Australian rugby union chief executive John O'Neill. AAP Image/Paul Miller
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Australian national media, including The Roar, have been invited to a press conference at the ARU’s Media Suite on Friday morning.
The media release suggests “a significant announcement regarding the future of Australian Rugby” will be made, with ARU Chairman Michael Hawker AM and ARU Managing Director and CEO John O’Neill AO, in attendance.
The Roar understands the press conference will announce O’Neill is standing down from his positions with the ARU, although this is at this stage unconfirmed.
O’Neill held the position of chief executive of Australian Rugby Union between 1995 and 2003 before taking up the position as head of Football Federation Australia – a position he remained in until 2006.
O’Neill returned to Australian rugby in June 2007, and joined the Rugby World Cup board in March 2012.
His role with the ARU was set to finish in 2013.
Update: The details above have been confirmed. Read The Roar‘s live blog of the announcement.
Later today we will bring you insight from Roar expert Spiro Zavos, who is at the press conference.
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- ARU, John ONeill, Rugby Union
October 12th 2012 @ 8:48am
kingplaymaker said | October 12th 2012 @ 8:48am | Report comment
Odd to make a decision to stand down when he’s standing down next year anyway.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:21am
Sam Taulelei said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:21am | Report comment
KPM
It could be that JON serving as director on two boards is proving to be untenable for the ARU given the problems in Australian rugby and requiring his undivided attention.
JON’s departure, sooner than expected also creates uncertainty for Deans tenure past next week’s Bledisloe, as JON is Deans most powerful supporter in the ARU.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:28am
kingplaymaker said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:28am | Report comment
Sam everything you say is perceptive, convincing and in many respects disturbing!
October 12th 2012 @ 11:08am
Sam Taulelei said | October 12th 2012 @ 11:08am | Report comment
Confirmed in the live blog by Tristan Rayner
“O’Neill’s recent undertaking in the new role of Chairman of Echo Entertainment has substantially and unexpectedly changed his workload, meaning an early resignation.”
October 12th 2012 @ 9:39am
Bakkies said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
I say he was pushed.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:47am
Justin2 said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Without question at this point. Reports are of an upheaval at the ARU
October 12th 2012 @ 10:22am
El Gamba said | October 12th 2012 @ 10:22am | Report comment
I’ll find anything else hard to believe, all he had to do was hang around until after the Lion’s tour and then pat himself on the back for making millions for the code..
October 12th 2012 @ 9:19pm
Rugby Tragic said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:19pm | Report comment
I’d be interested to know more about the upheaval…. I would want to believe JON had the backing of his board members.
Where or what form are ‘these upheavals’ that obviously have been concealed from ‘loyal rugby fans’? I am not referring to the ranting and opinions of many who are just looking for a scapegoat.
I do not support JON, neither do I castigate him but I think that many are guided by emotions rather than anything of more substance.
October 12th 2012 @ 10:45am
stuff happens said | October 12th 2012 @ 10:45am | Report comment
As I’ve posted before his position at the ARU is untenable as he is now the chairman of one of the largest gambling companies in Australia ( Echo which owns Star City ). You simply cannot allow the CEO of any major sport in Australia to be in this position. Gambling & sport are a toxic mixture.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:21pm
Rugby Tragic said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:21pm | Report comment
You are probably right – I love the game and I don’t mind a punt either! – obviously no hope for me …
October 12th 2012 @ 1:02pm
WoobliesFan said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
lol @ odd
You’d be the only one on these boards to think it’s odd.
The ships sinking my ’28 injured players’ poster.
The Captains either jumped ship or been pushed in order to salvage what’s left before it completely sinks.
This is pure power play move by the board…….
Dean’s is next.
Salvation shall be upon Aus Rugby soon enough………wahoooooooooo woot woot!
October 12th 2012 @ 1:13pm
Mike said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
Except that its not the board that is doing this, but JON himself.
Its also interesting the assumption by many that “Deans will be next”. Perhaps he will, or perhaps its the other way around, i.e. that this has secured his position until the end of his contract. I may be wrong, but I suspect that an interim CEO is not going to do anything radical like moving a coach on 12 months before the end of his contract.
Then I suppose it depends on how soon ARU board find a replacement CEO. But they don’t appear to have expected JON’s resignation, so they probably won’t get the selecton process completed for months. So a new CEO comes in and with Deans having even less time to run on his contract, the new CEO won’t be keen to make a change – if Deans b*ggers up the Lions tour, then its the previous CEO’s fault for hiring him. But if the new CEO sacks Deans and then a new coach b*ggers up the Lions tour, guess who gets the blame? And of course it won’t just be Deans supporters who get stuck into him, but those who think it was wrong to change just before the tour etc.
All speculation on my part of course. I guess we’ll know soon enough.
October 12th 2012 @ 1:24pm
WoobliesFan said | October 12th 2012 @ 1:24pm | Report comment
Not the board? HA!
JON was absolutely pushed by the baord, but they gave him the chance to save face…..that way both parties look good, or perhaps a little less f’cked up. JON’s CV stays nice and pretty and the ARU save themselves the media fallout and whatever other fallout crap would have come.
Cooper called it.
Dean’s coaching record symbolised it.
JON stepped in it.
One down, one to go.
Kiwi much?
October 12th 2012 @ 2:25pm
krill said | October 12th 2012 @ 2:25pm | Report comment
Do you have inside knowlegdge Wobblies?
October 12th 2012 @ 9:33pm
Sid said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:33pm | Report comment
Rugger certainly has gone to pot in the past decade since the 2003 World Cup. Hard to believe Australia could do that again.
The tv deal, or lack of a reasonable deal is a lot to do with union becoming like a man on an iron lung in the hospital ward. The other codes have stolen such a gap now, I just doubt it could ever be closed.
All lost because of the chase for the devil’s candy on pay tv.
Almost better to go back to amateur am afraid to say.
October 12th 2012 @ 8:56am
Snarky said | October 12th 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
@ KingPlayMaker could be something to do with the salary cap? … Either way, great news for Aus Rugby.
October 12th 2012 @ 8:57am
oncewerewallabies said | October 12th 2012 @ 8:57am | Report comment
He was given an ultimatum…there was no way ARU would let him toxicate any further. So long, Robbie to follow..
October 12th 2012 @ 8:59am
Weird said | October 12th 2012 @ 8:59am | Report comment
And here I was hoping they’d sack Deans.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:07am
formeropenside said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:07am | Report comment
Well, since Deans wont be sacked while JON is around, its a start.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:04am
Mals said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:04am | Report comment
Hope he stands down & applies for the NRL CEO position
October 12th 2012 @ 9:19am
B.A Sports said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Well Mals the other codes, the AFL in particular , probably hope so…
October 12th 2012 @ 9:06am
Chris said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:06am | Report comment
As a Brumbies fan, good riddance.
We will never forget how you screwed us with uneven payments in 96′ and 97′. How you openly favored the establishment provinces. How, despite your favoritism, the Waratahs are still a joke; never to win anything.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:08am
Who Needs Melon said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:08am | Report comment
Good news. As I mentioned yesterday, I don’t think he is 100% committed – nothing to prove to anyone this time around. His future roles are already set.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:21am
Brett McKay said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Whoa, this IS interesting..
October 12th 2012 @ 2:52pm
gaffa said | October 12th 2012 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Especially with you running your other story about a certain CEO not of ARU persuasion.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:24am
Chris said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:24am | Report comment
Pity the FFA got in first on Gallop. If O’Neill had stood down a couple of months ago we would have got a damn good CEO out of it.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:24am
Mike said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:24am | Report comment
The choice of a replacement will be crucial, Australian rugby is at a crossroads. We have our five S15 teams (and all kudos to JON for making that happen despite all the odds, especially financial), but we must now provide the lower-level infrastructure to support them. That will be the major task of the next CEO.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:27am
Sam Taulelei said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:27am | Report comment
Not only the replacement Mike but also the future plans to restucture Australian rugby.
It would be no different than replacing Deans as the coach but nothing else were to change. Then you’d be left with the same old s**t but just a different face.
October 12th 2012 @ 9:29am
Mike said | October 12th 2012 @ 9:29am | Report comment
Agreed Sam. The CEO only implements the plan – the whole board needs to be behind it, and they have to get the other stakeholders supporting it or at least reconciled to it as well: clubs, S15 sides, state unions.
October 12th 2012 @ 5:40pm
Billy Bob said | October 12th 2012 @ 5:40pm | Report comment
Sam and Mike,
I tend to agree with you. Someone at some upper level must write a song sheet and then the CEO and the Board need to all sing from it.
It will be an epic battle hymn, in the realm of Leonard Cohen’s Alleluia and Henry V’s speech at Agincourt.
Anything less than a ‘whatever it takes’ structural policy won’t wash.
Is there a space for a Roar representative on the board?
I am only half joking. Australian rugby is at a crossroads and every possible mind should be employed to assist.
All structures and cultures must be questioned. All traditions must be harnessed. And there’s the rub.
Many conflicting structures, traditions and opinions about the future.
The new leadership must be proficient in sociology, as I believe that the essential problem in Australian rugby is cultural .
Anyway, exciting times are ahead.