Raelene Castle is on borrowed time. After the botched handling of the Israel Folau situation, the Rugby Australia CEO’s position is surely untenable.
On Castle’s watch, Folau did what he did – I’m not going to rehash it, I’ve made my views pretty clear – then was paid millions of dollars and received an apology.
Doesn’t matter that he, in turn, apologised to RA. The overwhelming narrative is that they said sorry to him and gave him a butt-ton of cash – the exact figure remains elusive but it’s more than the zero he deserved – which was everything he wanted.
And in sport, when your opponent gets everything they want, it means they won.
Which means you lost.
And RA didn’t so much lose the Folau match as get completely pasted. It was a shellacking.
I’m sure the devoted Christian is enjoying the David versus Goliath nature of it too – Folau may stand 193 centimetres tall, but he was the little guy taking on a national sporting body.
Didn’t he make them look silly with nothing more than a proverbial rock in his hand?
Then, when asked by a journo if Folau would ever play for the Wallabies again, Castle liberally applied salt to the wound:
“Never say never, right? It would be crazy for me to say that.”
It would be crazy for you to say that. That’s some masochistic shit right there.
It capped off a disastrous year for the code in Australia.
The CEO fell out spectacularly with the national coach, leading to an embarrassing row at the Australian embassy in Tokyo during the World Cup.
The Wallabies, of course, played to their World Rugby ranking of sixth at said tournament, getting knocked out at the quarter-final stage.
The men in gold also continued their historic run of Bledisloe failures, while the Brumbies papered over the enormous crack that is the state of our Super Rugby franchises.
(AAP Image/Rohan Thomson)
Things are so bad on the field that people are actually pointing to the Junior Wallabies’ second place at this year’s Under 20 Championship as a reason to be happy.
Does no one else realise how pathetic that is? Our cause for celebration is that our Under-20s are runners up. I’m not having a go at those kids, but what other code in this great nation points to their juniors who didn’t even win and says: “See, things aren’t that bad.”
Our non-elite players got a silver medal. That’s not an acceptable top-line achievement for a multi-million-dollar sporting enterprise’s entire year.
And while there are many people and factors that led to this car-crash of a year, the CEO was at the wheel.
Castle has to go.
It would be remiss of me not to mention that this means our sporting landscape goes back to being run overwhelmingly by men.
Which is undisputedly a bad thing.
At a time when women’s sport is on an unstoppable rise, we need a reflection of it in our sporting boardrooms and administrations.
If I can paraphrase Nell Scovell, a fairer sampling of humanity will always produce better outcomes.
And in Australia, the embarrassing truth is that we have more CEOs named Andrew than chief executives who are women.
RA broke an entrenched, sexist, shit mould by naming Castle in the top job. They shouldn’t have to be applauded – it should just be the norm – but it was a groundbreaking appointment, so credit where credit’s due.
But it was a very Rugby Australia act – do the right thing the wrong way. Appoint a woman CEO, except the woman they appointed was coming off what was, at best, a tumultuous tenure at the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The NRL club had some success on Castle’s watch, sure, but the Dogs’ past two years point to her having left the place in a worse state than she found it.
While then-chairman Ray Dib said Castle had “strengthened all areas of the club and will leave us in a strong position for the new chief executive”, since Castle left at the end of 2017, the Dogs have cleaned out their roster, finished 12th in consecutive years, and paid Des Hasler an undisclosed sum not to be their coach after a messy contract saga.
We learn from our mistakes, so I’m not saying Castle did not deserve another gig somewhere, but surely RA should have hired someone leading head office with a track record of success.
(AAP Image/Daniel Munoz)
With Castle, they ended up getting pretty much what the Doggies did – players leaving, poor on-field performances and legal disputes leading to people receiving seven-figure sums not to be on their books.
So the board definitely need to wear their share of the blame – really, RA needs a hard restart, with the entire board getting the boot – but no CEO can survive with the excuse “It’s not my fault I was hired.”
While rugby in Australia has been in a state of decline since the end of the 2003 World Cup, it can’t be acceptable to simply say that Castle inherited a basket case so it’s not her fault it continues to be crap.
The slide needs to cease but under Castle’s watch, it’s sped up.
If the slide isn’t stopping, the buck needs to.
Raelene, it may not be all your fault, but this shit-show is your shit-show.
It’s time to call it a day.
Captain
Roar Rookie
The point is, "the indisputable fact" we needed more women, and then brought on board a repeated failure.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Is that Izzy?
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
How did R.Castle get the CEO job at RA? Excerpt from Roy Masters SMH article, June 8, 2017, when Bill Pulver was CEO. ''Buildcorp's co-chair is Josephine Sukkar who is also a member of the powerful ARU board nomination committee, the body which assesses the credentials for those who stand for election on the peak body of the sport. The ARU has three female directors, Ann Sherry, Elizabeth Broderick and Pip Marlow, all prominent in business and social equity forums.'' There is no need to say any more.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
What about ASICs, Land Rover and the Salteri family? As for changing sponsors, you realise value is based on demand, right? One less potential sponsor impacts value.
JAMES G HASLAM
Guest
Once Folau spoke as he did, it was a lose lose situation, nothing RA or Castle could do. You just hope these situations don't happen to your sport. The real issue is Super Rugby slipping as a popular sport in the eyes of the public, and nothing Rugby is lining lining up to replace it. But women's BBL and AFLW are certainly filling any void. Once, Rugby revived interest by a strong World Cup showing. This appeared to be achieved by getting three or so League players to switch for a while or a lifetime. While League dominates locally in NSW & Qld, Rugby will never produce enough quality on its own. Remember Folau came from League. Us general sports fans don't care where the Wallabies came from, just that we get some wins. All good athletes from Wagga Wagga south & west go to AFL, and the Storm & Rebels in Melbourne are not changing that, but are good for capturing some of the Melbourne appetite for sport. AFL gains in NSW & Qld don't affect Rugby quality, as they require a different type of athlete (exhibit A: Folau at GWS). A secondary issue for Rugby to tackle is how Pacific Islanders fit with the traditional private school network that dominates Rugby's leadership. League seems a much more welcoming and comfortable place. A third issue is the rules. I, for one, can watch AFL, League, soccer, and when a penalty is called, a replay is shown and a commentator points out the penalty. In Rugby, this never happens. It seems neither players, fans or commentators have a clue what is a penalty and what is not. After the third collapsed scrum, one team or the other gets procession, just to get the game going, making scrums irrelevant. Eliminate them. These are some of Rugby's problems, and none are Raelene Castle.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
No. Because this sponsor devised the whole campaign. And then hides behind legal threats if anybody mentions it. The whole thing is about bullying and manipulation. She should have just changed sponsors and had a quite word to Israel.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
No. You haven't suggested that. That's exactly what can happen in the case of Australian Rugby. Which can't happen in many business that running a sporting body is apparently so like. Much of the success of RA depends on the state bodies. That means RA need to manage the state bodies. These very same state bodies can vote RA out. Therefore RA can't do a lot, unless the states are complicit. It's also not crazy to suggest, they aren't doing anything against the wishes of the state bodies, because if they were, the state bodies could vote them out. How many businesses have a situation where the voting shareholders, or also the subsidiaries?
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Associations (depending upon the Constitution), a bit like many sporting organisations? PS: I am not sure that I have suggested anywhere that the subsidiary businesses vote out the Board? Nonetheless, the Members should consider their options here and maybe follow your suggestion, especially if the current Board persists in keeping the ineffective CEO!
Vman2
Roar Rookie
Well it's pretty obvious to us drunks, fornicators and atheists that we are just not considered good enough for the homosexuals. Bloody snobs. Which based on my personal experience only actually applies to lesbian feminazi types. The gay men I have met seemed not to mind too much about hanging around with us drunks, fornicators and atheists. In fact most of them appeared to me, to one of us. So at least from my perspective, all this outrage and offense taking about the afterlife seems to be purely on behalf of some pearl clutching lesbian feminazi types who didn't express any concern about what happens in the afterlife until Folau brought the subject up. Of course I respect that other people may have had different experiences than me and other people are entitled to think that us drunks, fornicators and atheists are just not good enough for any of the homosexuals to hang out with. No problem. have your view. It's the hypocrisy of proudly calling that snobby attitude "inclusive" when it clearly is not, that rankles a little.
Vman2
Roar Rookie
The "wait" is because the problems stem from the current board. So this board wont push her out. The chairman has got the message but is leaving in a way that ties the hands any successor for years to come. As you point out its the same tried and true theme repeating itself. The problems with the current board fester away because the state unions, especially NSW and QLD refuse to act and change course. In fact one speculates if the all powerful NSW union is ultimately at the heart of this, rather than just a passive and inept player. What is required is a complete change in attitude to refocus the whole administration into a peak performing organisation. But no matter how many times you spell this out the Castle fan club insist that no one offers any constructive suggestions.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Where did I ever describe Castle as even good?
Patrick
Roar Rookie
So true. Castle is clearly the best administrator, and the issues she is dealing with are unprecedented and entirely unpredictable.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Pedro in what business do your subsidiary businesses have the ability to vote out the board?
ScottD
Roar Guru
Well you are certainly entitled to your opinion so no need to beg and the business of sport is still business as you say. I did start to write a tome in response but I think my post is based on personal experience and is my opinion. I accept others may have a different experience and therefore opinion and I welcome hearing about other views and experiences.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Based upon the record above, this is part of your original statement then: "However from personal experience I can tell you that expecting a new CEO to come in under the circumstances that she came in under and expecting her to have turned things around within 12 months is just dreaming." I beg to differ based on my own experience (and sport is very similar to business). If you can not institute change within 12 months you are an ineffective CEO. If problems are rearing their ugly head after 2 years and the organisation has not moved forward in any meaningful way then again, you are an ineffective CEO and should move on (or be moved on).
ScottD
Roar Guru
Don't be silly mate. The original comment from me was posted on the 8th. Your original comment was posted on the 9th - there were no edits possible well before your first comment and there have certainly been no edits on my response (and the record shows that).
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
She is Australian. Not Maori.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Or maybe a distraction.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
She was born in Australia. Not a Kiwi. Also a net baller and not a rugby person. Just a sports administrator for hire.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
What a balanced assessment. Anything bad = Castle's fault. Anything good = people felt sorry for RA.