Rob Andrew has launched a hard-hitting attack on new plans for a breakaway Super League.
Gloucester owner Tom Walkinshaw has reportedly unveiled proposals for a League starting with 10 English clubs and four Welsh, plus two from Scotland in 2002 and later involving French sides.
Newcastle director of rugby Andrew is the chairman of a Club England taskforce which has produced a blueprint for the future of the game in this country.
Andrew saw another plan for a British League by Walkinshaw fail, and tonight he urged the Rugby Football Union to rubber-stamp his proposals in the wake of the reports of new rival competition.
"If the RFU want to lose control of the game this week they can," said Andrew. "These people want to hijack the game in England and Europe and it's all about control and they want to do to rugby what has happened to Formula One."
Andrew claimed Walkinshaw, Saracens owner Nigel Wray and Cardiff chairman Peter Thomas want to run the game themselves and were ready to close down clubs including Bristol, Bedford, Wasps and Newcastle.
"At the moment Tom Walkinshaw, Nigel Wray and Peter Thomas are trying to engineer a breakaway and they want to take control the game and I know what that's like. I had it here with Sir John Hall and he walked away and left this club in a mess and that's what will happen to other clubs if these people get their way. There needs to be an urgent and special meeting of the RFU Council otherwise we will have a complete and utter mess. It's time for the RFU council to stand up and be counted and make decisions about the future of the game."
"I have spent six months working hard with other people to put together a plan for the game and the RFU need to rubber stamp our plans and the clubs then have to decide whether they stay with the RFU or break away."