The financial status of the Rugby Football Union altered radically during the stewardship of chief executive Francis Baron - writing in the Daily Telegraph, Brian Moore reflects on his tenure.
"From an operating deficit of £10 million when he arrived in 1998, the RFU last year announced a turnover of £119 million with a profit of £9 million. The business also has a balance sheet that shows a healthy value of £150 million. It would be wrong and churlish to deny Baron credit for this success, however it is telling that there are those within the RFU who would like to and there will be few tears shed when he departs. Why is this so?
"Even accounting for the general antipathy for those that earn a lot of money and wield executive power, there are other reasons. Baron's RFU roadshow, which sought to take the organisation's vision to the masses, was undermined because it simply confirmed the suspicion of many of the attenders that Baron was insufferably self-satisfied. Those holding this view point to the £500,000 statue illustrating the five core values of the RFU which will adorn the South Stand area at Twickenham and which they say is an Ozymandias-like tribute to Baron."
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