Rugby Australia’s failure to connect with grassroots forced captains’ call on leadership

Former Wallabies skipper Stephen Moore says it wasn’t like one day he woke up and decided to light a fire under Rugby Australia, rather a series of failings left him with no other option.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – NOVEMBER 25: Stephen Moore of Australia looks on after the international match between Scotland and Australia at Murrayfield Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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The opaque review of the Wallabies’ World Cup failings and the impersonal handling of recent board changes are two reasons why former skipper Stephen Moore co-signed the explosive call to replace Rugby Australia’s leadership.

The 129-Test hooker was the most contemporary of the 11 former Wallabies captains who put their names to an unprecedented letter on Tuesday that urged the current administration to “stand aside” so the code can be resuscitated.

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Former Wallabies skipper Stephen Moore says the call for change was a result of a high level of frustration. Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

“It’s not like you wake up one morning and want to light a fire under RA,” the 2015 World Cup skipper said.

“A lot of thought went into signing that letter and it comes with a high level of care and frustration because we all see a worrying level of deterioration in the game we love.

“My biggest frustration is that the changes needed are not happening with the right level of urgency while the game is falling away on field and with the off-field management of issues.

“In February, I made an inquiry about RA’s strategic plan and was told it’s not available at this time.”

Moore, 37, said reconnecting with grassroots rugby needed urgent repair as he enters his own new phase in rugby as a parent with son Theodore, 7, in Under-8s at the Taylor Bridge Bull Sharks and as a committeeman with University of Queensland Rugby Club.

It’s little known but Moore’s own experience in putting his name forward as a potential new RA board member this year was a snapshot of how the governing body has lost touch.

It wasn’t that he missed out but the process itself.

Wallaby Stephen Moore with his rugby loving son Theodore. Picture: Tara Crose

The letter that calling for change at the top of Rugby Australia.

“Basically, I was employed by rugby for 15 seasons and had the great privilege of leading my country yet I got a call from an outsourced recruitment company and didn’t even speak to a board member,” Moore said.

“I’d ask whether that is the appropriate management of that situation. That was a real red flag about the culture of RA right there.”

Moore said it is a bucket of such things done poorly that irk him.

“There’s so much latent support for rugby out there and the power to inspire from that one great win over the All Blacks in Perth last year showed that,” Moore said.

“You want kids in backyards and juniors trying to emulate their heroes.

“Our high-performance standard (the Wallabies have fallen to No. 7 in the world) is not at the level we’ve set over a long period but the review of the World Cup in Japan was opaque.”

Moore stressed that the letter was not a calculated shot at besieged RA chief executive Raelene Castle.

Former Wallabies captains Simon Poidevin and Nick Farr- Jones were signatories to the letter. Picture: Supplied / File Photo

“This is not about individual people because accountability sits in multiple places,” Moore said.

“I know I’m hoping this letter can be a trigger for change to the leadership and direction of the game so we get the right people doing it well.”

Moore said it was a good first step that RA chairman Paul McLean, himself a former Wallabies skipper, had offered to arrange a meeting with the full RA board as soon as possible.

George Gregan, Nick Farr-Jones, Phil Kearns, Simon Poidevin, Michael Lynagh, Rod McCall, Jason Little, Nathan Sharpe, Stirling Mortlock and George Smith are the other signatories to the letter signed by Moore.

“In recent times, the Australian game has lost its way. It is a defeat inflicted not by COVID-19, or an on-field foe, but rather by poor administration and leadership over a number of years,” the letter reads.

“Our rural clubs, junior clubs, sub-districts and community clubs have been let down and we firmly believe transformation is needed across the game in this country. There’s no time to waste.

“We speak as one voice when we say Australian rugby needs new vision, leadership and a plan for the future. That plan must involve, as a priority, urgent steps to create a much-needed sustainable, commercial rugby business.

“Our youth deserve to be inspired. They need to see a pathway and to feel a connection with the Wallaby jersey.

“It is with this in mind we ask the current administration to heed our call and stand aside to allow the game to be transformed so we emerge from this pandemic with a renewed sense of unity and purpose.”