Rugby Australia Chairman condemns ‘abhorrent’ bullying of departing Chief Executive Raelene Castle

Rugby Australia Chairman Paul McLean has defended Raelene Castle, who resigned yesterday as the sport’s Chief Executive, saying that she was subjected to "abhorrent" bullying from "faceless people" during her time in the job.

Castle announced last night she was stepping down from her role at Rugby Australia explaining she no longer felt she had the support of the governing body's board.

Her decision to quit came three days after a no-confidence letter calling for an overhaul of its leadership - signed by a group of ex-Wallabies captains - sent to Rugby Australia.

McLean, himself a retired Wallabies captain, will assume the role of Executive Chairman until a replacement for Castle is appointed.

Speaking this morning, he said Castle, who was named Rugby Australia Chief Executive in late 2017, did not deserve the criticism she received during her tenure.

McLean stated “criticism is easy, being cynical is easy, but decision making is tough. She was able to do that and do that with some clarity.

"She would run through broken glass to get things done, and she has done that."

Castle's handling of the Israel Folau settlement and her rejection of Fox Sports's initial broadcast deal beyond this season were a source of criticism from some quarters, while the code's financial plight has been laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic.

Radio broadcaster Alan Jones was a long-time critic but McLean said it was not the media scrutiny that stung Castle the most.

He advised “it's the silent forces, the dark forces that upset me most.

"It's the people who didn't ask, didn't know the facts or just one of those faceless people out there, that was the damaging thing from her perspective and she shared some of that with me, which I found quite abhorrent.”

McLean dismissed the impact of the former captains' letter - which included the signatures of the likes of Nick Farr-Jones, George Gregan, Phil Kearns and Stephen Moore - saying they could easily align with recovery efforts that were already underway.

He added "I've had numerous conversations with Nick Farr-Jones and, let's be clear here, it's a very small collective of people who have been involved in the game of late.

"The significance of that group is probably the people that aren't on the list."

Moore said he acknowledged the contribution made by Castle during her time at Rugby Australia but acknowledged the sport needs to recover from its poor financial position, as well as for the Wallabies and Australia's Super Rugby teams to improve their on-field performances.

Moore told ABC News Breakfast “these problems are deep-seated, they have been going on for quite some time.

"A lot of the players involved in the last week or so have been contributing in different ways over a long period of time but we haven't been able to make the changes that are needed.

"This is a major, urgent matter. Rugby in Australia is deteriorating at a rapid rate and no one is happy about that. We need to do something really major to turn things around."

Castle, who has vast sporting administrative experience in her native New Zealand and Australia, issued a statement exclusively to ABC's 7.30 program last night, highlighting her reasons for stepping down from the role.

Image: Raelene Castle receives the 2018 Person of Sporting Influence award at the Australian Women's Health Women in Sport Awards.