RFU council member resigns over Alphonsi post

Alphonsi, who won 74 caps for England, said she felt fto down by Smith's punishment.

The RFU's women successful enactment corporate past wrote to the national calling for a alteration successful its argumentation and to disregard Smith.

The unfastened missive said the punishment, pursuing a three-person disciplinary panel, showed "a important disconnect betwixt the RFU's stated committedness to zero tolerance of favoritism and the cognition of however those principles are applied successful practice".

The RFU stipulates a "zero-tolerance approach" to favoritism and harassment and forbids nationalist remark that could harm the crippled oregon the union's reputation.

A Warwickshire RFU connection read: "We would similar to denote that Matt Smith has resigned from his presumption arsenic seat of Warwickshire RFU, successful airy of a caller disciplinary process.

"We privation to beryllium wide that we instrumentality issues of sexism and misogyny seriously."

The missive from the RFU's women successful enactment corporate read: "We had hoped this lawsuit would show the RFU's enactment successful addressing sexism and misogyny wrong rugby.

"Instead, it has highlighted areas wherever further improvement of argumentation and process whitethorn beryllium required."

The RFU assembly - famously described by past England skipper Will Carling successful 1995 arsenic "57 aged farts" - is successful the process of being reformed.

A governance reappraisal pushed by RFU main enforcement Bill Sweeney is acceptable to slim down the council, which includes representatives from England's counties, the subject and Oxbridge, and trim its powerfulness to an advisory role.

Positions connected the assembly are unpaid but travel with hospitality benefits which, for England men's Tests, are worthy respective hundreds of pounds for each fixture.