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Rugby Australia chairman (RA) Paul McLean says Raelene Castle's position as chief executive has not been under review, but he cannot guarantee it "won't happen in the future".
Key points:
- Paul McLean questioned how much the group of former Wallabies captains knew about the challenges facing Rugby Australia following their no-confidence letter
- Michael Lynagh has distanced himself from the group after the letter sent to Rugby Australia was made public
- McLean said Rugby Australia were putting measures in place to improve its financial situation amid the coronavirus pandemic
McLean's comments come in the wake of the extraordinary no-confidence letter issued to RA earlier this week by a group of former Wallabies captains, who are calling for an overhaul of the organisation's leadership.
World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones was joined by George Gregan, Stirling Mortlock, George Smith, Simon Poidevin, Stephen Moore, Jason Little, Rod McCall, Nathan Sharpe and Phil Kearns in signing the letter, which stated the game needed "vision, leadership and a plan for the future".
Michael Lynagh was also a signatory to the letter, published in media reports on Tuesday, but has since asked for his name to be removed because he did not agree to it being made public.
The RA board is looking to meet with the former captains in the coming days.
McLean, a former Wallabies captain himself, said RA was not considering removing Castle from her post, which she has held since late 2017.
But he would not rule out a discussion about her future down the track.
"At this point in time the CEO's role has not been reviewed in [RA discussions]," McLean told The Ticket.
"I'm not saying that won't happen in the future, because there's been plenty of discussion around it by various people. But at this point in time it's not been on the table."
McLean questioned the group's understanding of the challenges facing RA, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic that led to the suspension of the Super Rugby championship last month.
"I'm not sure how much knowledge that group of people have about the current situation," he said.
"I know two of them have been involved in their various state organisations — but some time ago — and they would have some understanding of the issues taking place but … I'm just not sure.
"I think there's a broad sentiment there that people want to see a better game, a more inclusive game, a game that is talking about the positives rather than the negatives, and I share those sentiments.
"It's been a difficult time and made more difficult by the [coronavirus] situation we're in at the minute.
"We're judged by our successes. We haven't delivered success on the field at the top level, and people get concerned about that.
"We are a winning nation and we've got a winning mentality and when that doesn't occur people want answers, and I can understand that."
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The criticism of RA's leadership comes while McLean is serving as its chairman on an interim basis after he replaced Cameron Clyne in February, meaning there will be further change at the top.
He indicated at last month's RA annual general meeting he would stay until July 31, but said his plans might alter.
"That might be brought forward if there are some changes around our board, which we are talking about now — [such as] someone to replace me — that could happen sooner," he said.
"That would make some sense because having a board that's got some longevity going into the next six or nine months makes some sense."
Rugby Australia 'getting on top' of finances
The letter sent to RA also highlighted the governing body's poor financial situation, saying steps needed to be taken to "create a much-needed sustainable, commercial rugby business".
McLean said RA had already begun shoring up its financial position before it received the letter.
"In the last six weeks we've been focused purely on the cash flow and financial survival," he said.
"Now that we're slowly getting on top of that — we're not through it but we're getting on top of it — and we know where some revenues are going to come from, we know where costs are.
"Now we need to reassess what the entity looks like in terms of its structure and how we fill the important roles that are there."
McLean said he believed rugby union would emerge from the COVID-19 crisis in better shape.
"If you asked me a month ago, I was terribly concerned about where it was all heading. But I think there've been some very positive discussions and changes to the way we're doing things," he said.
"I'd be optimistic that we will get through this and we will come out the other side a more efficient and sustainable football code."
McLean confident rugby will survive
Rugby union in Australia has suffered in recent times, both on and off the field.
A string of recent events — such as the axing of the Perth-based team Western Force in 2017, the sacking of Israel Folau for his provocative religious social media posts last year and the inability to secure a television broadcast deal before the coronavirus crisis — left RA financially threatened.
It also faced mounting criticism from both the Rugby Union Players' Association and retired players, with Farr-Jones, who captained the Wallabies to their 1991 World Cup victory, among the most vocal.
"[The] Western Force was a complex issue and a very difficult position taken by that particular board and CEO," McLean said.
"On the Folau matter, the board had to take a stand on that and we as a game took a stand on that, and I think it was absolutely the correct stand, so the fact that it gained as much publicity as it did, we had to wear that.
"I am in no shadow of a doubt that the board at the time made the right decision knowing that there would be division in the community … but we had the values of the game uppermost in our minds.
"And that (broadcast deal) was a situation where it was close to happening and then the pandemic came about and it didn't happen, so we're back at the table in terms of what that might look like for 2021.
"It's important not only Rugby Australia survives but we need to ensure our member unions (the states) survive as well because we've got many, many players out there, boys and girls who we want to get back on the park as quickly as we can and we want them to enjoy the game."
McLean said his position as chairman was consuming more of his time than might be expected, but he remained "positive" about serving RA in the role.
"I'm not saying for one minute that this is perfect. We work in an imperfect environment," he said.
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Topics: rugby-union, sport, covid-19, super-rugby, australia
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