Into the Lions’ den: Phil Waugh’s journey from ball boy to Wallabies CEO
As the Wallabies prepare to take on the British and Irish Lions in a once-in-12-years series, this flashback photo reveals the Rugby Australia CEO’s full circle.
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In 1989, when the Wallabies played their first ever test in the current format against the British and Irish Lions at what was then the Sydney Football Stadium, a 10-year-old rugby union-obsessed kid from Warringah Rugby Club got the chance to be ball boy.
That kid was Phil Waugh.
In the tour that followed 12 years later, Waugh, a specialist outside flanker, played against the best from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. After retiring from the game in 2011 with 79 test caps to his name, he was given the opportunity to speak at events surrounding the Lions tour in 2013.
Thirty-six years later, in a full-circle moment, that still rugby-obsessed Waugh will be heavily involved in this current tour, which saw Australia’s provincial teams take on the Lions before the Wallabies kick off the three Test series on July 19 at Suncorp Stadium. This time, it’s as CEO of Rugby Australia.
“When you’re playing, singing the Australian National Anthem is very special,” he says. Singing ahead of that first game at Suncorp will be just as special. “It’s going to be amazing. It’s the anticipation and the excitement and the unknown and the understanding of how much of it matters.”
But before that happens, the Wallabies had an important job to do. Last week in Newcastle they righted some wrongs of 2023, the game’s annus horribilis, with a shakey win against Fiji. The last time these two sides met was at that fateful Rugby World Cup when, under then-coach Eddie Jones, the Fijians downed the Wallabies for the first time in 69 years. Need we remind everyone that was also the tournament, that, for the first time ever Australia didn’t progress past the pool stages after they went down to Wales 40-6.
It’s certainly not a game Waugh needs reminding of. Just months before, Waugh had started as CEO of Rugby Australia, whose offices are just down the road from Hotel Centennial in Woollahra, where we are having lunch. Before that tournament, Australian Rugby wasn’t exactly thriving. Gone were the glory days of the 90s and early 2000s, when a Wallabies jersey was the default jersey worn by any Australian to any Australian sporting match and the trophy cabinet at rugby HQ was filled to the brim with the Rugby World Cup, Bledisloe Cup and nearly every other trophy imaginable. With the men’s national side making up the bulk of the revenue, the Wallabies had to perform. And they didn’t on the biggest stage in the sport in 2023.
Adding to the shocking results of the World Cup, the $10.3m spent on integrating the Waratahs and Brumbies into the Rugby Australia business and the $5.1m in outlay associated with the axing of the Melbourne Rebels after the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific competition, it’s fair to say the code was struggling to survive.
As we wait for our Jack’s Creek sirloin steak, with a side of brussel sprouts, Waugh, who played in two World Cups for the Wallabies before transferring into business and leading Westpac through their Covid-19 response, explains any criticism of the Wallabies became “personal.”
“I walked down the street and people would go, ‘I don’t envy you. You’ve got a tough job,’” he says. “But I love this opportunity. Crisis management, I quite like. You see results. People ask me ‘What do you miss the most about playing sports?’ It’s the winning and losing.”
Meaning, 2023 gave the always competitive Waugh the chance for a reset. And while he wants to point out “We’re at very early days still in seeing the outcome of the reset that we’ve done. You certainly see glimmers of hope.”
The first glimmer was the first Wallabies win under new coach Joe Schmidt at Allianz Stadium in 2024, which just so happened to be against Wales. That glimmer turned into a sparkle when in November, after media pundits and former English players had questioned the Wallabies competitiveness for the upcoming Lions tour, winger Max Jorgensen scored an after the siren try to see the Wallabies defeat England, at Twickenham, for the first time in a decade. “I try to stay fairly composed but when Max Jorgensen got that ball and was running down the sideline and we’re in the Royal Box, I jumped up with both arms in the air saying ‘Go Max!’” smiles Waugh. “And then I realise where I am and I have to sit down and politely go, ‘Jolly good try Max!’”
Waugh, who is a dad to four sons who have all played or play rugby, says he gets more nervous now watching games than when playing. “When you’re playing, you can control the match outcome,” he says. “When you’re out on the field, that’s when you feel at home. All the nerves go and it’s actually about execution.”
Now, he understands the importance of the outcome but can’t do anything about it. “I want it so bad because I understand the flow and the impact that it has on the job I’m doing,” he says.
What he can control is everything that happens up until that moment. For the past 18 months he’s done whatever he can to ensure this Lions tour is a success. Personally that means Waugh still trains daily to make sure his body, and hence mind, is strong. While cold plunges aren’t on his CEO bingo card, he jokes he has bought a sauna.
Professionally, he believes it’s his responsibility to put the best people in the right roles and empower them to deliver. Because they need to. “We’re in $60 million of debt. This [tour] gives us an opportunity to extinguish that debt and reset the game. In terms of the actual direct economics, this tourl could not come at a better time,” he says.
But it’s not just about the head. It’s about the heart. For Waugh, this tour is about making everyone believe in the Wallabies again. “This tour is enormous. I think back to the England game last year. There’s people who want to believe in people and they want to follow the Wallabies. We’ve got everyone deeply interested in this series so how do we elevate that passion and that pride?” he says. “What I can do is ensure that we’ve got the best possible experience at the game. We need to entertain. We’re the most congested sporting market in the world and so we need to ensure that everyone who comes to the games, anyone who engages with the games on screens, anyone who’s reading about it in papers, feels part of it.”
That includes fans from other codes. While there is always banter about rugby league versus rugby union, which seems more to come from one camp than the other, Waugh says there is no reason why league fans can’t still support their favourite club and get behind the Wallabies. “We are a winter national team and all league supporters, all AFL supporters, and all soccer supporters can have Australia and the Wallabies and the Wallaroos as their national winter sporting team. There’s no clash,” he says.
So as more and more red jerseys are spotted in cities across the country, and pubs like the one we are at,make sure they are well-stocked with Guinness, Waugh is hoping the Wallabies win all three test matches.
But perhaps more importantly, he is hoping they compete in a way that makes all Australians become obsessed with them again. Just like he was at 10. “I’m excited,” he says. “Understanding how much it matters makes me a little bit nervous but as soon as you’re not nervous about stuff, it’s sort of like, does it mean as much to you?”
The answer is, this tour means everything.
WHERE: HOTEL CENTENNIAL, WOOLLAHRA
FOOD:
Pioik Epooro sourdough with cultured butter
Six freshly shucked oysters, with mignonette and lemon
Jack’s Creek sirloin (280g) with Watercress, fries
Wood oven roasted Brussels sprouts with Prosciutto, honey, balsamic
Originally published as Into the Lions’ den: Phil Waugh’s journey from ball boy to Wallabies CEO
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