Bill Sweeney will on Thursday face a vote of no confidence that could leave the Rugby Football Union chief executive fighting for his Twickenham future. English rugby’s community game had gathered enough support by January to trigger a special general meeting on March 27 that will see a resolution tabled calling for Sweeney to be sacked by the board. While the RFU’s executives are not obligated to act if the motion is passed, Sweeney would be significantly weakened if the grassroots revolt succeeds with his critics viewing his position as untenable. The uprising, which is being overseen by the Whole Game Union (WGU) and includes the referees’ union and clubs across the rugby pyramid, has been sparked by the bonus and pay scandal that has gripped Twickenham. Sweeney has declined to apologise for the long-term incentive plan (LTIP) that resulted in him being paid a bonus of £358,000 on top of an increased salary of £742,000 for the last financial year. Further bonuses totalling almost £1million were paid to five other executives despite the RFU reporting a record operating loss of £37.9m and making 42 staff redundant. Apart from anger over the RFU’s leadership, additional areas of frustration include the botched introduction of the new tackle height in the community game, governance failures, declining participation numbers and the defunding of the second-tier Championship. Tom Ilube resigned as chairman in response to the crisis with Sir Bill Beaumont taking his place on an interim basis, but Sweeney indicated in January that he intends to stay on until the end of the 2027 World Cup cycle. In quotes reported by the BBC, Beaumont accused those trying to depose Sweeney of running a campaign that had been, at times, “deeply regrettable, with demonstrably misleading claims, particularly around the game’s finances”. The former England captain added: “All of this playing out publicly has detracted from so many of the brilliant things happening in English rugby: from the incredible work of the volunteers running our grassroots game, to the strong men’s Six Nations showing and now the focus on our Red Roses as they build to a home World Cup.” WGU co-chair and Nottingham Rugby chairman Alistair Bow has laid out what is at stake for the community game at the SGM, which will be held virtually. “If anyone thinks that we should keep the status quo and continue with the current CEO, board and governance structure then we deserve everything that we have got and is yet to come,” Bow said. “I don’t know of any organisation that rewards continuous failure in allowing those that have failed to take us through change. “We have the moment for change and to finally say enough is enough. Please don’t waste this opportunity, for the sake of our clubs’ and game’s futures.” The WGU are also threatening to table a second motion calling for a vote of no confidence in the RFU board.