Raelene Castle has resigned as chief executive of Rugby Australia, ending a tumultuous two-and-a-half-year tenure. Castle handed her resignation to chairman Paul McLean on Thursday evening after being informed that the board believed her departure was necessary to provide the organisation with “clear air”.
In a statement to the ABC, Castle said she had been willing to “stand up and take the flak” but accepted that the board felt her continuing in the role would not help the sport. “The game is bigger than any one individual – so this evening I told the chair that I would resign from the role,” she said. She pledged to assist with an orderly handover and thanked the rugby community for their support.
The resignation follows a week of mounting pressure, with a group of 11 former Wallabies, led by World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones, signing a letter calling for changes to Rugby Australia’s administration. Castle had met with Super Rugby chief executives on Thursday morning to discuss the impact of the coronavirus, but was a late withdrawal from a later meeting with state chairmen to review the organisation’s 2019 financial position.
Her final year in charge was marked by a costly legal battle following the sacking of Israel Folau, a disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign, and the failure to agree on a new broadcast deal. These issues combined to increase scrutiny on her leadership and the overall direction of the sport in Australia.
Before resigning, Castle gave an interview to ABC TV in which she expressed confidence that incoming Wallabies coach Dave Rennie would honour his contract regardless of her own position. “Ultimately he knows that things can change and I know he has a desperate desire to coach the Wallabies,” she said. “He will come here regardless of where I sit.”
