Champ Rugby: English second tier gets rebrand and new format May 15, 2025 English rugby’s second tier will be rebranded Champ Rugby from next season and feature a six-team play-off system to determine a candidate for promotion. The rebrand sees the name of the competition change from the Championship and the introduction of a bold black, white and green visual identity. The division’s 14 sides will play each [...]
Ed Warner: Why our review calls for the RFU Council to be disbanded April 30, 2025 A review has called for the RFU Council to be disbanded. City AM columnist Ed Warner, who was part of the review panel, explains its conclusions. A number of readers have asked why I’ve been silent on the turmoil within English rugby in recent months. Resignation of the chair of the RFU; a special EGM [...]
RFU CEO Sweeney faces no confidence vote today March 27, 2025 Bill Sweeney could be ousted as Rugby Football Union chief executive this evening when member clubs vote on his future. Sweeney has been fighting for his future since the RFU’s latest accounts revealed he received a £1.1m pay package – including a £300,000 bonus – for the 2023 financial year despite the union making losses [...]
England rugby’s nutritionist on social media dangers and advising City traders March 24, 2025 Rugby fans watching England’s explosive renaissance at the recent Six Nations might have been left wondering just what they’d had for breakfast. One person who knows the answer is James Morehen, men’s performance nutritionist at the Rugby Football Union and part of a backroom team that has helped Steve Borthwick’s young side emerge from the [...]
England Rugby Travel: RFU joint venture goes into liquidation March 21, 2025 England Rugby Travel Limited, a venture involving rugby’s governing body the RFU, has gone into liquidation. The firm, based out of Twickenham Stadium (Allianz Stadium), provided fans with ticket packages and experience for England Rugby matches both home and away. Paul Ellison and Rob Keyes of KRE Corporate Recovery Limited have been appointed liquidators for [...]
Premiership Rugby ringfenced again as Ealing and Coventry fail RFU tests March 18, 2025 Championship leaders Ealing have failed the RFU’s minimum standards audit and will be denied promotion to the Premiership, which will retain its existing 10 teams next season. Third-placed Coventry have also failed the audit, which was conducted by the RFU’s Professional Rugby Board, in a development that is likely to increase tensions ahead of next [...]
Eyebrows raised as Manchester United skip tender to hire Foster for stadium March 12, 2025 Manchester United are set to confirm Sir Norman Foster’s firm as architects of their planned £2bn, 100,000-seat stadium without running a formal tender process. The absence of an open tender has caused surprise in the industry, given United are a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also taken [...]
T100 Triathlon World Tour poaches RFU commercial chief Stuart Ramsey March 6, 2025 The T100 Triathlon World Tour has pulled off a coup by poaching the commercial director of the RFU, Stuart Ramsey, to join its board. Ramsey is expected to be confirmed as chief commercial officer of the PTO Tour, the circuit co-owned by athletes and investors including Sir Michael Moritz and Warner Bros Discovery and which [...]
Sweeney should get RFU bonus if he earned it. He didn’t, so shouldn’t February 18, 2025 England Rugby’s CEO Bill Sweeney should get a hefty pay package, but only if the numbers add up. They don’t, so he shouldn’t, argues Matt Hardy Should the chief executive of a major organisation receive a bonus for the work they do? For some it will depend on where they stand on the morality of [...]
RFU criticised for lack of consultation over bonus row engulfing Sweeney February 13, 2025 An independent review of the bonus controversy engulfing the Rugby Football Union and its chief executive Bill Sweeney has criticised a lack of consultation with the RFU Council. The review, conducted by law firm Freshfields, backed the RFU’s design and implementation of its long-term incentive plan (LTIP), which saw Sweeney receive a £358,000 bonus last [...]