‘We used money to grow game’

THE RFU are keen to represent the current criticism of their financial affairs as a legitimate divergence of opinion over fiscal policies.

This week an RFU spokeswoman made the case for the defence following former chief executive Francis Baron’s attack on the financial position.

She said: “Mr Baron has a particular view on how the RFU should be run, and we have a different view. The question at the heart of the debate is whether to use the money we earn to build up reserves or to put it into growing the game.”

She added: “In the last few years we have been more at the spending end of that spectrum as, when our revenues were moving strongly ahead, the game told us that it needed investment. It is a balance though, and after years of record investment we now need to take a more cautious approach.”

The sport must hope that this divergence in RFU financial approaches does not turn into a cautionary tale.