Kiwi the queen of Aussie castle
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. ‘‘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.
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.’’
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.
Castle is a well-respected administrator and was the first female boss of an NRL club before resigning in May.
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.