Top officials at the Rugby Football Union have been accused of betraying and misleading the game by the former England international who has been helping to negotiate the sport’s future below the Premiership. Simon Halliday, part of England’s 1992 Five Nations grand slam-winning side, has also called for a review into the “significant” failings of some RFU executive directors.
Halliday, who was chair of European Professional Club Rugby for seven years until 2021, has latterly been representing Championship clubs seeking greater funding and firm guarantees from the RFU over promotion and relegation. In an excoriating letter sent to the RFU’s chair, Tom Ilube, seen by the Observer, he alleges the existing tier 2 clubs “have been stalled, misled and misinformed” and warns recent poor governance “threatens the game” in England.
