What next for English rugby as Sweeney survives vote?

Thursday's Special General Meeting was a highly important lawsuit for English rugby - a archetypal SGM of its benignant successful 20 years and an accidental for the crippled astatine each levels to clasp the powers-that-be to account.

But contempt the uproar wrong and extracurricular Twickenham that followed main enforcement Bill Sweeney's £1.1m wage packet successful the autumn – and the assorted perceived governance failures of the past fewer years – Sweeney has been given a wide mandate by the game to proceed successful his role.

"The clip for part is down us. The clip for collaboration is now," urged RFU interim seat Sir Bill Beaumont pursuing the meeting.

But what happens adjacent and what does the aboriginal clasp for the crippled astatine each levels?

BBC Sport answers immoderate of the cardinal questions.

How did Sweeney past the vote?

With implicit 700 votes formed – from clubs astatine each levels, constituent bodies, unions and assorted individuals – this was 1 of the biggest elector turnouts successful caller memory, with conscionable nether 66% of the votes opposing the question and backing Sweeney.

The embattled main enforcement had immoderate big-hitters successful his corner. Since coming successful arsenic interim seat conscionable earlier Christmas, erstwhile England skipper Beaumont has been connected a ngo to person the crippled Sweeney indispensable enactment - and the roadshows the brace person been connected successful the assemblage crippled person paid off.

Highly-respected committee subordinate Wayne Barnes was different to strenuously support Sweeney's record. Barnes opposed the question astatine the SGM and told the BBC afterwards losing Sweeney would person "damaged the game".

Meanwhile, the RFU president Rob Udwin, who chaired the SGM, made it wide wherever his loyalties lay. However, whether an RFU president should beryllium rather arsenic openly and determinedly partial was a substance of consternation for immoderate successful attendance.

Despite the backing, plentifulness of members didn't enactment him (35%) – what tin they bash present astir it? Will they bash thing further?

Despite suggestions earlier the SGM that it would beryllium conscionable the start, not the end, of the rebellion, Sweeney's opponents struck a much conciliatory code erstwhile they spoke to the BBC afterwards.

They stressed that forcing the SGM and making the RFU committee answerable to the crippled astatine ample was a triumph successful itself.

Meanwhile, a 2nd motion, which the committee brought forward, to devolve much work to the assemblage crippled seems to person gone a agelong mode to quelling the uprising.

"We privation to enactment together," said Paddy McAlpine, seat of Chichester Rugby Club and co-chair of the Whole Game Union (WGU).

"What is truly encouraging astir contiguous is that each those rugby players crossed the federation from the smallest nine up to the Championship present person a voice.

"And we volition clasp those liable for the enactment of our crippled to account. We look guardant to each the changes and improvements that they are going to enactment successful place."

"This was ne'er truly astir 1 individual," added Alistair Bow, president of Championship nine Nottingham and co-chair of the WGU.

"We felt the crippled was suffering to the constituent that we needed to person a look astatine the top. We went to the crippled and the ballot has been cast.

"But really we got what we needed. There was nary victor and loser from the outset, but what we person done is we person taken our plight to the full game.

"The crippled has had an accidental [to dependable concerns] and determination were immoderate precise absorbing questions raised successful determination tonight.

"And you could spot determination was a bully percent of radical voted for him to go."

Why wasn't Sweeney's bonus discussed and however important is that?

Surprisingly, Sweeney's whopping wage packet and bonus was hardly discussed passim the 90-minute meeting, contempt it being the catalyst that rallied the grassroots successful the archetypal place.

A study by consultants Freshfields into the arguable bonus program was published by the RFU successful February and portion this study threw up much questions than answers, particularly astir the metrics and methods of the scheme, it has done capable to crook attraction elsewhere.

What is wide from the questions raised astatine the gathering and from the nationwide roadshows of the past fewer months is however the grievances alteration - from the Championship clubs unhappy astatine their backing cuts and blocked routes to the Premiership, to the rank-and-file referees enactment successful an invidious presumption by the union's bungled tackle-height change.

Meanwhile, immoderate assemblage clubs person spoken astir however they don't consciousness represented portion different clubs person cited the deficiency of rugby expertise – successful their sentiment – connected the RFU board, arsenic good arsenic ongoing concerns astir the sustainability of the nonrecreational game.

Ideological conflicts implicit what the RFU is, who it serves and who should marque decisions inactive remain.

But without the revolt, Sweeney and Beaumont wouldn't person embarked connected the roadshow and whitethorn person remained shielded to the assorted gripes felt up and down the English rugby pyramid.

"We person had thousands of conversations successful clubhouses up and down the state successful caller weeks," explained Beaumont.

"Some feedback has been hard to perceive but astir of it has been constructive. We person listened. We person responded.

"It is perfectly close that members should ever person the accidental to clasp the enactment of the RFU to account. That is portion of our antiauthoritarian process arsenic a membership-owned organisation."

Can the RFU truly retrieve from this and who are the cardinal players to marque it work?

According to Barnes, an RFU committee subordinate since September, Sweeney is invaluable to the constituent of being irreplaceable.

"The question I person asked myself implicit the past fewer months is: is Bill the close idiosyncratic to pb this organisation?" the erstwhile World Cup referee added.

"The reply is categorically yes. That's what I said to the members today. He is idiosyncratic who leads our game, who leads the crippled crossed the world. To suffer him would person damaged our game."

So with the RFU committee squarely down him and the wider crippled backing him too, Sweeney's manus has been strengthened, though the Twickenham enforcement squad would beryllium omniscient to heed the residual resentment from RFU ft soldiers, who faced stressful occupation losses portion their bosses pocketed grounds bonuses.

Meanwhile, the assignment of the adjacent imperishable seat is crucial, with Beaumont's interim relation ending successful the coming months. The RFU person a shortlist for Beaumont's successor, with a determination expected successful clip for June's Annual General Meeting.

The erstwhile chairman, Tom Ilube, is simply a highly-impressive businessman but was an aloof fig to many. The genial Beaumont, an English rugby grandee, has done his occupation successful gathering bridges with the assemblage game. Who is appointed to seat the organisation semipermanent - and successful the process clasp the RFU committee and CEO to relationship - volition beryllium critical.

Reforms to governance and devolution of powerfulness to the assemblage crippled were voted done excessively – what interaction volition that have?

According to elder RFU figures connected Thursday evening, these governance reforms are a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to revolutionise the moving of the game.

Currently, astir each decisions that interaction clubs are made successful Twickenham but the RFU believes it present has a mandate to modernise the governance and springiness acold greater flexibility for section areas to tally the crippled arsenic they spot fit, with little centralised power implicit matters including wherever wealth is invested and league structures.

"We volition springiness section clubs a much nonstop dependable and power successful a caller devolved structure," explained Beaumont.

"We volition embark upon this process with renewed vigour successful the months betwixt present and the Annual General Meeting."

"I americium encouraged due to the fact that the RFU person committed themselves to a play of change, due change," said the WGU's McAlpine.

"They are going to perpetrate to that alteration and consult astir that alteration and we are going to beryllium progressive successful that change. So that has to beryllium a bully thing."

Away from the grassroots, Beaumont besides pledged a renewed absorption connected making the nonrecreational crippled sustainable and moving with the Championship, whose clubs were a driving unit down the rebellion.

"We are each going to person to enactment precise hard unneurotic due to the fact that this is being monitored," added Nottingham's Bow.

"I americium not downhearted. At the extremity of the time we person thing to enactment with. The RFU person made immoderate large commitments tonight.

"I person heard immoderate positives but clip volition archer astir whether they are going to beryllium capable to deliver."