Cattermole resigns from RFU
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Your support makes all the difference.Graeme Cattermole last night resigned as chairman of the Rugby Football Union's management board following a power struggle with the union's chief executive, Francis Baron.
Graeme Cattermole last night resigned as chairman of the Rugby Football Union's management board following a power struggle with the union's chief executive, Francis Baron.
Cattermole bowed to the inevitable after losing the support of the overwhelming majority of RFU council members during a meeting at Twickenham. The council reaffirmed its support for Baron, who has presided over a period of unprecedented financial success and helped establish the national team at the top of the world game.
Cattermole had long been a significant player in the dark politics of English rugby. Widely seen as an ultra-conservative thorn in the side of the professional clubs, he recently found common cause with the Premiership fraternity, who had fallen out with Baron over a series of issues, most notably the chief executive's support for automatic promotion and relegation and his decision to back the Barbarians-All Blacks fixture at Twickenham a week today - a game the clubs believe detracts from their own activities in European competition.
Malcolm Phillips, the president of the union, will chair the management board until a fresh appointment is made, probably in February.
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