Today's rugby news as RFU chiefs face vote of no confidence and star wants Six Nations chance after 'emotional' first Wales cap

Here are your rugby headlines for Friday, November 29.

RFU chiefs facing 'vote of no confidence'

Rugby Football Union chiefs could reportedly face a vote of no confidence over the size of their bonus payments, with members of the England playing squad said to be "disappointed" over the revelation.

Five top executives were paid bonuses amassing almost £1m this year despite the RFU reporting a seismic loss of £37.9m. And The Telegraph now report that council members have started to garner support to call for an emergency meeting in a bid to pile pressure on RFU chair Tom Ilube and chief executive Bill Sweeney.

It comes after Sweeney was given an 8.5 percent pay rise, taking his salary to £1.1m, plus a bonus paid to him of £358,000. The report adds that playing members of the England squad are angered by the revelation, too.

That bonus and the extra cash paid to directors was part of an incentive plan which stemmed from when the executives took a 25 per cent pay cut during the Covid-19 pandemic. England's players accepted the same pay cut for match fees in 2020 but have not received the same bumper remuneration.

One senior, unnamed player told The Telegraph of their disappointment at the size of these bonuses when Premiership clubs Wasps, Worcester and London Irish went bust, with players having to take the same 25 percent salary cut.

The governing body’s rules state that a vote of no confidence in Ilube requires a two-thirds majority to sack him. Sweeney could also face a vote of no confidence, though his fate is in the hands of the RFU board, that is said to be fully supportive of him.

Get the latest breaking news sent directly to your phone with our free WhatsApp service here.

Freddie Thomas on 'special' first Wales campaign

Freddie Thomas has expressed his hopes of getting another opportunity to represent Wales in the Six Nations, following his "surreal" debut during the Autumn Nation Series. The 23-year-old made his first appearance as a second-half substitute in the match against world champions South Africa on Saturday.

Thomas admitted he was "surprised" when he was selected for Warren Gatland's 35-man squad.

"Hopefully if I keep putting performances together I'll get another chance at the Six Nations but at the moment I'm just focussing on playing well for Gloucester," Thomas told the BBC.

"Looking up on the screen and seeing my face there, hearing the announcement of my name, on for debut, my cap number, it was surreal, it's what you dream of as a kid.

"Growing up I expected it to stay a dream and not become reality, to be able to live that dream out was a special day."

Having come through Gloucester's academy and represented England at under-18 and under-20 levels, Thomas qualifies for Wales through his paternal grandparents. He had always harboured ambitions of playing for Wales, he previously stated, and made his intentions clear at the end of last year.

However, the experience of being called onto the pitch with 35 minutes remaining was something he did not anticipate.

Thomas said he was "emotional" standing on the field of the Principality Stadium during the national anthems and that the game was as "big as a moment" for a family as it was for him.

"Just being able to go after the game to see my parents, see my girlfriend, see all my extended family on my dad's side which is all the Welsh side of the family, see them hug them, thank them, for supporting me the whole way through my career," Thomas said.

Thomas was one of four Cherry and Whites players in the Wales squad, and said it was comforting having familiar faces in Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe and Josh Hathaway around the camp. "That was helpful especially for that week with Tomos and Gareth kind of being leaders here and also leaders there," Thomas said.

"If I ever needed to ask a question about knowledge, detail anything like that they were the ones I went to."

Chessum in Six Nations fitness race

By PA Sport Staff

Ollie Chessum could face a race against time to be fit for England's opening Guinness Six Nations games.

The Leicester forward suffered a knee injury during England's pre-Autumn Nations Series training camp in Spain.

He took no part during England's four-Test November schedule that saw them beaten by New Zealand, Australia and South Africa before comfortably defeating Japan.

And 24-year-old Chessum is not expected to return in the immediate future.

"Probably not until mid-end of January," Leicester head coach Michael Cheika said, after being asked during his press conference ahead of Sunday's Gallagher Premiership clash against Sale Sharks when Chessum might be back.

England kick off their Six Nations campaign against Ireland in Dublin on February 1 before hosting France a week later.

Chessum has become a key part of England's forward machinery, offering head coach Steve Borthwick options at lock and flanker.

Leicester, meanwhile, will be without Chessum for a number of big games, including Investec Champions Cup encounters against Bordeaux-Begles and South African side the Sharks, plus Premiership appointments with the likes of Sale, Gloucester and Harlequins.

Irish rugby loses more than £15m

By PA Sport Staff

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) made a loss of 18.4 million euros (£15.32million) in the year up to July 31 2024.

Costs involved in participating in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which amounted to 12.1m euros (£10.07m), were largely responsible for the significant deficit.

That figure comprised the expense of preparing for and taking part in the tournament in France and the subsequent loss of revenue associated with not hosting Test matches in Dublin last autumn.

The IRFU said the overall deficit was 1.4m euros (£1.16m) less than forecasted.

IRFU chief financial officer Thelma O'Driscoll said: "While the deficit we are reporting today is certainly significant, it was anticipated and planned for; and our final result is in fact slightly ahead of what we had projected.

"We are aiming to make a small cash surplus in the current financial year.

"Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead and although we are not forecasting to be in debt at any time over the next 10 years, we must be prudent when it comes to our expenditure.

"Our focus as a union needs to be on generating new revenue streams and continually reviewing our cost base to ensure that we can continue to support the game at all levels throughout the island of Ireland."

Income across the period was 79m euros (£65.77m), down from 92m euros (£76.59m) the previous year, a direct result of not hosting autumn matches at the Aviva Stadium in 2023.

Total investment in the women's game was 8.3m euros (£6.9m), 2.6m euros (£2.16m) higher than the previous 12 months.

IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts said: "Taking part in a Rugby World Cup, the flagship event of our sport, is a huge honour, however it does have a significant, negative financial impact for unions which requires planning and management over a four-year cycle.

"Like all unions we are not immune to the financial and economic headwinds facing the game and we welcome World Rugby's recent and ongoing work with high performance unions on the financial sustainability of the game.

"This is something we need to address in a collaborative manner, and we in the IRFU are committed to doing so."

Australia star Suiaalii fit to face Ireland

By PA Sport Staff

Australia head coach Joe Schmidt has confirmed centre Joseph Suaalii is fit to face Ireland in Dublin on Saturday in the final Test of his side's autumn tour.

Rugby league convert Suaalii was forced off in the first half of last week's 27-13 defeat to Scotland with an arm injury, but will return as one of six changes as the Wallabies bid to end the year on a high.

Schmidt said: "Joe's fine, he got one of those stingers where he had a bit of a dead arm.

"We felt it was better to get it properly assessed and we couldn't hold the game up to do that so we took him out of the game against Scotland, which was disappointing, but he's fully fit and fully able."

Schmidt, who spent three years as Leinster head coach before taking charge of Ireland for six years until 2019, has made five changes to his pack.

Props James Slipper and Taniela Tupou, second rows Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams, plus flanker Fraser McReight have been named to face the Irish.

Australia began their autumn tour with a 42-37 win against England at Twickenham and beat Wales 52-20 in Cardiff before last week's defeat in Edinburgh.

Schmidt, who is gearing the Wallabies for next year's British & Irish Lions tour Down Under, said: "If you look right through the last four games, we have been looking at different combinations.

"We've shifted things by four or five players every week. We want to be as competitive as we can, but at the same time we know we've got to build some depth in preparation for the Lions next year.

"That was always the brief for me coming into the job because that is a massive series, for the Wallabies and the Australian public.

"It has the opportunity to really promote the game and be a fantastic occasion for competitive rugby."