Tony Dempsey in frame to replace Raelene Castle as Rugby Australia CEO

Inaugural CEO of Rugby Union Players’ Association pushes case to replace Raelene Castle.

Inaugural Rugby Union Players’ Association chief executive Tony Dempsey. Picture: File

The inaugural chief executive of the Rugby Union Players’ Association, Tony Dempsey, who was John O’Neill’s main rival for the Australian Rugby Union’s chief executive job in 2007, intends having another shot at the job as a replacement for Raelene Castle.

Dempsey, who played three midweek matches for Australia on a tour in 1993 but technically is not credited with being a Wallaby, looked like being the favourite to replace Gary Flowers as CEO of the ARU in 2007 until O’Neill emerged as the dark horse to capture the job on the recommendation of a group of senior Wallabies. Some of those same players were on the list of 10 Wallabies captains who protested to Rugby Australia this week, though this time it would seem they are lobbying for one of their own — Phil Kearns — to take over as chief executive.

Dempsey has maintained a strong link to rugby as a lower grade coach with Gordon and with junior competition, but he has kept a somewhat mournful eye on the performance of the Australian rugby. “I’ve watched with sadness as performances and interest in the game has plummeted,” Dempsey said on Friday. “It hurts a lot. I do think I still have something to offer and I wouldn’t discount applying for the job. Nothing ever happens in rugby without a crisis and there is an opportunity to turn things around.”

So relentless was the vilification directed at Castle by her critics that RA chairman Paul McLean expected to have problems drawing out quality candidates for the position. “Who in their right mind would take on that job after seeing what Raelene was put through?” McLean asked.

Still, indications were that the head-hunters’ job might not be as difficult as McLean feared. Dual World Cup winner Tim Horan dismissed suggestions that he might run though he promised to give all the assistance he could to the successful candidate, but his 1999 World Cup centre partner Daniel Herbert is beginning to attract a lot of attention.

New Rugby Australia board member Peter Wiggs. Picture: Renee Nowytager

Dan Herbert (left) and Tim Horan during their Wallabies playing days. Picture: File

Herbert has also been rated a contender for the chairman’s position once McLean departs from the top role — which will be by July 31 at the latest but could be earlier — but the unquestioned favourite is fellow newcomer Peter Wiggs, the Supercars chairman. Certainly, given the popularity of the Supercars series with Fox Sports, he would be the ideal man to lead RA’s attempts to lure Fox back to the negotiating table for broadcast rights.

It remains to be seen whether Kearns could come to regret signing the protest letter with the dissident captains. He had been looking good to win the CEO’s job back in 2017 but then in the seven-round interview process was comprehensively outperformed by Castle. That Castle was then seen to be undermined by the captains’ letter could work against him, although it may well be that if the process of finding a replacement does last six months, the protest could come to be forgotten. The dissidents’ protest was widely criticised for its lack of detail and when the group then sent a second letter detailing their plans, it was overtaken by news of Castle’s resignation on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, Queensland has wasted little time following the Australian chief medical officer’s suggestion that COVID-19 restrictions could be eased in coming weeks. The QRU on Friday night issued a statement saying that if the recent metrics indicating a flattening of COVID-19 holds firm, it is cautiously optimistic that training might resume on June 1 before a July 1 resumption of junior and senior matches.