The Rugby Football Union has announced an independent review of its controversial executive pay scheme as a growing grassroots rebellion threatens to force out bosses Bill Sweeney and Tom Ilube in a matter of weeks.

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In November it was revealed that Sweeney was paid £742,000 in the year up to June 2024, significantly up from the £430,000 he received in the Covid-affected year of 2019-20 after taking office in 2019.

However, his 2024 pay was also supplemented by a bonus of £358,000, as part of a ‘long-term incentive plan’ (LTIP) scheme signed off by chairman Ilube and intended to recognise the salary sacrificed by senior leaders during the pandemic, while being linked to various parts of the organisation’s performance.

In total, Sweeney was paid £1.1m.

The RFU declared record £37.9m operating losses last month, only a few weeks after announcing plans to lay off more than 40 staff in the latest round of redundancies.

The RFU also shed jobs in 2018 and 2020.