Thomas quits as chairman of RFU after verdict from review panel

Martyn Thomas has stepped down as chairman of the Rugby Football Union.

Yesterday's move followed a four-hour meeting of the RFU Council, which discussed a review panel's 52-page verdict on the organisation's hiring and firing of its former chief executive John Steele.

Thomas, though, will continue as acting chief executive at Twickenham, chairman of Rugby World Cup 2015 - which will be staged in England - and as an RFU representative on the International Rugby Board.

The 58-man council, it is understood, has decided that Oxfordshire RFU council member Paul Murphy will serve as interim chairman, pending a Special General Meeting when Thomas' permanent replacement will be decided.

It is also understood that a vote of no confidence in the RFU management board of directors was defeated by a majority verdict. It is believed that during the council meeting, which began at 8am, Thomas agreed not to put his name forward for election as chairman at today's RFU annual general meeting, which is currently under way.

It is also known there were dissenting voices within the council over his continuation as acting chief executive before it was agreed he should continue in that role.

It now means that less than nine weeks before the 2011 World Cup kicks off in New Zealand, the RFU has no permanent chairman, no permanent chief executive and are still searching for their first performance director.

The performance director job, a role created by Steele's review of the organisation earlier this year, had been thought to be tailor-made for England's 2003 World Cup-winning mastermind Sir Clive Woodward.

But during the course of a bungled RFU process, Woodward reaffirmed commitment to his current employers, the British Olympic Association.

Judge Jeff Blackett - the RFU's disciplinary officer - headed a five-man panel's detailed investigation surrounding the arrival and departure of Steele at Twickenham. Blackett's 52-page report is expected to be made public later today.

The panel was tasked with probing everything from Steele's recruitment to the board's loss of confidence in his leadership and the process leading to the termination of his contract.

The botched recruitment process for the performance director position, which played such a key part in Steele's downfall, was also due for scrutiny, in addition to the board's governance.

The management board ousted Steele from his post at an emergency meeting last month after deciding his position had become untenable. According to Thomas at the time, Steele had lost the confidence of the board and key stakeholders in the game.

Thomas was elected chairman of the RFU board of directors in April 2005. He had been elected to the RFU council four years earlier, representing Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire.

In 2007 he became one of two RFU representatives on the IRB and Six Nations Committee.

Following yesterday's meeting, Thomas said: "This was a difficult day for the Union but at the end of the day this does now mean we can finally move on. I would like to thank the Council for their support both in terms of me continuing as acting chief executive and in my other roles."