Rugby Australia appoints SANZAAR’s Andy Marinos as new Chief Executive

Rugby Australia has today announced the appointment of Andy Marinos as its new Chief Executive following unanimous endorsement from the sport’s Board.

Marinos will officially take over from interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke in February after serving his notice period with SANZAAR, where he has been Chief Executive for five years.

Born in Zimbabwe, Marinos (pictured) played both codes of rugby professionally and represented Wales at rugby union, guiding the SANZAAR joint venture from its Sydney base through the challenges of COVID-19.

In a statement, Rugby Australia advised “Marinos already has a comprehensive knowledge of the community game in Australia and is a regular volunteer at his local rugby club, with his passion for the grassroots aligning with Rugby Australia’s commitment to grow the game.

“Having worked across high performance positions previously, Marinos is well positioned to contribute to full scale of Australian rugby from grassroots to schools rugby and with the elite teams. Through his role with SANZAAR, Marinos has an established relationship with each of the Australian Super Rugby teams.

“Marinos has strong experience in Europe from his time spent working in Wales as the Chief Executive of the Newport Gwent Dragons as well as sitting on the Board of the Welsh Rugby Union.”

Announcing the appointment, Rugby Australia Chairman, Hamish McLennan said that Marinos was the standout candidate with a strong global network, significant high performance, commercial and broadcast experience from around the world, as well as proven connections within the Australian game.

McLennan stated “Andy is an extremely impressive and experienced Rugby administrator who covered every key criterion that the board wanted to see in our new Chief Executive Officer. He’s called Australia home for the last five years and he has an outstanding understanding of the Rugby landscape in this country.

“He has a wealth of experience in managing broadcasters and commercial partners and also boasts impeccable relationships with the Six Nations Unions which, together with his SANZAAR connections, strengthens Rugby Australia’s Bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

“Through his recent roles in Wales, with South African Rugby and with SANZAAR, Andy is uniquely placed to hit the ground running in 2021 with a new broadcast landscape and new competition structures.

“This is an exciting time for rugby with a new broadcast partnership with Nine Entertainment Co., as well as the opportunity we have in the community level of the game.

“Andy has an exciting vision for rugby in Australia, and he knows what needs to be done to continue the code’s success into 2021 and beyond.”