Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan was sacked on Sunday evening as the state unions continue to fight over major centralisation plans for the sport.
McLennan had rejected a call from six rebellious state unions to resign by 5pm Sunday, before an extraordinary general meeting voted him out.
The businessman will be replaced immediately by former Wallaby Dan Herbert, with McLennan opting to quit the board entirely rather than remain as a director.
It comes after Rugby Australia’s plan to centralise the structure of the sport in the wake of the World Cup disaster, with Rugby Australia to create a unified high performance program and effectively take charge of the Super Rugby franchises’ commercial functions.
NSW Rugby and Rugby Victoria supported the plan, as did Andrew and Nicola Forrest who own the Western Force.
But there were widespread criticisms of the plan – and of McLennan and his judgement. Chief among the criticisms of McLennan was his ‘captain’s pick’ of Eddie Jones as the Wallabies coach, replacing Dave Rennie months before the 2023 World Cup.
Herbert, the new Rugby Australia chief, was a 67-cap Wallaby who played a key role in Australia’s 1999 Rugby World Cup victory, and was renowned for his role as one of the world’s finest outside centres.
After retiring, Herbert was involved in the Queensland Reds and Queensland Rugby Union before commercial roles with sportswear brand Skins, and is now the CEO of property services company, SSKB. He has been on the Rugby Australia board for three years.
A public statement from the board reads: “The board considered that Herbert’s experience is ideally suited to leading the development of the game from the grassroots to the elite level, across women’s and men’s Rugby. In addition, he is well placed to lead the board’s continued and unwavering commitment to Rugby Australia’s strategy of aligning the game across the country.”
Herbert said in a statement: “It has never been more important for the Rugby Australia board, working with Member Unions, to come together and execute the reform we absolutely need for an aligned high-performance system and to deliver on the commitments we have made, including to invest in Community and Women’s Rugby.
“Australia will host the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2025, the Men’s 2027 Rugby World Cup and the Women’s 2029 Rugby World Cup and the 2032 Olympic Games – the reform we progress now will underpin the competitiveness of our national teams, as well as building deeper engagement with the Rugby community and fans everywhere.”
“We note that the different Member Unions are not opposing Rugby Australia’s centralisation proposals and remain committed to supporting high performance alignment.”
McLennan was sent a damning letter of no confidence by the Queensland, ACT, West Australian, South Australia, Tasmanian and Northern Territory state unions on Friday.
It wrote: “We do not believe Mr McLennan has been acting in the best interests of our game. “We no longer have any trust or faith in his leadership, or the direction in which he is taking rugby in Australia.
“Additionally, we believe Mr McLennan has been acting outside his role as a director, exerting an undue influence on the operations and executives of Rugby Australia.
“This is not the best practice governance that we expect from leaders in our game.”
It added: “This request is not about opposition to Rugby Australia’s centralisation proposals – we remain committed to supporting high-performance alignment.
“This is instead a deep concern about the performance of Mr McLennan as Chair, and the damage done to the game by his performance.”
