'I’ve never thought about stepping down' - RFU boss Bill Sweeney

Bill Sweeney is determined to continue as Rugby Football Union chief executive until the 2027 World Cup and will only step down if the board demands his departure.

March 27 has been set as the date for the special general meeting that will see Sweeney face calls for his removal from rebel clubs angered by the bonus and pay scandal that has gripped Twickenham.

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

Further bonuses totalling almost £1million were paid to five other executives despite the RFU reporting a record operating loss of £37.9m and making 27 staff redundant.

Chairman Tom Ilube has already resigned in response to the crisis – Sir Bill Beaumont has taken over on an interim basis – but Sweeney defended his record in a role he has held since 2019.

“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,” said Sweeney, who has not previously set an end date for his exit.

“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 to 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 wanted payment of the LTIP to be deferred, aware of the perception created by receiving it at a point in the four-year cycle of financial planning when losses were inevitable because of the World Cup and when staff were being made redundant.

The bonus scheme was set up to persuade executives to remain at Twickenham during the post-pandemic era.

“It’s the board that makes a decision on whether they want to introduce a bonus programme. I have nothing to say with that,” Sweeney said.

“The board decided they wanted to retain that executive team through a very difficult period, which was the Covid recovery plan. It’s not for me to say whether they were right to do it, or whether I was considering going or not.

“Coming out of Covid, I was 100 per cent committed to the RFU, but then boards don’t think that way.”

Sweeney said Steve Borthwick has not been set a minimum number of wins required for the Six Nations and rejected suggestions the high turnover of back room staff under England’s head coach and his predecessor Eddie Jones has been “shambolic”.

“We’d all like stability, of course you would. I’m not saying it’s shambolic. We think the environment in that camp is a positive environment,” he said.

“People have personal preferences, things occur and they choose to go. It happens all the time.”