Rugby Australia announces new Chair-elect

Rugby Australia has announced today that Hamish McLennan is to join its board as a Director and Chair-elect as of its next meeting on 15th June.

Media executive McLennan will take over as Chairman from Paul McLean, who had set a 31st July deadline for his departure from the board after taking the top job earlier this year in the wake of Cameron Clyne's resignation.

Joining Rugby Australia at a critical time in the sport’s history, McLennan today advised that he would spend his time prior to joining the board “listening" and trying to get a "line of sight" on some of the game's biggest issues from the broadcast deal to the disconnect in much of the rugby community.

McLennan (pictured) advised "there's no doubt our fans have become frustrated with the performance of the Wallabies and there’s been a lot of leaks around the game at a board level, which disappoints a lot of people.

"We need to get in alignment and with Dave Rennie coming in as the new (Wallabies) coach it's a great opportunity to reset with some higher expectations and get the culture right and then hopefully we'll get back to winning.

"I think we’re a very divided rugby community but getting that alignment is one of my top priorities and I'll work hard to achieve that."

The addition of the former Ten Network Chief Executive McLennan to the Rugby Australia board has been fast-tracked after Wiggs’ resignation after just four weeks on the board.

While at Ten he played a key role in negotiating a deal for the BIg Bash League on the network.

He is currently Chair of the REA group, Deputy Chair of investment group Magellan and Chairman of Here There & Everywhere, the parent company of the Australian Radio Network.

During his time at Ten, the Big Bash League became one of the most-watched sporting competitions in Australia and McLennan said rule changes and other initiatives could help Super Rugby become more TV friendly.

He explained "from a broadcast perspective that was a very short, sharp season, very family orientated, it was in prime time, there was consistency of viewing and it nothing like the Tests

"Most doubters I spoke to or traditionalists recognised after the first season quite compelling viewing. Rugby can be a great television sport so we just need to think along those lines about good audience engagement.

"I think the most tangible opportunity is to look at Super Rugby and the domestic competition and see how we can create a differentiated product for broadcasters. I'd look at rule changes, scrum clocks and there's lots of ideas floating around.

"That will give us a bit of an opportunity to reconnect with broadcast partners and also audience."

Today has also seen World Rugby confirmed that the program of international rugby union matches during the 2020 July window has been postponed due to ongoing government and health agency Coronavirus directives.

The decision has resulted in Wallabies Test matches against Ireland in Brisbane and Sydney, as well as a clash with Fiji in Townsville originally scheduled on July dates being officially postponed.

Rugby Australia has also secured $14.2 million in funding from World Rugby as part of its COVID-19 rugby relief strategy.

World Rugby’s emergency relief fund of approximately $160 million is being allocated to unions on an application and evaluation basis to support the global game and mitigate the overall impact of the pandemic on the sport.

Welcoming the funding, Rugby Australia interim Chief Executive, Rob Clarke commented “our game has suffered an enormous impact globally from COVID-19 and we are very grateful for the support of World Rugby and commend them on their leadership in managing this issue for the global game.

“The financial implications of the virus have been significant for Rugby Australia and this emergency relief funding will provide us with certainty for the next twelve months and enable us to close off our 2019 accounts.”