Castle severs ties with Australia

Former Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle has severed her links with Australia and returned to New Zealand.

Raelene Castle has cut ties with Australia and head home to New Zealand

Former Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle has severed her links with Australia and returned to New Zealand on a permanent basis to be closer to family during the global pandemic.

Castle stepped down from her position at RA in April after learning she had lost the faith of her board, although perhaps more correctly directors realised her position had become untenable and that there was no way RA could progress on any front while she remained as CEO. She was, according to the then RA chairman Paul McLean, subjected to sustained bullying from “faceless people” while in the job.

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Castle, who was born in Wagga Wagga in NSW but raised from an early age in New Zealand by her parents — both NZ sporting internationals — will be released from her two weeks in quarantine in Christchurch on Monday.

She declined to speak to The Australian regarding her future career, citing confidentiality clauses in her arrangements with her potential new employer. But it is understood that with all her family based in New Zealand, it made sense in these uncertain COVID times for her to be based near them.

Although she will forever be linked with Israel Folau and the long-running saga about her decision to cut him from the Wallabies, the two rugby issues on which she was always likely to be judged were the appointment of a new Wallabies coach and the broadcast deal.

Certainly it is early days yet to be making an assessment of Dave Rennie, but Castle’s judgment in signing the New Zealander to a four-year deal is looking like a masterstroke.

Legendary former All Black coach Graham Henry is adamant Australia got the better of the new coaching appointments, with Rennie secured for the Wallabies and Ian Foster for the NZ team. Rennie began his international coaching stint with a 16-16 draw against the All Blacks, who predictably struck back to win the second Bledisloe 27-7 at Eden Park last Sunday. Still, the evidence showed that the Wallabies were playing with structure and clear purpose. Under previous coach Michael Cheika, who Castle wanted to sack before last year’s World Cup but was overruled by her board, those qualities weren’t often in evidence.

Raelene Castle.

Israel Folau.

Castle never definitively had the chance to show what she could do on the broadcast deal front. In retrospect, her decision to knock back Fox Sports’ initial offer was a disaster for Australian rugby. Still, it took a global pandemic to make that apparent.

Her basic premise throughout was to secure more free-to-air coverage and in the aftermath of the collapsed talks with Foxtel she approached Nine about a bid.

Ironically, Nine is now understood to have lodged a $30m-a-year offer in cash and free advertising. While it obviously falls short of the $35m-$40m put forward by Foxtel it does open the door to a potentially much broader reach. Yet even if Castle’s strategy ultimately is seen as a winner, logic suggests that she was not the person to make it happen. As McLean alluded, she had made too many powerful enemies.

Meanwhile, indications are that long-time Brumbies centre but now Western Force recruit Tevita Kuridrani has called time on his 61-Test Wallabies career. But “indications” is all that they are because no one from Rugby Australia has been able to make contact with Kuridrani, who was one of three conspicuous omissions – the others being backrowers Isi Naisarani and Jack Dempsey – from Rennie’s initial Wallabies squad of 44.

When officials attempted to make contact with him this week, presumably to check on his availability for the planned practice session between the Waratahs and Argentina at TG Milner Field tomorrow, he could not be reached. Still, it may be he knew something in advance because the practice session was postponed on Thursday, apparently because the Pumas suffered a number of injuries in training.

It may well be Kuridrani has sensed the wind shift and decided his Test career, which began in Ewen McKenzie’s first match as Wallabies coach, against NZ in August 2013, has run its course. Certainly, the outside centre position he effectively made his own during his seven-year international career is now being creatively filled by Hunter Paisami and Jordan Petaia. Still, Kuridrani is only 29 and demonstrated in the Super Rugby AU grand final that he still has some devastating rugby left in him.

The Waratahs, meanwhile, have signed Sam Caird, a NZ Under 20 lock in 2016-17, to a two-year deal.