Championship rugby boss set for top RFU role
A key figure in the Championship is being lined up for a top Rugby Football Union (RFU) role, CityAM understands.
London Scottish chairman Stephen Pearson is believed to be preparing a bid to become RFU president.
It is not certain whether he will run unopposed but, if successful, will first become junior vice-president and then senior vice-president before ascending to the role of president.
The top job is currently held by Rob Udwin, with Deborah Griffin OBE – the current senior vice-president – set to become the first woman to hold the position when she takes over this year.
Sir Bill Beaumont, who is former World Rugby chairman and interim chairman of the Rugby Football Union, assumed the role of junior vice-president in November.
The role of president is ratified by the RFU Council, of which Pearson is a member, at their AGM before July, and it tends to follow the trodden path of JVP, SVP and then president.
RFU newbie?
It is understood from Championship rugby sources that Pearson is a well-liked figure and his possible elevation to president is seen by some as promising news for England’s second tier, which faces an uncertain future.
The news comes as RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney faces a vote of no confidence this evening, to be decided by over 1,000 member clubs.
If CEO Sweeney loses the vote he is not automatically removed, but the writing may very well be on the wall.
A number of clubs have privately told CityAM which way they have voted – with postal polling opening two weeks ago – or will vote, with support both for the preservation and removal of Sweeney.
The fiasco was instigated by a £350,000 bonus Sweeney received in the 2023 financial year, in which the RFU lost over £30m.
Sweeney argues he would have got the bonus regardless of the financials due to on-pitch performance, and that the RFU tends to make less money in Rugby World Cup years due to the lack of autumn internationals staged at Twickenham.
Sweeney can be credited, however, with being at the helm while the RFU signed a decade-long commercial deal with insurance giant Allianz to rename their 82,000-seat home in Twickenham. It is believed to be worth £100m to the coffers over 10 years.