in the determination of the level of the pay-out. So no, I don’t think it’s my personal responsibility to apologise for something that’s been put in place in that manner.”

Further reading:

– Warren Gatland optimistic Wales can call upon Taulupe Faletau for France clash
– Maro Itoje ready to push England harder than ever
– Six Nations and Women’s Six Nations: Full fixture list