New RA chairman Daniel Herbert speaks for first time after ousting Hamish McLennan
New Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert says the organisation has every intention of honouring their deal with NRL star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, as a new era kicks off.
Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
New Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert has revealed the organisation will make the unprecedented move of appointing a director of high performance that the new Wallabies coach will answer to.
In his first interview since being appointed chairman late on Sunday night in place of Hamish McLennan, former Wallabies great Herbert said RA would avoid looking for a “sugar hit” in a new coach, instead opting to restructure the whole system from the top down.
A new director of high performance will be appointed in coming weeks, and that person will then determine who will be the new Wallabies coach following the disastrous tenure of Eddie Jones, who resigned following the World Cup.
Herbert also indicated he’ll adopt a softer approach on centralisation plans than what was sought by McLennan, who wanted all states to hand over financial control to RA, leading to six member unions calling for his resignation on Friday, sparking the board to oust him last weekend.
While Scott Johnson was appointed as a high performance director for a period from 2018-19 to rein in then Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, Australian rugby has never before employed a high performance boss to pick the coach of the national team.
“We haven’t gone to market for the Wallaby coach and we won’t until we place the high performance director,” Herbert said.
“I’ve been trying to get the message across that changing a coach doesn’t fix what’s going on right now. I know it makes people feel better if we’ve got a certain coach in place for a period of time, but eventually the scoreboard comes into play. And that’s when you get found out.
“We can’t take a short-term focus and we have to put the foundations in place and that starts with a good high-performance director that can come in and then run the process to find the coach, and make sure that we find the right fit for our playing group and the right person who can address some of the some of the team’s shortcomings of late.”
Herbert said they were aiming to have the new Wallabies coach announced by February, before the start of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
“We’re working on that timeline, and we’d hoped that we could do it before that timeline, but we’re giving ourselves a bit of time because we need to get the director in place first because they will run that process, and to do it the other way around just runs the risk of it being dysfunctional because you want that person to be front and centre in the process and hiring of the coach,” Herbert said.
Among those who have been linked to the high performance role in recent weeks are RUPA chief executive Justin Harrison, former Wallabies Rod Kafer and Morgan Turinui, former and Brumbies and Sevens coach Andy Friend.
The high performance director model would closely resemble the system used by Ireland, who rose to No. 1 in the world with Australian David Nucifora at the helm running the national system, and coach Andy Farrell guiding the team.
Herbert also revealed that all board directors except for McLennan voted for him to be the new chairman, and that he intends his tenure to be long term.
“We joined the call (on Sunday night) and then both of us we’re asked to leave the call,” Herbert said.
“And then I was joined and told of the decision. And then he was called and asked to rejoin the meeting, and he asked for the result and didn’t rejoin the meeting.”
McLennan resigned from the board immediately.
Herbert said the board wanted a uniting figure to take the game forward, after McLennan had put many stakeholders off-side.
“We deliberated that over the whole weekend, [we have] a lot of admiration and respect for Hamish and what he’s done stepping into this seat when probably not many people would have done it,” Herbert said.
“He led us through Covid and has been fundamental about the changes required and that’s not going to change with me and the directors, we are steadfast on that. We feel that moving forward the game requires everyone to unite. We felt that would only be achieved with a change of chair.
“I have been around this game since I was five. There has always been a level of difficulty in the game between the different layers of the game to the Super clubs to the national game. It’s not helpful. We need to listen to our stakeholders and we will be doing that.
“The message was sent and it was heard. Certainly this group of stakeholders felt that they weren’t being heard and they didn’t like the direction they were being taken in or the style.
“That’s all been listened to and part of my role will be getting out and listening to all of their concerns and making sure that we have plans in place to realise its potential. There will always be a level of friction. You can’t get away from that in a game like this. It’s got to be respectful.”
That indicates that in a bid for centralisation, RA will initially pull back from a demand of full financial control of the states.
Herbert also said RA had no plans to revoke the $5.3 million, three-year contract offered to NRL star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii that starts in 2025, despite McLennan driving that signing and Roosters supremo Nick Politis revealing last week that Suaalii had assured him he’d be returning to the Bondi club in 2028.
“We’re not doing that at the moment, no,” Herbert said.
Meanwhile, Herbert rejected notions that RA had returned to a “boys’ club” style, given he, chief executive Phil Waugh, president Joe Roff and Harrison had all played in the same Wallabies team at the start of the century.
“We all have an interest in the game and we all have a passion for the game, so I don’t see that but it’s going to be from outside in,” Herbert said.
“It’s hard for me to sit here and say yes or no but in terms of uniqueness to that group, it’s not something considered to be honest.
“There is a lot of sports where people go on because they have a passion for it, they understand it, they feel they can add value. My interest in joining the RA board was when I was asked to join was ‘well high performance needs to be reformed.’ So if you feel you can add value, and I think everyone feels they can add value in their roles, then that’s why they do it.
“In terms of the boys club? Look, that’s up to you, I can’t say that. But I could certainly tell you my point of view that some of these guys that we played with we’re not hanging out together. I haven’t seen a lot of these guys for a long, long time before joining this board.
“There is a camaraderie from when you play together but we’ve all gone on with their lives and done different things and we live in different parts of the country. I think it’s good to have people who want to give back to the game afterwards.”
More Coverage
Originally published as New RA chairman Daniel Herbert speaks for first time after ousting Hamish McLennan
Channel 10 sacks Wallabies legend after 10-year partnership
He has been the face of sport at Channel 10 for over a decade, but the Wallabies legend’s time as the network’s chief sports presenter has come to an end.
Future Olympians! Try-fectas, close calls in Next Gen 7s battles
There were blowouts, close calls, a hot boot and multiple try-fectas in the opening round of the Next Gen Sevens rugby series in Sydney. Stars, great photos and Rd 1 result wrap.