Six Rugby Australia member unions, including Queensland, the ACT and Western Australia, have called on Rugby Australia chair Hamish McLennan to quit. Here is what they said.
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Brett Clark, Queensland Rugby chair: "We as member unions of Australian Rugby have a duty to protect the reputation of our game. Some of the leadership decisions that have been made over the past few years demonstrate the current chair is not the right cultural fit for how we want our game to be represented in our country and globally. That is why we are asking Hamish to stand down from the chair role, as we believe it's in the best interests of our game."
Matt Nobbs, ACT Rugby chair: "It's obvious that if we are to regain the respect, trust and confidence of the international and national Rugby communities as well as the wider Australian public, we need renewed leadership. Hamish has done a number of positive things for Australian rugby but, on balance, it's clear, he is not the right person to take us forward. Trust is at the heart of any change and for ACT Rugby to work with Rugby Australia, we need to focus on rebuilding a trusting relationship, which won't happen under the current chair."
John Edwards, WA Rugby chair: "We have had concerns over the fiscal management of the governing body for some time and when we get to a place where the chair of Rugby Australia is now threatening his own members in the media, then something needs to give. We have lost confidence in his ability to lead that the game and it is clearly evident through a series of recent and historical decisions that he is not the right person for the job anymore. We are asking Hamish to stand down now for the good of our game."
Brett Smith, SA Rugby chair: "While SA rugby is a small player in the broader Australian rugby ecosystem, if we don't fix the leadership issues of our game at a national level then local club and community rugby will suffer from these effects., and that is our main priority in SA. That is why we are supporting the move in asking Hamish to stand down."
Shaun Killian, Tas Rugby chair: "Just like young players in other states and territories, our players in Tassie aspire to be Wallabies and Wallaroos to represent their country at the highest level. But that becomes even further from reality for them if our national leadership is not making decisions about our game with the interests of all in mind."
Gary Russell, NT Rugby chair: "The NT prides itself on being a sporting community where people of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes get to participate in competitions designed for their abilities. Given our smaller population than other states we work collaboratively across all sports offerings to provide experiences for the whole community, but when our national leadership makes decisions that alienate us from other sporting codes, it makes our job in the territory much harder to compete in an already limited pool of players, coaches and officials."
Australian Associated Press
