Sir Bill Beaumont could be parachuted into the Rugby Football Union as interim chair in the event Tom Ilube falls on his sword amid the botched handling of the executive pay scandal engulfing the game.
The current RFU chair Ilube and Bill Sweeney, the chief executive, were due to be called for talks with the union’s president, Rob Udwin, on Thursday following Wednesday’s emergency council meeting to “discuss a way forward”.
After the council meeting, an immediate independent review into the controversial salaries and bonuses handed out was also commissioned, with the RFU finally acknowledging the “reputational damage done to the sport”.
Significantly, there was also a recognition of “the importance of visible and proactive leadership”, with the beleaguered Ilube under mounting pressure to resign. Beaumont, meanwhile, recently returned to the RFU council after standing down as World Rugby chair in November.
Ilube is under fire amid the pay scandal which resulted in Sweeney receiving £1.1m for the year ending June 2024, including a one-off long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus of £358,000. Ilube’s predecessor Andy Cosslett was called to Wednesday’s emergency meeting in an effort to explain the context of the scheme and quell the rebellion, but Udwin’s decision to meet with Ilube and Sweeney on Thursday is considered significant.
While the council’s review is said to have staved off a formal emergency meeting that was scheduled for 10 January and would have allowed for a vote of no confidence in Ilube, a grassroots rebellion is set to bring about a special general meeting (SGM) no later than the end of February.
The rebels need 100 signatories from community clubs to reach the threshold to call for a meeting and table motions for Ilube and Sweeney to be dismissed and they are said to have comfortably already met that number. The Guardian has been told they expect to reach 300 and will formally submit the motion imminently. The motions include that Ilube is removed, there is a vote of no confidence in Ilube and that Sweeney is removed. All need a two-thirds majority to pass.
Beaumont, 72, is a former England captain and served as the RFU chair between 2012 and 2016. He would be considered as someone to steady the ship in the midst of such a crisis. The outrage around the game is widespread given the size of the bonuses paid out to Sweeney and other executives at a time of record losses to reserves of £42m and 42 redundancies. If Ilube does depart imminently, it remains to be seen if it would be enough to avoid an SGM, however.
Asked if Ilube has made the decision to step down, the RFU insisted it would not comment on speculation, while Beaumont has been approached by the Guardian for comment.
