The Rules of the RFU are 30 pages long a significant number of these pages are devoted to the puffery associated with the toothless Council which is powerless and has no effective sanctions available to it.

The RFU is an undemocratic organisation under the almost complete control of its un-elected board which appoints itself and decides its own pay and rations. There is no effective oversight or sanction over the board. 

The RFU board takes all decisions including very major decisions (like selling rights to CVC and agreeing outrageous funding to the Premiership) which for any proper corporate structure would always require a 75% approval of its members

The RFU's structure and Rules truly makes Bill Sweeney "King Billy"

It is all completely and utterly shocking. However, as many posters on the Rolling Maul keep telling me no one outside the Championship or possibly Nat 1 cares so why should any of us be bothered?

I will tell you why.........because it is all absolutely against what rugby is mean't to be about that is why!

On page 22 of the RFU's latest Annual Accounts there is the following paragraph relating to the RFU's Core Values which to my mind beggars belief!

But whilst clubs can still play rugby each week, the decisions of the RFU mean nothing to them. 

You need specifics. 

For example by giving the Premiership clubs £X millions or by having franchises in the Championship or by splitting National 1 into North and South ,what effect does it have on Old Farts RFC playing at level 8?

The things that directly affect them are the demise of the Rugby Development officers, so there is less outreach to schools introducing potential new players. 

Even that is possibly of more interest to a city club than a village one - where everyone in the club is the son or grandson of a former player.

And the reduction in money available for grants / loans for new facilities - due to the money going to the premiership clubs. And insurance or other support for clubs - like Nottingham, but by no means limited to them  - damaged by the floods.

For some clubs, it is the reduction in travel grants, increased fees for referees.

But it is hard to see how one builds a cast iron case that things would be better under a new regime, sufficient to muster a large enough rebellion.

The RFU isn't owned by Bill Sweeney or by the Constituent Bodies or by CVC (yet!) it is owned by the clubs all 2,000+ of them. King Billy and his non elected courtiers have already sold 14% of the RFU's income in perpetuity from the Six Nations to CVC.......when will King Billy decide to sell Twickenham to CVC.

Do you think this can't happen? 

With no real checks and balances in place the un elected board of the RFU can do what they like. 

Former RFU CEO Ian Ritchie gave the 12 Premiership Clubs an amazing sweetheart deal for umpteen years and then left the RFU .......to join the PRL as Chairman! He obviously didn't think that was somewhat unethical given his pivotal role in negotiatiing the RFU's agreement with the PRL. Personally I found it more than distasteful ...........does no one else care?

What if King Billy and the board of the RFU thought selling Twickenham to CVC was another brilliant idea. What is to stop them doing that? As far as I can see absolutely nothing......

It appears to me the RFU is now running rugby in England for the benefit of the Premiership and CVC and not for the benefit of the RFU's member clubs

King Billy has publicly deemed the Championship 'not to be investable'. This is CVC language not the language of someone who has the responsibility for all of rugby in England.

As Camquin has said 

-RDO's effectively gone

-Financial Support for travel gone

-Grants/loans for facilities and infrastructure gone

-Cost of referees increased

-Funding for the Championship reduced from £600k to £150k and soon to be gone

-Twickenham??

In my view King Billy and the board are likely to preside over the demise of Community Rugby in England and hand ever more power to the Premiership Cartel (10 independent business owned by billionaires) and CVC one of the world's biggest private equity organisations that is only interested in profit..........there is nothing to stop them doing this ......because there is no oversight or governance to stop them and of course no one appears to care .....

Can any one show me any substantive financial action by the RFU in recent times that fairly allocated resources to the 2,000 or so Community Clubs rather than to the 10 Premiership Clubs or the Elite International Game or CVC!

In my view club rugby in England is sleepwalking to disaster! I am no Don Quixote and if no-one  cares I suppose I should just shut up......at the end of the day it is only a game

Make them aware that decisions taken at the top affect them in practical ways either by losing things or by potentially being able to have things if the money is redirected. 

For example Old Farts RFC never had a RDO visit but have a leaky clubhouse roof.  What would you do for them? 

I can sell that vision fairly easily. 

As at June 23 Twickenham is sitting in the books of the RFU at a value of some £250m and the RFU has total net assets of £283m

On the basis that I believe King Billy could sell out Twickenham to CVC and divert the cash to the elite game and the Premiership here is my alternative.

1. Member clubs put forward a resolution to sell Twickenham and the rest of the RFU's assets to the highest bidder - after settling creditors and on the basis it currently isn't a forced sale I expect the pot to be considerably north of £1 billion (10 x 2023 Operating profit of £103m before Rugby Investment)

2. The £1 billion is distributed proportionately to Member clubs - say £500k each

3. The Premiership clubs each get £500k as do the Community Clubs

4. King Billy and CVC look after the running of the Elite game and the Premiership.

5. The Community Clubs set up their own organisation which is likely to comprise the handful of people that the RFU previously employed to look after the Community Game

This should happen because otherwise all the underlying assets that in reality belong to the Member clubs will be syphoned off to the uninvestable Premiership