Seven priorities for Rugby Australia’s new chairman

New chairman Hamish McLennan must give it his all to save the rugby Titanic

It seems the whole world has been tuning in to watch the Netflix documentary on Michael Jordan The Last Dance, in essence, a great case study in strong leadership.

According to Jordan: “Winning has a price and leadership has a price … we have to pull people who don’t want to be pulled and challenge people who don’t want to be challenged … some people say I’m a tyrant … those people haven’t won anything. I wanted to win. That’s who I am and how I played the game.”

Jordan is arguably the greatest athlete of all time. He knows a bit about winning. Australian rugby could learn a lot from the Jordan School of Strong Leadership.

As Hamish McLennan takes on the role of chairman of Rugby Australia, there are seven things I believe he needs to prioritise if he’s to save the rugby Titanic.

Firstly, the new chairman must articulate what he believes rugby stands for and where it can legitimately expect to go. Mobilise people to believe and to recommit.

The rugby community is generally supportive. It will give the new chairman a fair go.

But they have been dudded before. They want to see a new boss who is fair dinkum and talks their language.

The second thing is he will need to restructure his board because the rugby community feel the current board have been a failure.

As I have written before, at Barcelona FC, each board member has a portfolio and is accountable to deliver in his/her area of responsibility.

We need competent specialist board members responsible for each of the following portfolios: community and schools, sponsorship and commerce, coach and player development, international teams and finance and operations. There must be accountability to the rugby family in each of these areas.

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Thirdly, we need to see the so-called “High Performance Program” held to account.

Scott Johnson is an “expert” in advocating responsibility and playing politics from the safety of the back rooms, but he has never coached a team to any significant level of success. Should he be responsible for the performance of the Wallabies? No.

The board must accept responsibility, but are there people on it who know rugby and know how to secure rugby success? It’s doubtful that expertise exists.

The fourth point is we need to abolish the Giteau Law and allow Australian players to play in Japan, Europe, anywhere.

It’s pathetic to see Johnson having a shot at people like Izack Rodda and other players for wanting to be paid properly for their services.

A rugby player’s career can be short-lived. They need to look after their families first and foremost.

Malcolm Marx and plenty of other Springboks are doing the same as Rodda and other young Queensland players.

Why should they play for 40 per cent of their contractually stated wages at home when they can earn 100 per cent playing abroad?

And why shouldn’t they return to play international rugby for Australia? The role of Australian selectors is to pick the best Australian side, no matter where they reside.

The fifth point is we need to reinvent rugby and adapt to the current pandemic restrictions.

While the Wallabies can’t play against European teams this year, it might be time to bring back the old-school touring model.

In 1986, my Wallabies toured New Zealand for six weeks. They played 14 matches, including three Tests.

Why can’t the All Blacks tour Australia, playing provincial teams? Build the game. Grow the game. Galvanise interest in the game. Play our provincial teams. Let our talent be tested against high international quality.

The All Blacks and the Wallabies could then play a three or five-Test series to round off the 2020 season.

We need to be bold and think outside the square if broadcasters and fans are going to come on board. The chairman has to think big.

The sixth point is that McLennan has a great opportunity to reinvigorate rugby in Australia by doing a deal with World Rugby.

We already look to have landed the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but that’s a long way down the track. More immediately, there is a 2021 Lions Tour to South Africa that must be in serious doubt. We could swap our 2025 Lions series with South Africa and get a turbo boost in revenues for 2021.

Australian rugby needs a cash injection quickly and a Lions Tour could generate around $40 million for Rugby Australia and another $250 million for the wider economy.

If the new chairman can do a deal with World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont and his deputy Bernard Laporte, he might just be the financial saviour that we need.

Finally, the new chairman must commit to a road map for constitutional change. The model adopted in 2012 is shambolic and has been largely responsible for the current demise.

The rugby family have no say. They are outside the rugby tent and it’s locked.

Recent statistics suggest that 75 per cent of 16-39-year-old rugby fans have given up watching and attending games.

To re-engage with the rugby community, we need a model that gives loyal supporters a say in who runs the show.

Rugby Australia should sell season tickets and memberships that give supporters a vote in the election of the chairman and the board every four years.

The model has worked for FC Barcelona for more than 100 years.

If the chairman of Rugby Australia is the leader of our game, he should answer to the people who make our game breathe, the loyal supporters.

If he does a good job, he will stay in office. If he fails, it’s time for a new leader. Simple!

Jordan said: “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them … it doesn’t matter if you don’t win, as long as you give everything in your heart.”

Hamish McLennan, give it everything!

We wish you the best in this important, some would say impossible, task.