Wallabies $2.6 million World Cup blowout exposed as players express lack of trust
Wallabies players are being assured they’ll be able to make complaints without “fear of retribution” following a review into the tenure of Eddie Jones.
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Unapproved spending of $2.6 million by the Wallabies has been laid bare following a review into the disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign under Eddie Jones.
The former coach, who has since quit to take up the same position with Japan, hired numerous additional team staff including a number of psychologists, as costs blew out and weren’t formally approved by Rugby Australia.
Code Sports understands Jones had already negotiated a bigger budget in January to what had been forecast by predecessor Dave Rennie, who was sacked eight months before the World Cup so Jones could take over.
Yet despite the increase in funding, the Wallabies still spent $2.6 million more than what had been agreed, with sources suggesting the total team expenditure for the 2023 season was close to $21 million.
Jones resigned following the World Cup, and team manager Chris Webb did not reapply for a renewal of his contract which finished at the end of the tournament.
RA chief executive Phil Waugh said: “The over-investment that was unapproved was $2.6 million, which covered three main elements, being team costs, staff travel and then player benefits.”
Waugh said the organisation only realised the true extent of the overspending once the World Cup finished, with the Wallabies bundled out in the pool stage for the first time in history.
“So a lot of that came through post-World Cup,” Waugh said
“You want to set the team up for success.
“The reality is that 86 per cent of our revenue comes through the men’s XVs program for Rugby Australia, and a successful World Cup program is critical to that.
“And there was lenience given in the hope that we would succeed at the World Cup and make it deep into the tournament.
“Clearly that didn’t happen, but the circumstances were quite unique.
“Delegation of authority is important and clearly there were breaches in that area and we’ve made personnel changes on the back of some of those breaches.
“That over-investment, that’s not acceptable and it won’t happen going forward.”
Extra costs included staying a luxury hotel in France during the tournament, business-class flights for RA officials, and a pre-World Cup Northern Territory camp for the Wallabies squad.
Waugh wouldn’t be drawn on whether Jones or Webb were to blame.
“I’m not going to point the finger at one individual,” Waugh said.
“I think it was a cultural deficiency that we need to rectify.”
The cultural shift must happen across the board, with the 2023 Wallabies review undertaken by former Wallabies Andrew Slack and Justin Harrison, industry expert Darlene Harrison and Pasifika advisor Moana Leilua, recommending 23 key changes including the ability for players to express concerns about the Wallabies program without fear.
Players expressed a lack of trust in coaching and administration, and want more clarity on selection decisions and specific reasons on why they are dropped from the team, but Waugh said Jones’ links to the Japan coaching job during the World Cup was not the main reason for loss of faith.
“The lack of trust certainly comes through and we talk through elements of culture as well as governance there,” Waugh said.
“The actual specifics of Eddie and the linkages to Japan, not so much.
“But I think that’s the broader lack of trust across the system.
“It’s about psychological safety for our players and making sure we’ve got the appropriate environment for our players to speak up and have no fear of retribution.
“That came through the report, in some instances.
“It’s my responsibility to ensure that the players are in the right environment … that is world-class, and they want to be a part of. It came through that we didn’t create that environment for the players.”
Jones had signed a five-year, multimillion dollar deal that expired in 2027, but after the failed Cup campaign he resigned, and then two months later was announced as coach of Japan.
New RA high performance director Peter Horne will oversee the expenditure by new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, and the decision has already been made that there will no Wallabies camp in April.
As RA deals with a worrying financial predicament, having taken an $80 million loan, they’re also confronting potential legal action by the Melbourne Rebels.
The Super Rugby franchise has debut of up to $20 million, and is tipped to fold after the 2024 season, however board members are preparing a legal challenge claiming RA did not pay millions in fees owed.
“We’ve agreed to meet with the former Melbourne Rebels directors for a without prejudice conversation,” Waugh said.
“But to be very clear, we’ve met all our obligations throughout the relationship.”
If talks break down and the Rebels did follow through with a court case and win, it would open the door for Australia’s four other franchises to also make claims against RA.
Following Covid-enforced restructuring, RA reduced funding to each Super club to $3.8 million per year despite the salary cap being $5.5 million.
