Grass roots stirring

Been here before, but feels a bit different this time. Anybody know Rob Sigley of Bournville RFC? Ex Mose.

There is also very significant outrage and anger amongst the RFU's salaried staff who have been very shocked and dismayed by the recent revelations about salaries and bonuses for the RFU board at a time of some austerity for the rank and file.

- earlier this year RFU rank and file employees were told that there couldn't be any salary rises because 40 staff had been made redundant and no pay increases could be afforded or justified

- fuel cards which enable rank and file staff who have to travel on RFU business to buy petrol or diesel without pre funding the fuel costs themselves are having their fuel cards removed. For staff who are involved in extensive travel by car this will have a negative cash flow impact on them of up to £500 or more until their expense claims are eventually reimbursed.

If the above is true it is scandalous that the people right at the top of the RFU can award themselves many £100,000's of pay rises and bonuses whilst denying the same to their staff. This is inequitable, unfair and isn't leadership. It is self enrichment of the most odious kind and personally I wouldn't respect or follow a leadership team that behaved in this way.

I am sure that the Board of the RFU will come out with some self serving tosh to justify their outrageous salaries and bonuses which in my mind could never ever be justified to those that run a monopoly. It is as wrong as wrong can be !

I understand that on Monday 2nd December Bill Sweeney will be meeting with many RFU employees. He will be in for a very rough ride indeed.

The lack of accountability, governance and basic fairness of the RFU to the vast majority of their member clubs (excepting of course those in the Premiership!) has been ignored by the member clubs for far too long, and now such behaviour is also affecting the rank and file staff who work for the RFU.  Perhaps due to these latest very public excesses the grass roots game, at long last may, be waking up to this shocking state of affairs that has continued for way more than a decade.

Something has to be done.....surely NO Council Member can turn a blind eye to this utterly disreputable state of affairs?

It needs to stink enough that the chairman of the Felpersham club playing in the Borsetshire County Merit Tables can smell it.

As long as Bill Sweeney has the proxy votes from those smaller clubs, he can get defeat a motion of sanction at a General Meeting.

And they have so little to do with the RFU, they generally do not vote.

Bill Swiney, the RFU master

For rugby, he's been a disaster,.

He’d count every pound,

His wealth would resound,

A miserly man, money-hungry.

It would probably be easier to list the clubs that actually want him to continue.