Wallabies great Phil Waugh set to lead Rugby Australia after shock departure of Andy Marinos

Former Wallabies captain Phil Waugh is set to take over from Andy Marinos as the chief executive of Rugby Australia. Read why the Rugby Union world is stunned.

Phil Waugh is favoured to become Rugby Australia’s fourth chief executive. Picture: Getty Images

Former Wallabies captain Phil Waugh is favoured to become Rugby Australia’s fourth chief executive in three years after the shock resignation of Andy Marinos.

Waugh, a sitting RA board member, has strong support from the game’s powerbrokers and is closely aligned to chairman Hamish McLennan.

The 79-Test Wallaby is open about the challenges facing the game, recently saying rugby has “an enormous amount to do” as it languishes behind the NRL and AFL.

There had been tension between McLennan and Marinos, though McLennan was highly complimentary towards his colleague in a statement announcing his departure on Monday.

Marinos, a South African who was formerly the boss of SANZAAR, will stay on in the role until mid-June during what RA calls a “transition” period, but indications are that Waugh could be named to take over within a month despite the organization having announced a recruitment process.

While rumours had swirled of conflict between Marinos and McLennan for weeks, the timing of his resignation was still surprising given RA just last week posted a surplus of $8.2 million at their annual general meeting, turning around a $27.1 million deficit from the year before. RA must still pay back a $25 million debt by 2027, from money they borrowed to stay afloat during Covid restrictions.

Phil Waugh is favoured to become Rugby Australia’s fourth chief executive. Picture: Getty Images

Marinos, 50, was named CEO of RA in February 2021, after temporary chief executive Rob Clarke resigned.

Clarke had taken over from Raelene Castle, who was pushed aside in April 2020 following the Israel Folau legal saga and failure of the Wallabies in the 2019 World Cup, after which then coach Michael Cheika said he had no relationship with her.

Marinos handed in his resignation last week and it was formally announced on Monday.

The new change comes at a time when rugby is renegotiating broadcast rights and trying to sew up multimillion dollar investment from private equity firms, and just four months before this year’s World Cup in France where the Wallabies will play under new coach Eddie Jones.

There have been mumblings about Marinos’ future for months after he was absent from his job for over a month during the Christmas-New Year holiday period.

While the board was dealing with a rage of pressing issues, that had to be dealt with quickly, including the sacking of Dave Rennie and the re-hiring of Jones, Marinos was vacationing in Africa.

While he was given much credit for turning RA’s financial problems around — announcing the big surplus just last week — he has been conspicuously absent in recent times, while Jones and McLennan have been ramping up the positive changes taking place in the game.

Andy Marinos has stepped down as CEO of Rugby Australia. Picture: Tim Hunter.

If Waugh does get the job, he’ll have to give up his position as a National Australia Bank executive and his prestigious board director role at the SCG Trust.

But his homespun vision to restore Australian rugby to its glory days will be music to the ears of the game’s long suffering loyal supporters.

Before Marinos resigned, Waugh gave an interview to Code Sport last week, identifying the key areas he wants to address and will warm the hearts of supporters who believe RA has lost sight of the game’s true roots.

“Everyone is talking about Eddie Jones coming back into Australian rugby and talking about Joseph Suaalii coming back but you can’t just say it’s a sugar hit and just rest on our laurels,” Waugh said.

Phil Waugh’s vision to restore Australian rugby to its glory days will be music to the ears of the game’s long-suffering supporters. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“We have an enormous amount to do. The biggest challenge that we need to rectify is the connection between the amateur game and the professional game.

“We must bring that back together because unfortunately we’ve allowed it to drift apart.

“The community game is where it starts and ends and we know that if we do that really well, that drives the professional outcome so that’s a big priority.”

Anyone who has ever stood on the sideline at a junior or suburban club match knows that rugby fans have not deserted the game — they’ve just turned their back on the professional version.

The disconnect is there to see every time the Wararahs run out on the field, in crowds less than half the size of what they were two decades ago.

An old-fashioned straight-shooter, who captained both the Waratahs and the Wallabies, 43-year-old Waugh said it was now on to RA to mend those bridges.

“The priorities are getting back into clubland,” he said.

Phil Waugh is an old-fashioned straight-shooter.

“Historically, when rugby was really strong in the country, we had people going to the club game, then going to watch representatives from their club in a representative game.

“But now we have that separation between the amateur and professional game.

“So, the number one priority for us is actually how we bridge that gap and ensure that the community game is where it starts and ends.

“We know that if you do that really well, then that drives the professional outcome so that’s a big priority.

“Solvency is always going to be a big one for any sporting organisation having just gone through that. So solvency and ensuring that we got the right sustainable commercial partners is really important.

“One of the huge differentiators for our game is that it’s genuinely global and we’ve been up there with the best teams in the world for a long period of time which puts us in a league of our own.

“But we do need to leverage that and you to ensure that you get a sustainable commercial model.”

Originally published as Wallabies great Phil Waugh set to lead Rugby Australia after shock departure of Andy Marinos