Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle: I’m not going anywhere

Embattled Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle insists she’ll remain at the helm for at least four more years.

Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle at Moore Park, Sydney. Picture: John Feder.

Embattled Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle has rejected any suggestion the code is in crisis, ­insisting she will remain at the helm for at least the next four years as she completes a strategic overhaul.

The chief executive, whose reign has been overshadowed by a string of off-field dramas, said the administration’s performance had been unfairly maligned by the Wallabies’ lacklustre performance at the World Cup, where they limped out at the quarter-finals stage, and that the sport was actually in good health.

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“People say rugby is in crisis. There is no crisis,” she told The Australian.

“Winning hides a multitude of sins and, when you’re winning, everyone ­assumes that everything else in your business is going well. When your shop window is not performing, everyone ­assumes everything else is off too.

“That’s the world we live in, but there are a lot of building blocks that are really strong in rugby and continue to deliver.”

Her comments come amid ­increasingly vocal dissatisfaction with the Rugby Australia board, given its handling of former star Israel Folau, the axing of the Western Force and its inability to negotiate a new pay-TV broadcast rights deal.

Chairman Cameron Clyne has already indicated he will step down at the next AGM in March, along with three other board members, offering an opportunity for renewal.

Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle at Moore Park, Sydney. Picture: John Feder

In contrast, Ms Castle, who took on her role in January last year, said she remained committed to Rugby Australia. “Look, I certainly won’t be here in 15 years. This is a $120m business and I think six years is about the right life for a CEO in a business of this size,” she said.

“We are at the end of a strat­egic planning cycle now and, head­ing into 2020, we will be doing the work to implement our new strategic plan, and working with our member unions and our sponsors on that, and I intend to see that through.”

Ms Castle defended the ­decis­ion to punt Folau, saying Rugby Australia would be in greater turmoil if he had been ­allowed to stay. But she still hoped they could resolve the matter when they meet in Melbourne on Monday for a settlement conference.

“I don’t think you can go through an issue like this and not think there were some things you could have done better — of course there are — but the decis­ion to seek his termination was the right one,” she said.

“Subsequent public comments by Israel over the past few weeks — if you play that through, of him still being a Wallabies player inside­ Rugby Australia — would have sent this organisation into ­another backflip. We took a stand on what was right, and we will work through that process in court.”

Ms Castle said rugby remained a strong performer in the Australian sporting landscape and would continue to offer a solid ­return on investment for sponsors and advertisers. “We are making sure we are unlocking commercial dollars so we can ­reinvest in the game,” she said.

“If you look at our sponsorship portfolio we have genuinely blue-chip brands who want to be assoc­iated with the Wallabies, not just because of what that means ­domestically but because of the opportunities they deliver internationally.”