Rugby boss Hamish McLennan says he’s still eyeing rugby league converts

After a miserable World Cup campaign, the boss of Rugby Australia is on the hunt for talent and isn’t afraid to try and lure more players from the NRL.

Joseph Suaalii. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Besieged Rugby Australia boss Hamish McLennan is doubling down on his ambitious plans to try and lure more players back to rugby from the NRL in the wake of the Wallabies’ disastrous World Cup campaign.

With rugby in Australia currently at an all-time low after the Wallabies’ humiliating losses to Fiji and Wales left the national team on the brink of missing the knockout phase, rugby league officials have wasted no time laying the boot in.

There’s never been any love lost between the codes, particularly in the last year after McLennan and NRL chief Peter V’Landys started taking pot shots at each other, so it’s no surprise rugby league is gloating over Australia’s early exit from the World Cup.

ARL commissioner Peter Beattie described the Wallabies’ performances as “embarrassing for the nation,” and warned that rugby league is perfectly placed to cash in on rugby’s woes.

“I can tell you this, it is like chalk and cheese. Anyone who wants a big future in football will play rugby league and that will be across the whole southern hemisphere,” Beattie said.

“I have to say, I don’t think I have seen rugby union in the state it is now and I have never seen rugby league in the state it is now. This is a watershed moment for the game. Luckily we have V’landys. They can have Hamish.

Former Australian player Phil Waugh (L) speaks with Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Australian Rugby Union Hamish McLennan during a press briefing in Sydney on June 6, 2023, after he was named chief executive of the national governing body Rugby Australia. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE --

“If you have to choose between who you want to run the game, give me V’landys any day.”

McLennan became the NRL’s public enemy No. 1 after he snared the prized signature of Roosters star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on a $5.4 million mega-deal, starting at the end of 2024.

McLennan expects more NRL players to switch codes in time for the 2025 British and Irish Lions series and the 2027 Rugby World Cup, both being hosted by Australia, and told this masthead they will be welcomed with open arms.

“We just need to invest in more players,” he said. “Imagine if we had five more Joseph Suaalii’s in the squad.”

If anything, the Wallabies poor showing at the current World Cup has only reinforced Rugby Australia’s determination to overhaul the game after decades of decline since the glory days.

A proposal for Rugby Australia to ditch its longstanding federated model and adopt a centralised system - similar to how New Zealand and Ireland operate - is already on the table, with McLennan optimistic it will get passed.

“It has shone a light on the dire need to make this happen,” McLennan said.

“(It is) extremely critical. Nothing else really matters. I’m hopeful it will happen.”

McLennan also confirmed the pending review into Australia’s World Cup campaign will include players and will look into everything that went wrong in France.

LYON, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 23: Tate McDermott of the Wallabies runs through drills during the Australia captain's run ahead of their Rugby World Cup France 2023 match against Wales at Parc Olympique on September 23, 2023 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

But no dates have been set yet because the Wallabies still have a match to play against Portugal and are not officially out of the tournament yet.

The Wallabies have never missed the quarter-finals before but their chances of maintaining that perfect record are now out of their hands.

Not only do they have to beat Portugal this weekend but they also need Fiji to lose one of their two remaining matches, against Georgia and Portugal to advance.

“I think it needs to start pretty quickly after the campaign finishes,” McLennan said.

“But I’ll wait for the recommendation from the Rugby Committee on the size and scope.

“That still needs to be determined but I’d like a few outside voices.

“It needs to be comprehensive with the clear identification of our failings.

“It needs to objectively look at the current RWC campaign, its failings and also look forward as to how we fix our issues within the new centralised model we are moving to.”