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Opinion
As the dust begins to settle after a tumultuous week, with Rugby Australia now without a CEO, you have to ask: where to now?
Disgruntled Channel Ten boss Paul Anderson let his feelings known about the handling of the situation, which leads to the next question: did the outgoing Raelene Castle have more corporate punch than we have been led to believe? And so what potential damage financially has this sacking caused?
Only time will tell.
A point that has been brought up time and time again is that Rugby Australia has neglected grassroots and community rugby. But has it really? I remain unsure, as I’ve seen several community groups interacting with James Selby, Rugby Australia’s general manager of community rugby, who seemed to be more than happy with their support.
(AAP Image/Daniel Munoz)
That brings me to another matter no-one has yet mentioned: the Australian Rugby Foundation. It is an independent non-profit organisation that works with grassroots, junior, women’s, and Indigenous groups and for player welfare. They are currently involved in fundraising for the launch of the Lansdowne Cup. But according to many, not much happens in rugby underneath the Wallabies.
The foundation certainly deserves all the corporate support it can get so that it can do more. It also seems to be relatively stable and free of the politics of Rugby Australia.
So while certainly more can always be done for rugby in the community, to say nothing is being done simply is not factual, and it’s disrespectful to those who do a lot of good work for little public praise.
The Rugby Union Players Association has put itself forward to be a part of the new-look RA. However, are they there for the good of the game?
An interesting fact is that under Michael Cheika’s fateful 2019 leadership the RUPA reportedly demanded $200,000 fee per player for potentially winning the World Cup. This was $50,000 more per player than the All Blacks would have got. You can take what you like from that.
Furthermore, there seems to be a push to allow elite players to recuperate wage losses by being able to play in Europe and still be available for Wallabies selection. Many also criticise the salaries at Rugby Australia at the same time.
This leads us to another question: does the Australian public know the real costs involved in playing international rugby? England spent £120 million (A$230 million) on its 2019 World Cup Rugby bid. While many in the rugby arena think an $800,000 salary for a CEO is far too high, the public must understand a World Cup wins cannot be done on sausage sizzles and car washes.
I can only hope that the return of large corporate support for rugby is real and not scotch mist. Again, time will tell.
As a final note to all people who support and play the game at the amateur levels: you are the real rugby heroes doing things for the right reasons.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.