Rugby Australia board faces threat of no confidence at AGM from angry powerbrokers

A powerful committee of ‘ignored’ powerbrokers plan to bring down the Rugby Australia board in a move that will divide the game – just days after RA boss Phil Waugh called for unity.

Days after Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh urged unity in the game, a rebel group plotting to oust the entire board at next Monday’s annual general meeting placed advertising in national newspapers calling for support.

And the genesis of the bitter dispute can be traced to a committee set up by former RA chairman Hamish McLennan, that included some of the most famous names in rugby, who have all now quit in disgust after being “completely ignored”.

Geoff Stooke was chairman of the National Technical Advisory Committee, officially ratified in writing by McLennan on September 30, 2020, to advise on coaching and player pathway systems. The committee included World Cup-winning halfback Nick Farr-Jones and coach Bob Dwyer, as well as respected sporting identities Dick Marks, Wayne Erickson, Roger Gould and Barry Honan.

Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer (L) and captain Nick Farr-Jones were on the committee.

“We battled along for many years to advise on our pathways and coaching, but nothing was adopted, we all did this pro bono, a lot of work was done and we were completely ignored,” Stooke said.

“So all of the committee members, including myself, resigned two weeks ago.

“Now Covid did impact things early on, I will say that, but there were so many things we could have and should have implemented.”

Now, Stooke and several other powerful figures have banded together to form Support Overdue Australian Rugby Reform (SOARR) and call for a vote of no confidence in the entire RA board on April 29.

They will need seven of the 14 voting member unions to move a motion of no confidence – 50 per cent of the vote.

Former ARU board member Geoff Stooke is taking a stand. Picture: AAP

If they do not succeed there, they will aim to get two thirds of the voting members to oust the directors and install an interim board.

Informed sources told this masthead there is little chance of this happening.

There is a suggestion that board director Matthew Hanning has been the subject of the potential power play and could get rolled at the AGM, but mass change is unlikely.

Stooke said RA’s current board, including Waugh and new chairman Daniel Herbert, should be held accountable for the same decisions that saw McLennan axed by the board last November.

“This board endorsed every decision Hamish made, including the sacking of Dave Rennie and the appointment of Eddie Jones, with the exception of when the member unions tried to roll him, they endorsed all of his decisions,” Stooke said.

“To turn around and say ‘We’re the team that will fix it for you’ is crap.

“It needs a new broom. The member unions and Super teams need to step up.

Phil Waugh has walked into a hornets nest since taking over at Rugby Australia. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“When I was running things at the Western Force in 2006, Super teams received $4.6 million in funding each year. Now they’re getting $3.8 million, all while costs have gone up. It is a recipe to go broke.

“There is no point whingeing about the state of Australian rugby and then not being prepared to do something about it.”

SOARR placed ads in Monday newspapers and set up a change.org page urging rugby fans to sign their petition to replace the RA board.

Just days ago, Waugh told News Corp it was time for the game to unite and support those running the game.

“We’ve had a very disrupted six to 12 months, which obviously everyone’s very aware of,” Waugh said.

Rugby Australia Chair Daniel Herbert is also new to the board. Picture: Getty

“The results of the World Cup were bitterly disappointing for all Australians, not just sports lovers or rugby lovers, but for all Australians and we’re very conscious of that.

“Notwithstanding the commentary that is in the public domain, and we acknowledge and recognise some of the dissatisfaction that is out there, but we are also very confident that we’ve somewhat steadied the ship and we’ve got a lot of work to do to rebuild the trust, given the disappointment of the World Cup.”

Amid this drama is the unsteady future of the Melbourne Rebels, whose voluntary administration lapses this week, with a report into their future to be presented on Friday after which a decision will be made on whether they continue as a Super Rugby franchise in 2025.

The future of the Melbourne Rebels remains on rocky ground. Picture: Getty

As for the latest attack on the RA board from outsiders, the organisation said: “Rugby Australia is entirely focused on driving the game forward – we are concentrating on the job at hand; bringing the professional game together across men and women, and building stronger connections from the community level to the elite level,” an RA spokesman said.

“We are committed to driving greater revenue generation, and to a unified game maximising the runway of major events coming our way; the Lions in 2025 and Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2029.

“It is widely accepted that Australian rugby needs to be more unified, with stronger alignment ensuring every stakeholder has a role to play in the future of the game.”

Originally published as Rugby Australia board faces threat of no confidence at AGM from angry powerbrokers