Castle queen of Rugby Aust
Kiwi Raelene Castle has been confirmed as Rugby Australia’s new chief executive.
Castle, the first female boss of an Australian football code, edged out former Wallabies captain Phil Kearns for the position, despite reports suggesting he was favourite to take over the job.
Castle will take over from incumbent chief executive Bill Pulver following an announcement today.
The appointment of the former Canterbury Bulldogs chief executive was a watershed moment for Australian sport given no female has ever been the boss of a major football code.
Rugby Australia – formerly the Australian Rugby Union – has had a tumultuous year off the field and its rebrand in late October shows the organisation is keen to move in a fresh direction.
Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne said Castle was the standout applicant from a list of over 200 candidates, which included sporting and business leaders from across the globe.
‘‘Raelene is an extremely impressive executive who covered every base as far as what the Board was looking for in a Chief Executive Officer to lead our game into an important new chapter,’’ Clyne said.
‘‘She offers an incredible wealth of experience in sports administration and business, with an outstanding track record in commercial, marketing and communications roles.
‘‘Through her most recent roles as CEO of the Bulldogs and Netball New Zealand, Raelene has led sporting organisations at both a national and club level, giving her an in-depth understanding of what it takes to run a national sporting body as well as the unique challenges for clubs and the importance of building strong relationships and a unity of purpose within a sporting code.’’
Clyne said Castle impressed the board with her vision for rugby and her clear understanding of what needs to be done to strengthen and unite the code at all levels.
Castle said she had followed rugby closely for over 30 years.
‘‘And having worked in the New Zealand and Australian sporting environments for the past 10 years, there is no doubt Australian rugby has a clear international and domestic offering for both male and female athletes that can be further developed and strengthened,’’ she said.
‘‘I am especially looking forward to getting out into the Rugby communities across Australia and meeting the diverse range of people that make the game tick.’’
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said Castle’s appointment heralded a new era for international rugby.
‘‘We congratulate Raelene on her appointment, which is an acknowledgement of her strength as a leader, and her ability to drive success both on and off the field,’’ Tew said.
‘‘I have known Raelene for a number of years, and have a huge regard for her and we are really looking forward to working with her. New Zealand Rugby has enjoyed a close and open relationship with Bill Pulver and we thank him for his courageous leadership including managing the change that was necessary this year.’’
Although there was an appetite within Rugby Australia ranks for the new chief executive to be a ‘‘rugby person’’, Castle’s appointment proves the code wants a fresh set of eyes to put it on a new path.
It’s been a tough year for Rugby Australia which cut the Western Force from next season’s Super Rugby competition on the same day Pulver announced he would not continue on as chief executive.
It was understood Castle has expressed a desire to one day become the boss of New Zealand Rugby, but her newest role shows she is keen to come in and shake things up in Australia.
Castle is a well-respected administrator and was the first female boss of an NRL club before resigning in May. She ended her role at Canterbury at the end of the season.
The former New Zealand netball boss was one of the most influential figures in Australian rugby league and there will be plenty of interest to see how she fares in her new position.
Plenty of people in rugby circles were keen for Kearns to take the code’s top job but it was understood Castle had edged him out in a significant and potentially code-defining decision.
In recent years rugby has tried to shake its image of being a maledominated sport played predominantly at private schools.
Australian rugby is a complex beast and Castle will have to quickly get up to speed with the politics that have sometimes tainted the code in recent years.
Clearly those who appointed the New Zealander believe she can adopt an understanding of how rugby operates from grassroots to the professional level.
In the meantime Castle will sit on a two-person panel that will review the New Zealand Rugby League team’s premature exit from the recent World Cup.