Overview

• The RFU has opened a public consultation on the Wharton report's recommendations, which will run until June 30, 2025.
• The independent review proposes abolishing the 63-member RFU Council and replacing it with either embedded game representation or a national advisory group.
• The report highlights the current governance structure as overly complex, slow, lacking transparency, and ambiguous in its power distribution.
• RFU CEO Bill Sweeney recently survived a vote of no confidence and gained an 80% mandate to pursue governance reforms.
• The consultation aims to gather stakeholder feedback on creating a more inclusive, agile, and transparent governance framework for English rugby.