A letter to RA, that has never been answered, on the sacking of Dave Rennie

I agree with JJ. As it stands at the moment I would want Rennie back tomorrow but that is not going to happen. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately they may have shown themselves the door if you add the total debacle since Rennie to the unresolved Japan issue with the wholesale insults to the fans and lack of action to resolve AR's well-known development issues. WTF how did we get here? I think the whole crowd from Hamish down have successfully brought the Marx Brothers back to life.

Thanks JJ, I hope my insights have helped. For what it's worth, I thought your letter was clear and well expressed, with sentiments I happen to agree with. Your call to action might equally well be as straightforward as wanting acknowledgement of your sadness about the (low) standard of professional behaviour.

Hi JJ, I can guess at why you did not receive a reply beyond an acknowledgement from RA and I would do the same. You have outlined a situation and an opinion. You haven't provided a specific request for action or for remedy. What did you want the recipient of the letter to do? It was likely McLennan, as you say, but what did you want? Acknowledgement of your letter? You got that. McLennan to fire Jones and reinstate Rennie? Who knows, for you didn't say. A letter of complaint should always have a call to action. For example, "Based on my view that opportunism has trumped diligence, I ask that Mr McLennan in person reply to me stating the specific due diligence actions taken by the Board regarding hiring MrJones prior to the decision to hire Mr Jones, and matching them against the norms for recruitment of senior managers as set out in the Australian standard for Company Directors. I seek in particular your assurance that the full expected list of actions was taken in full, and there were no omissions nor skimping."

Career pollies public servants and rugby admin...not suprised no answer,great article and I'm in total agreeance.Results arent always so straightforward because we weren't winning the basics and we needed someone who was just concentrating on that.ie collisions set pieces, culture ,pride in jersey etc I think that was front on Dave's mind but RA wanted him gone and undermined him.

Fair enough, but no contract was broken — Rennie was paid out (unlike Folau, who had to go to court). And let's be honest here: all coaches serve at their employer's pleasure, and if on-field results aren't good enough then the writing is always on the wall, however much the coach in question might be perceived as a decent bloke. As NFL coach Bum Phillips presciently put it: "There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired."

Excellent letter. Sadly you probably lost Hamish as soon as he read the word "honourable."

Eddie was very happy to be put into that position. Australia had a dream draw and it was yet another chance to meet his win the RWC at all costs obsession.

I find it incredible the amount of people who are swallowing the hypocritical double standards of this "young team" excuse. Rennie also had a young team and blooded so many new players yet he was given the chop because Hamish saw Eddie as a kindred spirit. Eddie's "young team" includes a 33yo debutante lock who for very good reasons hadn't previously been capped and didn't include the mentor of the great hope at ten. Hamish and Eddie have spun a web of contradictions.

Well written. Love to see Hamish (or ideally his replacement’s) reply.

First IMO continually sacking coaches has been a grevious error changing nothing. This includes Eddie, RA's problems start with 20yrs of mis-management, not coaching. That said I thought the replacing of DR was not fully thought through being motivated by EJ's sacking by England. Considering EJ's history of initially giving good results with a "use-by" of ~3yrs his involvement for RWC 2027 should've started post RWC 2023. Let Rennie finish his contract, make Eddie "Director of Rugby" & coach of the Woman's team moving to the Wallabies when Rennie's term had run its course. Gives Rennie his chance, avoids radical changes 8 months out and giving Eddie a more settled team & fits EJ's 3yr burn out factor. The real issue remains RA's management leading to falling results on to a loss of public/sponsor's support. Maybe making the playoffs would've help somewhat arrest this decline, but too late now.

I find it hard to disagree with your statements. In my opinion, if Rugby Australia wanted Eddie Jones as Head Coach, they didn't have to bone Rennie; they could have let him see out his contract, and gotten Eddie to spend the time from being employed by RA until after the World Cup lining up the assistants he wanted and liaising with the various Australian provincial unions to check the talent and how things were running. McLennan et al put EJ in a ridiculous position vis-à-vis the 2023 World Cup, as there was never going to be enough time to prepare the Wallabies for said WC. I can't fathom what Eddie was doing accepting the role in that situation. The big problem is that whilst McLennan and anyone who took part in parachuting EJ in must surely find themselves in an untenable position, and Eddie's position is, at best, on shaky ground, who replaces them? Poison chalice, anyone?

With all due respect Mr Joseph, I wouldn't have written back either. You made your points in your letter as a fan and fair enough. The decision was always going to be volatile and I reckon you probably weren't the only one to send an upset letter. Expecting to receive explanations to your specific claims/queries from the board is a bit naive. For what it's worth, I didn't like the way it was done either and I have a lot of respect for Dave Rennie as a man. Time to move on

Botticelli, I disagree with you other than the general points you make about rebuilding phases. In Eddie's case, it's gone awry. His razed earth virtually guaranteed a lack of cohesion and combinations at this RWC. If we weren't going to win with DR, we were certainly doomed with EJ given the timeframes involved. His youth policy and wrong selections disrupted a strong core. He focussed on the wrong players and failed to manage their introduction to test football well. His support team of assistants seem ill prepared for their jobs. He hasn't demonstrated an evident or visible coherent strategy in attack other than pass it two wide and bash it up or kick it away. I can't remember the last time I saw a creative cut out pass, run around or angled line. Hasn't fixed the discipline issues or improved our defence. He hasn't established a winning culture except against Georgia, a tier 2 nation. He has had us going backwards since DR. He probably won't be there in 2027. We'd happily accept a rebuilding phase if we had good builders in charge. We've got the demolition men instead.

“The supporters of your decision will take the win rate statistic of 38% and milk it for all its worth, and will no doubt throw in instability of selections and the team’s apparent ill discipline to support their (and your) position”. TBH J. Joseph, these are all legitimate reasons for a coach to be sacked. In fact, they often are the reasons why coaches are sacked. If a teams performance, results, ongoing poor discipline and an instability of selections are not important when conducting an ongoing review of a coach, then what is? On what what grounds then, are people calling for Eddies head? The comments made by Hamish about Rennies cultural approach, were very unprofessional and uncalled for, I will give you that.

I thought the treatment of Rennie was poor but I reckon it was determined that the Wallabies were never going to win the WC under him and it was better to use the opportunity to blood a young team. As a West Coast Eagles fan, I’ve grown to accept the necessity of rebuilding phases. The more pain you accept at the beginning the more thorough and profound the growth. The teams that don’t make the hard calls languish in the middle for years. Eddie made the tough calls and has endured an incredible about of crap for it. I trust the Wallabies team he produces for the Lions and 2027 WC will be exceptional. Big, fast, smart, multi-dimensional, skilled, well oiled, able to embrace pressure. Padam padam.

nail...head

I totally agree. Rennie was a very thoughtful and careful manager, almost old school. Dumping him was shameful and I said so at the time, with no idea whether Eddie would do well or not. But that wasn't the point was it? But now it is.

The RA Chairman's actions show he is not a fit and proper person to hold an office with its requisite high standards and principles. The treatment of Dave Rennie was abhorrent and lacked any basic moral standards. The complete ineptitude as custodian of the finances of the organization (terminating Dave Rennies contract, Eddie Jones contract, pursuing Joseph Suaalii). His cowardice in distancing himself from the impending loss to Wales, a consequence of his very actions. His very public contemptuous comments ridiculing the NRL and the intelligence of its players, illustrate an entitled deep egotistical conceit that again asks the question of his appropriateness for the office of Chairman of Rugby Australia.

J. Joseph I agree everything you said in your letter to the RA on 31st January 2023. On your concluding remark in your post: I am wondering if the Chairman’s position at Rugby Australia is tenable. No, the Chairman’s position at RA is NO MORS tenable. So are the rest of the RA Board members. They all share collective responsibility and accountability for the current humiliating state of affairs in Australian rugby. The Chairman and the rest of thr RA Board members must go, and go now. Otherwise the stink and the unsavoury baggage from this utter humiliation will not go away as Australia now has to regroup to preapare the Wallabies for the 2027 RWC. The least they can do as a favour to the extremely unhappy and gutted Australian rugby fans is they should take equal share of responsibility for the fiasco and voluntarily quit en-bloc from the Board. If the Chairman and the current Board continue to stay on, Australian rugby cannot move forward because every decision they are going to make will be opened to question at every step of the way with suspicions and circumspection. As they say, for the rugby fans, “ Shame me once, shame on you. Shame me twice, shame on me.”