Increased RFU independence and diversity to secure funds has cost English rugby

The wisdom of the decision by Premiership Rugby and the RFU to sell a stake of their commercial revenue to CVC, the private equity firm, is also now being rigorously questioned.

Blackett’s concern for the future of the game is such that he has felt compelled to draw up a wide-ranging blueprint for the future of English rugby, as the RFU’s longest-standing council member prepares to stand down next month.

Significantly, Blackett’s headline reform encapsulates the entire workings of the governing body, starting with the composition of the board and addressing the shift of power away from the council.

Blackett, who also served two years as the governing body’s president between 2020-22, fears that the need to comply with Sport England’s governance plan to by increasing independence and diversity to secure funding has led to a reduction in “rugby knowledge and experience” on the RFU’s board.

‘Decisions may not have rugby at their heart’

In a six-page document seen by Telegraph Sport, Blackett writes that while the RFU board now has “wider general experience and more diverse and rigorous debate, there is a risk that decisions may not have rugby at their heart”.

Increasing the power of the executive at the expense of the volunteers on the council has also, according to Blackett, “resulted in the reduction of rugby knowledge and experience at the highest levels of governance.

“We must be prepared to challenge Sport England in areas which have not worked for rugby,” he writes.

While recognising the need for the RFU as a business to be professionalised to survive, Blackett insists that a solution can be found by delegating rugby decisions to the professional game board – which includes representatives from the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players Association – and the community game board, which focuses on the grass-roots game.

He is adamant too that “professional players should have a voice at the heart of the bodies which make decisions” and says that the negotiations over the new professional game agreement with the Premiership clubs is “absolutely critical to the future of the game.”

‘We need governance but not just for governance’s sake’

“The pendulum has swung too far away from the elected members,” Blackett told Telegraph Sport. “We need governance but not just for governance’s sake. It is about getting the right people in the right place to make the right decisions.”

The shortcoming has been reflected by England’s inconsistency on the international stage, according to Blackett.

“In relation to the men’s game, we have not won a World Cup since 2003, we have not won enough Grand Slam or Six Nations championships consistent with our playing numbers and financial position, we have not consistently ranked in the top two of the world and we have not developed a coaching conveyor belt of English coaches,” he writes.

Blackett points to the failure to appoint a director of rugby as a line manager to the England head coach instead of chief executive Bill Sweeney as one of the critical factors of the unravelling of Jones’ tenure.

“Eddie in his book effectively said the chief executive can’t manage him because he does not have the experience,” Blackett adds. “Eddie had too much autonomy around his coaching staff, he overspent on his budget without being brought to account and made some serious selection mistakes – for instance relying on the relegated Saracens players in 2020-21 – which could have been challenged by the elite group of the PGB.

“And Steve Borthwick’s assessment of the organisation he took over demonstrates that the lack of effective control over Eddie led to very poor results.

“If Eddie had reported to a director of rugby who had authority over him, then he could have been challenged and he needed to be challenged on real knowledge of the subject.

“It has been a tough year and I can’t criticise Bill’s work ethic, he works harder than anybody I know,” Blackett added.

Twickenham efficiency savings

Blackett’s blueprint includes efficiency savings at Twickenham – including reducing executive staff by around 20 per cent – in order to “properly fund” the second-tier Championship as well as re-employ rugby development officers lost to previous cuts to help support and promote the grass-roots game. “There is money, it is about allocating it differently,” he added. “Money needs to be ring fenced for the community game.

“The aim should be to allocate 70 per cent (of expenditure) to elite rugby and 30 per cent to community rugby.”

He also insists that the power of the RFU council should have greater influence over decisions, given that the governing body is a members’ organisation. “Council should have final sign off to the strategic plan and the executive staff should report back to council on that,” he writes.

The RFU’s representation on international bodies should also be reviewed, to include elected or co-opted council members with “genuine rugby knowledge”, and to avoid conflict of interests.

“Now it seems that it is automatic for executive staff,” writes Blackett. “However, there is an issue that RFU board members sitting on international bodies have a conflict of interest, for example our chief executive (Sweeney) felt conflicted when discussing timing of the Lions (2021 tour) during the pandemic. (The best interests of the RFU were not the same as the best interests of the Lions.)

With almost a quarter of a century of rugby administration to draw on, Blackett’s views deserve due attention. For what is certain is that his passion for the game if nothing else has not been diminished by time.