Call for nominations: RFU Council Member (RFRU)
The RFU Council, together with the RFU’s Board of Directors and the Executive Staff govern and administer rugby in England.
The RFU Council has a number of responsibilities, principally monitoring and oversight of the Board on behalf of the members, and acting as a conduit for information to and from the game as a whole. Council members are also full voting members of the RFU (alongside clubs, Constituent Bodies, National Representative Bodies and Referee Societies) and are entitled to vote at the RFU’s Annual General Meeting and Special General Meetings.
RFU Council members are elected for terms of three years, up to an aggregate maximum of nine years (with some limited exemptions). As a Constituent Body of the RFU, the RFRU is entitled to elect one individual to represent the CB’s interests. Its current Council member, Dr Tim Miller is at his maximum term. As is required by RFU Rule 18 (Election and Removal of Council Members), we will soon be commencing the process to elect the CB’s Council member for the three-year period from 2026-2027.
To this end, we are seeking nominations of individuals to stand for election (proposed and seconded, as set out below); we welcome applications from across the RFRU membership.
A copy of the Job Description can be viewed on the below link. The minimum amount of time currently required of a Council member during a season with RFU and CB responsibilities is approximately 15-20 days (covering such tasks and duties as CB and club liaison, RFU Council attendance, some RFU input to sub-committees, attendance at a range of representative fixtures, including Men, Red Roses, and U 20 matches to cross reference with similar representatives from other Six Nations teams).
Proposal of Candidates:
Candidates should be a member of a member Referees Society
Candidates must be proposed by one full voting member of the RFRU and seconded by another full voting member of the RFRU.
This will be done by the Chair and Honorary Secretary both confirming in writing on behalf of the member society.
A RFRU itself can propose or second a candidate.
To be eligible for election, the CB must have received the nomination in writing (email is acceptable) from both the proposer and the seconder to ajw@rfru.co.uk by no later than 14th November 2025 at 18.00.
If either is received after this deadline, the CB cannot accept the candidate.
Even if a CB assumes that a club will be a proposer or seconder, unless it has this in writing from the club, it is not valid, and the candidate cannot be included in the election process.
The RFRU Honorary Secretary will not share any details with anyone regarding the nominations until the deadline has passed.
Further details as to the hustings and voting process (incl. eligibility to vote) will be announced in due course.
TIMELINE
October 2025: Call for nominations shared with Member Societies
14th November 2025, 18.00: Deadline for candidates to be proposed and seconded
21st November 2025: RFRU to send out candidates’ details to members
WB 12th January 2026: Virtual hustings meetings and vote
1 August 2026: Council terms begin
You can access the Job description here.