Grabbing a much bigger £1.1 million pound pay-day was perhaps not so well deserved by Bill Sweeney for his endeavours at the helm of the RFU.

It appears somewhat unreasonable to be rewarding Mr Sweeney with a £385,000 bonus to add to his more than generous £742,000 salary when so many community and grassroots rugby clubs are battling for financial survival.
Indeed, the actions of the RFU might be considered by some as somewhat obscene cronyism when the accounts show a £1.3 million bonus pot being shared between six executives ostensibly serving the UK rugby union family.
My own views on the legacy emerging from Bill Sweeney’s reign as the RFU head honcho are well published. We certainly do not see eye-to-eye on the direction Sweeney is taking rugby union.
Sacrificing rugby union’s once highly-prized William Webb Ellis legendary spirit of fairness, integrity, and loyalty to the fiscal and cooperate values on the altar of capitalism is not a good fit for the ‘Union’ we once knew as ‘The players game’.
Logically, bills must be paid, facilities built and maintained, and a broad-based pyramid structure fostered and developed to ensure a pathway of excellence for ambitious elite players of the game to ascend.
There are however limits. For me rugby remains the ‘perfectly imperfect game’. Rugby is a sport for anyone, but not for everyone. Like many others I thought it was pretty good as it was without this current obsession seeking to relentlessly expand the game to an audience who were previously not interested.
Rugby once enjoyed a wonderful broad-based grassroots community with local clubs, schools and colleges providing facilities for players, coaches and supporters to enjoy.
The old system of player progression from club to county, on to regional and potential national team selection once worked well.
There was no lack of effort, endeavour, or the pursuit of excellence from those involved with the game.
The cutting-edge skills, pace power and precision of today’s elite level professional players was NOT present in the players of the past. Nevertheless, the Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Colin Meads, Willie John McBrides and Wade Dooleys and their likes of a past era were certainly no slouches.
Yes, as one who enjoyed a 13-year professional playing career I was paid, and I earned a good living from playing the game that I loved. I was fortunate to travel the world and like most of my contemporaries I was more than happy to ‘live the dream’.
As a player there was no lack of effort or endeavour in my commitment to my club and team. I could not have done more or played better even if rewarded £20k plus a week like Bill Sweeney.
With average UK annual earnings around the £35k mark, GP salaries starting at £73k a year, MPs £90k and our Prime Minister at circa £175k a year, anything in the £100,000- £150,000 a year seems pretty reasonable to me for a five-hour day, training and playing in the game I love.
OK, it is a short career that can be brought to an abrupt end by injury, but insurance and compensations schemes are there if pursued and they could always be improved.
Player agents, ‘market forces’ and self-indulgent directors lust for playing success have combined to drive player salaries ever upwards. £1 million salaries are already with us for rugby’s really big earners.
I suspect there are already some commercial rugby eyes considering a progression to the obscenity we see in the ‘round ball game’.
With entrance tickets for a Twickenham men’s international costing anything from £75-£450; a pint of beer around £7.50 plus, a lunch sandwich some £13, it is an expensive day out for family and friends.
England men’s matches at Twickenham are reported to be 80% of its revenue, with each major game generating over £10 million in ticket sales and corporate hospitality.
Despite current losses, the RFU still has money from the CVC 2021 deal in their cash reserves. The BBC reports that ‘a stagnant media rights landscape, and the lack of discernible growth in central revenues, the Six Nations deal with CVC has aged badly’.
Nice one Bill, having sold much of rugby family silver the bigger picture does not appear to be fairing very well.
A further £100 million income from selling the Twickenham naming rights to Allianz is shown to be over the course of 13 years, rather than 10, and is therefore less lucrative than first reported.
Sweeney’s basic salary has grown hugely in the five years he has been in the job, from £430,000 to £742,000 (£1.1 million with bonuses). The RFU says his salary is in line with other companies of a similar size, nevertheless Sweeney remains one of the highest paid administrators in UK sport. His deserving of such remuneration is certainly open to debate as the game he champions crumbles.
Back to the pitch, a last-minute try at the Recreation Ground grabbed a losing bonus point for Chiefs in last week’s Gallagher Premiership encounter with Bath.
It was, at least, some reward for the effort and endeavours of our team as we continue to rebuild the form, confidence and belief we have come to expect from our Sandy Park heroes.
I had a whale of a time cheering on Sidmouth as they were edged out by a dogged Brixham at Blackmore field last weekend. With the Chiefs playing away to the Durban-based Sharks, I can thoroughly recommend getting down to your local club this weekend. Until the next time, stay safe, enjoy your rugby.