New Rugby Australia chairman makes new promise to the fans
New Rugby Australia chairman Dan Herbert is promising to listen to the people after taking a thinly-veiled parting shot at his maverick predecessor, Hamish McLennan.
Suggesting McLennan had reigned somewhat as a dictator, Herbert says fans and stakeholders must not be ignored as the governing body strives to pick up the pieces after the Wallabies’ disastrous World Cup campaign and more than a decade of a “broken system”.
RA is intent on rebuilding the fractured code from the ground up with a centralisation plan aimed at ultimately returning the Wallabies to the glory days of winning Bledisloe and World Cup trophies.
But Herbert, in tune with RA chief executive and fellow Wallabies great Phil Waugh, who only took over in June, says the reform must start at the grassroots.
“We’ve both been involved with the game since we were kids,” Herbert said.
“We both are products of the club system that went into the state system and so forth.
“So we understand the layering of the game and how it works because those people out there are important.
“They’re the people turning up and acting as volunteers and signing up kids, running the the cafe at the club on the weekend and flipping burgers.
“Then they’re the people who buy Super Rugby memberships and they’re the people who buy Wallabies tickets.
“So it’s their game. We don’t own rugby. RA doesn’t own rugby. It’s owned by the community and even the Super clubs, they’re owned by their community clubs.”
McLennan was ousted on Sunday night following an extraordinary general meeting after six state unions, led by the powerhouse ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds, issued a statement declaring their dissatisfaction in the now-axed chair for “acting outside his role as a director, exerting an undue influence on the operations and executives of Rugby Australia.”
After thanking McLennan for stepping into the hot seat during the pandemic when most others were unwilling, Herbert on Monday revealed the rest of the RA board voted unanimously in favour of removing the chair.
“I’m not going to talk about Hamish per se, but working on the other side at times you just want to make sure that you’re not dictated to,” Herbert said.
“If you’ve got skin in the game, you want to make sure that people are listening to you because a lot of our good talent, not just playing talent, is in our clubs.
“We feel that moving forward, the game requires everyone to unite. We felt that would only be achieved with a change of chair.”
While McLennan, as chair, was the chief architect in parachuting Eddie Jones in to replace Dave Rennie just nine months out from this year’s World Cup, Herbert admitted the entire board at the time – including he and Waugh – had to accept responsibility for the shock appointment.
Despite agreeing with Waugh that Australian rugby bosses should no longer splash out crazy money recruiting NRL stars, Herbert also said RA planned “ATM” on honouring their reported $4.8 million, three-year-deal with Sydney Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
“We’re not doing that at the moment, no,” Herbert said when asked by AAP if they had any plans to renege on Suaalii’s deal after Roosters supremo Nick Politis last week claimed the 20-year-old had assured him he’d be returning to the Bondi club in 2028.
Seemingly seeing eye-to-eye with Herbert over at least one of his decisions, McLennan maintains his controversial call to sign the box-office Suaalii will prove hugely beneficial to RA.
“That guy will fill stadiums,” McLennan said.
“He’ll be a breath of fresh air for rugby union.
“The fact that he wanted to switch from league to union is amazing and he’s an incredible talent.
“Rugby have to hold firm and also what you’ve seen at the World Cup is that we don’t have the depth that we used to.
“So you need A-grade players like that who can come in and make a difference.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
2 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
2 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
3 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
86 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
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