Threat of Wallabies without WA: Andrew Forrest warns of state breakaway

Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has called for RA to put the game’s best interests first.

Andrew Forrest has flagged the creation of a breakaway national rugby side if the restructured board of RA continues to treat WA as a “poor cousin”. Photo: Marie Nirme

Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has called for Rugby Australia to put the game’s best interests ahead of “arrogance and ego” as he flagged a potential radical breakaway West Australian side to compete on the international stage.

Four seats on the RA board will be up for grabs in March when chairman Cameron Clyne steps down, sparking an opportunity for renewal in the game following the Israel Folau crisis, the axing of Western Force and a disappointing World Cup.

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Mr Forrest has been bankrolling the Global Rapid Rugby competition since Perth-based Western Force were axed from the Super Rugby competition in 2017.

“As the board is renewed, I can only hope that this change in leadership will bring a much-needed change to rugby in our country, where good judgment and selflessness promote the best interests of the game and prevail over arrogance and ego,” Mr Forrest said.

“It is critical that the next board aims for a truly national footprint for the game. We cannot allow history to repeat itself. Western Australia is not a poor cousin, with rugby thriving in the state thanks to grassroots investment, elite talent development and strong community engagement.”

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The Fortescue Metals Group chairman flagged the creation of a breakaway national rugby side if the restructured board of RA continues to treat Western Australia as a “poor cousin”.

Departing Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne (left) and Chief Executive Raelene Castle. Picture: AAP

Mr Forrest’s comments came as former Nine and Seven boss David Leckie called for a clean-out at RA, describing chief executive Raelene Castle as a “complete disaster” and urging her to follow Mr Clyne out the door “before she does any more damage”.

Mr Leckie said it was also ­incumbent on Mr Clyne to step aside immediately and stop making decisions that impact the ­future of the game.

Dave Rennie will take on the Wallabies’ head coach role in July next year. Picture: AFP

RA on Wednesday announced New Zealander Dave Rennie as the new Wallabies head coach. It’s a key appointment that will be inherited by Mr Clyne’s successor.

“Clyne has fallen on his sword — and rightly so — but he should be gone tomorrow, not hanging around for the next few months and having any involvement in any decisions moving forward,” Mr Leckie, who is a director at Easts rugby club in Sydney, told The Australian. “We have to get rid of the entire board and start again.”

Mr Clyne has vowed to negotiate a new broadcast rights deal before he steps down.

In what would be one of the biggest upheavals to Australian sport since rugby league’s split in the 1990s and the World Series Cricket breakaway of the 1970s, Mr Forrest told The Australian WA would consider extreme ­options — including fielding a stand-alone West Australian team at international level — if RA did not properly engage with WA. “It would be devastating if the states began to explore other options, such as the creation of an alternative union, but if pushed into a corner I believe this is something the rugby community and the state would get behind,” he said.

Fielding a West Australian side at international level would echo the structures in place in Great Britain, where England, Wales and Scotland each field their own international teams. The bold plan would appear to face major, if not insurmountable, hurdles — first and foremost being endorsement by RA and World Rugby governing bodies — but Mr Forrest has deep pockets and a long track record of defying sceptics.

Rugby WA chairman John ­Edwards confirmed he had discussed the plan with Mr Forrest and was determined to see the state represented both in top-flight rugby competitions and on the RA board.