Former Rugby Australia president Hamish McLennan has condemned the “smear campaign” that led to his ouster late on Sunday night, but was adamant the game was still “broken”.
MacLennan, who had defied calls to resign following the failure of the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign and the resignation of coach Eddie Jones, said less than a year after signing a five-year contract that the six member unions “no longer have any confidence in his leadership”. “I have faith.”
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He was replaced as RA chairman by Daniel Herbert and immediately resigned from the board. On Monday morning, he said he believed the move was a play by state unions for “money and control.”
“I think it comes down to money and control. So we’ll see how it goes. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that there was an organized campaign to smear me,” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Monday morning.
“The World Cup results were pretty bad. But I think we need to look at the underlying reasons and fix the fact that the system is broken.”
The rebel group, made up of the Queensland, Australian Capital Rugby Union, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory rugby unions, moved to oust MacLennan and jointly sent a no-confidence motion to the RA chairman and the RA board.
“We do not believe that Mr McLennan has been acting in the best interests of our game,” the state union’s letter to the RA board reads.
“We no longer have any confidence or trust in his leadership or the direction he is taking rugby in Australia.”
McLennan was appointed RA president in mid-2020 amidst financially difficult times, and helped secure hosting rights for the next men’s World Cup in 2027 and the women’s tournament in 2029.
But his decision to appoint Jones as a second-choice player proved disastrous, with the Wallabies failing to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
Herbert, who played in 67 Tests for Australia and was part of the Wallabies team that won the 1999 World Cup, the 2001 British and Irish Lions Series, the Rugby Championship and five successive Bledisloe Cups, declared a reformation was coming.
“It has never been more important for the Rugby Australia Board of Directors to work collaboratively with our member unions to deliver on the commitments we have made, including delivering on the reforms desperately needed for a aligned, high-performance system and investing in our communities. And women’s rugby.” Herbert said in a statement.
“The reforms we are currently undertaking will not only support the competitiveness of our national team, but will also build deeper engagement with the rugby community and fans around the world.”
