@Nepia this one?
Hamish McLennan and rugby’s schoolboy errors
The Wallabies slumped to a historic World Cup loss. It’s high time for scrutiny of rugby’s administrators, chief among them, chairman Hamish McLennan.
The Wallabies’ descent into national embarrassment territory on Monday morning means the knives are out for coach Eddie Jones, the moody gremlin of global sport.
Australia had their arses handed to them by Wales, inflicting the country’s largest loss in World Cup history. Or in the traditional Welsh: “ffwrch!”
Jones rightly remains the focal point of ire. But scrutiny must show up at the doorstop of Rugby Australia and its cast of administrators.
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh and chairman Hamish McLennan at Allianz Stadium. James Brickwood
What, then, of the performance of Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan? The Hammer’s blue-sky idea was to pilfer Jones. McLennan can’t be blamed for the veteran coach’s baffling selection decisions. He can cop it for signing a clearly past-it coach to a five-year contract on the eve of a World Cup.
You can imagine how it went down. Eddie comes around for dinner at the new Darling Point digs. A few chablis in, Hammer says he should come home. Save the Wallabies. He accepts on one condition, scanning around the $30 million trophy home: “Five years.”
Hammer has his guy! Lock it in, Eddie.
McLennan is a product of corporate Australia’s fail-up culture. After being part of the calamity at Channel Ten on behalf of Lachlan Murdoch, McLennan’s stunning career has soared. He now chairs not only Rugby Australia but occupies the top board seat at News Corp’s REA, media company ARN Media, and serves as deputy chairman at the little shop of horrors, Magellan Financial.
Three chairmanships. The Hammer is the east coast Richard Goyder. The very existence of the McLennans and Goyders – spread obviously too thin to actually provide adequate scrutiny for shareholders – proves the professional director class is taking the piss.
Set aside the Eddie shambles, McLennan’s rugby turnaround narrative hinges on Project Aurora, which proposes hawking off a slice of the sport to investors and private equity. That was supposed to raise $250 million. Jefferies star banker Michael Stock was tasked with finding investors to buy in.
What exactly is Stock offering up? We give you a claim to several years worth of ticket receipts and broadcast revenue to losing games, played in front of half-full stadiums. The Wallabies are going to get spanked 3-0 by the British Lions on home soil in 2025. But you and the lads can get a box on the halfway line.
Earlier this year, McLennan tapped former Wallabies flanker Phil Waugh to lead the turnaround. McLennan, graduate of the exclusive Sydney Church of England Grammar School, needed a CEO to execute the game’s vision and settled on ... another Shore boy.
Waugh was then given ample space in this newspaper to explain his “plan to save Australian rugby”. Along with trying to get PE interest and growing the game in western Sydney to fend off competition from competing codes, he had a neat idea.
“I love the concept of an old boys’ day at Allianz Stadium ... three back-to-back GPS [Great Public Schools] games at Allianz Stadium from 11am to 5pm, and you just make it a festival,” Waugh said.
The “save rugby” plan involves a “festival” of Riverview, King’s and Joeys? Phil, that’s not a plan, that’s a Betoota Advocate headline.
After the 2019 World Cup exit, no fewer than 11 former Wallabies captains wrote a letter expressing no confidence in then-CEO Raelene Castle. The group included Nick Farr-Jones, George Gregan, Michael Lynagh, and successfully agitated for Castle to fall on her sword.
The Wallabies are for the first time all but guaranteed to exit a World Cup without making it out of the group stage, strapped to a checked-out coach, with a tied-up chairman. Time to get out the stationery again, boys.