Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle feels the heat as Israel Folau inquest begins

While she was delivering the news that Israel Folau’s $4 million contract was being torn up, Raelene Castle might as well have been in the dock on trial herself, mounting an argument to keep her own job.

• Sacked: Rugby Australia tear up Folau contract
• The big names keeping Folau company in rugby purgatory

The case for sacking Israel Folau has been decided.

Guilty as charged, his job is gone, even if the fans love him and the Wallabies need him more than ever.

Now the case against Rugby Australia’s boss Raelene Castle is just getting started.

By ejecting Folau from the game, Castle has placed herself firmly in the firing line as public enemy No. 1 to everyone who disputes the independent panel’s verdict.

Raelene Castle jas been put udner enormous pressure by the Israel Folau saga.

The calls for her to get the boot have already begun and will only intensify in the days, weeks and months ahead.

While she was delivering the news that Folau’s $4 million contract was being torn up, she might as well have been in the dock on trial herself, mounting an argument to keep her own job.

Pushed into confession, she conceded she’d made some mistakes, saying: “You couldn’t go through an issue like this and not say that you could do things better, you’d be crazy to say that.”

Castle has copped a beating during the case after Folau flicked her the mother of all hospital passes that left her in an unwinnable situation.

Damned if she did, damned if she didn’t, she did exactly what every administrator should do. She followed the rule book, but it made her look heartless.

"I think these are difficult matters and the reality of it is it's really easy when you've got a crystal ball and you look backwards with all the benefit of hindsight,” she said.

Raelene Castle and NSW Rugby CEO Andrew Hore front the media on Friday.

Castle never gives the impression she’s comfortable in the spotlight anyway and Friday’s news conference at Rugby Australia’s Moore Park headquarters was like no other.

They’re generally pretty low-key affairs, with only the sport’s regular beat reporters showing up.

But for the Folau decision, there were more in attendance than last year’s Christmas party, with 11 television crews joining more than a dozen journalists, including international media organisations.

Castle handled herself reasonably well during the 15-minute inquisition, but court of public opinion remains undecided and she couldn’t disguise the emotional toll the case has had on her.

“Personally, I’m disappointed,” she said.

“This outcome is a painful situation for the game. Rugby Australia did not choose to be in this situation.”

Israel Folau had his contract terminated on Friday.

Her best moment came when she deviated from the standard corporate speak with an impassioned defence of the one issue that has dogged her throughout the whole case: that she screwed up by not inserting a specific clause in Folau’s contract about offensive social media postings.

She was slammed last year for not taking a tougher stance against the superstar fullback when he first posted homophobic comments on his social media accounts.

When Folau was renegotiating his new contract late last year, Castle rammed home the point that harmful comments would not be tolerated. He gave his word not to do to it again and they shook hands on it.

But the fact she didn’t insist on getting a written clause in his contract has been used as ammunition that she made a massive blunder that would have allowed Rugby Australia to fire Folau on the spot and avoid the lengthy hearing that has ensued.

“That’s not true,” she fired back.

"We have a collective bargaining agreement that is signed off by the Players' Association and any alteration to that contract would need to be approved by both RUPA and the player.

“So we can't just insert clauses whenever we feel like it. And even if we had a clause, who knows where this could've gone?"

Originally published as Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle feels the heat as Israel Folau inquest begins