RFU 2025 AGM Updates

The RFU Board appointments include:

• Paula Carter as the Chair of the Governance Standing Committee for a further three-year term (1 August 2025 to 31 July 2028).
• Jonathan Webb as World Rugby Representative and Council Elected Director for a further one-year term (1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026).
• James Cook as Council Elected Director for a further three-year term (1 August 2025 to 31 July 2028).
• Wayne Barnes as Senior Men’s Professional Rugby Board Representative for a three-year term (1 August 2024 to 31 July 2027). 

The decisions were also to elect the RFU Council Presidential team for the 2025-26 season who are:   

• President: Deborah Griffin OBE
• Senior Vice-President: Sir Bill Beaumont GBE DL
• Junior Vice-President: Stephen Pearson

Biographical details for the appointments above can be found below. 

Rule changes 

11 changes to the Rules proposed by Nottingham RFC and seconded by Chichester RFC were resoundingly defeated. 

One change proposed by South Yorkshire Referee Society and seconded by Warwickshire Referee Society, was accepted. This would allow Referee Societies to affiliate as RFU members through other Constituent Bodies and not only the Rugby Football Referee Union.

This change was to amend Rule 5.3 to read: 

In addition to Clubs duly admitted to membership, the following shall be Members: 

(a) all Council Members for such period as they are Council Members; 

(b) all Constituent Bodies; 

(c) all National Representative Bodies; and 

(d) Referee Societies admitted to membership of a Geographical or National CB and which are duly admitted under Rule 5.3.

Biographical details for the appointments made  

Chair of the Governance Standing Committee – Paula Carter 

Paula's distinguished career spans both the private and public sectors, marked by her leadership roles in major British television companies during her transition to a digital landscape. Her extensive experience in governance is evidenced by her previous non-executive roles with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Currently, she serves as Chairman of the Ofcom Advisory Committee for England and is a Non-Executive Director of the Harwich Haven Authority and a Member of the British Transport Police Authority. Paula's commitment to sports governance is reflected in her position on the RFU Board of Directors, where she chairs the Head Injury Management and Prevention Sub-Committee. Her consultancy work has been influential, involving the Cabinet Office, Parliamentary Committees, Ofcom, and the Royal Opera House. Additionally, her background in rugby refereeing and disciplinary panels for rugby and tennis associations underscores her comprehensive expertise in regulatory and governance matters. 

World Rugby Representative and Council Elected Director – Jonathan Webb 

Jonathan served on the Students RFU Council for six years before his election as World Rugby representative and RFU Board member in 2016. His leadership extended further in 2021 when he joined the World Rugby Executive Committee and chairs the World Rugby Community Rugby committee. Jonathan also contributes to the Head Impact Committee RFU Concussion Risk Management Group and the Governance and Laws Subcommittees. In November 2024 Jonathan was elected as Vice Chair of World Rugby for a four-year term. As a player, Jonathan excelled as a full back for the University of Bristol, Bristol, Bath, and England, earning 33 caps and scoring 298 points. His achievements include two Grand Slam victories and reaching the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final. Beyond playing, Jonathan is President of United Bristol Hospitals RFC and Honorary Vice President of University of Bristol RFC. He also serves as President of Young Bristol, a charity aiding disadvantaged youth. Professionally, Jonathan is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in knee surgery and sports injuries.  

Council-Elected Director - James Cook 

James has played for Leamington, United Services Portsmouth, Old Reigatians, Cheddar RFC and Winchester RFC throughout his Army career. He has coached mini-rugby at Andover RFC and is an active Hampshire RFU match official. With a 30-year career in the army, including 21 years with the Army Rugby Union, James now chairs the Army Rugby Union. Within the RFU, he chairs the Agents Review Board, is a member of the RFU Governance and Audit and Risk Committee and has been a member of the RFU Board since 2022, where he is the Board anti-doping lead. Professionally, James is employed as a Programme Director within the Army HQ, where he oversees Talent and Career Management development. 

Senior Men’s Professional Rugby Board Representative – Wayne Barnes 

Wayne Barnes is a partner and barrister and the international law firm, Squire Patton Boggs (‘SPB’). Throughout his career, he has provided strategic advice to some of the world’s biggest companies; particularly when an organisation is in crisis or under the spotlight of its regulator or the media. He has over two decades of experience in conducting complex, internal investigations across multiple jurisdictions, and often bridge the worlds of law and sport. He is regularly instructed by national governing bodies, professional sports organisations, commercial sponsors and rights holders on all aspects of sports law, governance, ethics and safeguarding. His role at SPB was initially done alongside his employment at the Rugby Football Union where he was a professional referee from 2005 - at the time he was the youngest ever appointed. He retired after overseeing the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final, having refereed 111 international test matches; more than any other official in history. As a referee he sat on cross-discipline working groups for both the RFU and World Rugby, tasked with improving player safety and welfare across the men’s and women’s game, the development and support of emerging rugby nations and improving the spectacle of rugby for a global audience. He is an Independent Member of the ECB’s Finance, Audit & Risk Committee, a member of UK Athletics’ Standards and Ethics Committee and he founded and is a current board member of the International Rugby Match Officials Association (IRMO), the world’s first representative body for international high performance match officials. Wayne was appointed by the Board for a three-year term, and the appointment was ratified by Council, during the 2024/25 season. He has served on the RFU Board pending ratification by the members. As he was appointed after the 2024 AGM, his appointment is put for ratification now. 

President Deborah Griffin OBE 

Deborah Griffin OBE Deborah began playing rugby at University College London in 1978. She co-founded the WRFU (later the RFUW) in 1983 and chaired the first Women’s Rugby World Cup in1991. Deborah captained England's first women’s club side at Finchley and played at Richmond for seven years. She returned to RFUW as Finance Officer in 2002 and later became Chair, leading its full integration in 2012. Deborah retired as Bursar at Homerton College, Cambridge University, and Secretary of the Cambridge University Rugby Football Union. She is Secretary of Richmond RFC. She has served 6 years on the RFU Board of Directors and nine years on the Audit Committee, participating in governance reviews and various committees whilst being the Women and Girls’ Representative on Council, up until 2018 and subsequently, one of the RFU World Rugby Representatives until 2024. 

Senior Vice-President Sir Bill Beaumont GBE DL  

Sir Bill Beaumont captained the England men’s team to the Grand Slam in 1980, which, at the time, was their first clean sweep in 23 years. England’s success made him a natural choice to lead the British and Irish Lions on the tour of South Africa that year, his second Lions call up. A proud Lancastrian, who represented Fylde and his home county with distinction, Bill was a mainstay of the England second row for seven years, failing to miss a single match from his second international appearance against Australia through to his 41st and his final test in 1982. Prior to his appointment as World Rugby Chairman in 2016, Bill held a number of important administrative roles, among them Vice-Chair of World Rugby, team manager of the 2005 Lions and RFU Chairman, and was awarded an OBE in 2008. In 2024 Bill was awarded a GBE for his services to Rugby Football and charity. Following the resignation of Tom Ilube in December 2024, Bill has acted as interim Chair of the Board of Directors. He led a series of roadshows throughout England to listen to the voices of the member clubs. 

Junior Vice-President Stephen Pearson 

Stephen retired in March 2022 after a 35-year career in the asset management industry, most recently serving as Chief Investment Officer at Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. He is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, a member of the University’s Chancellor’s Court, and a Trustee of Uppingham School where he is chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. An Oxford Blue from 1983 to 1985 and Hon Secretary in 1984 Stephen represented Oxford University on the RFU Council from 2010-23 and served as a Council Elected Director on the RFU Board from 2017-2023. Stephen continues to serve as a co-opted member of the Audit & Risk Committee, the Chair of the RFU Pension Fund Trustees and the RFU's representative on the Six Nations Remuneration Committee. He also served as a Trustee of the RFU Injured Players Foundation from 2013-2024 and was appointed Chair of Trustees from 2020-2024. Through numerous runs, charity donations and salary sacrifice schemes, Stephen has raised over £100,000 for the IPF, underlining his commitment to the charity which has expanded its scope and the range of services provided to catastrophically injured players. During his time as a Council Member, Stephen chaired the Rugby Growth sub-committee and was a member of the Community Game Board. He also chaired the three-year review of the Adult Male Competition Structure, whose recommendations were approved by Council as the Future Competitions Structure (FCS). FCS was implemented in the 2022/23 season, introducing more than c.150 new teams to the RFU leagues. After leaving Council, Stephen was appointed President of London Scottish FC, an elite community club including juniors, minis, amateur teams, and a semi-professional team competing in the Championship. He is also President of Oxford University Rugby Football Union, a constituent body of the RFU.