'Never recovered': Ugly Israel Folau truth in Raelene Castle's resignation
Raelene Castle resigned as Rugby Australia CEO on Thursday after months of criticism and personal attacks stemming back to her decision to sack Israel Folau.
The embattled Rugby Australia chief fell on her sword on Thursday night after being told she had lost the support of the board.
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It brought to an end her tumultuous two-and-a-half year reign at the top, which will unfortunately be remembered for her handling of the Folau scandal.
A horror final year in charge included a costly legal battle following the sacking of Folau, a poor World Cup performance and fractured relationship with then Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, PLUS the failure to reach agreement for a new broadcast deal.
The code is also in dire financial straits, looking at a $120 million loss of revenue if no rugby is played this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fans and commentators were divided on Castle’s legacy after her bombshell announcement on Thursday, with many pointing out how the knives had been out ever since the Folau scandal.
As Wayne Smith of the Australian wrote: “After taking over from Bill Pulver as CEO in January 2017, Castle’s stint was turned upside down within four months when Israel Folau said God’s plan for homosexuals was that they would go to Hell unless they repented.”
EXCLUSIVE: Raelene Castle has announced her resignation as Rugby Australia chief executive. She has telephoned RA chairman Paul McLean and given him the news. It brings to an end a tumultuous three year reign in which she was dogged by the Israel Folau case.
— Wayne Keith Smith (@WayneKeithSmith) April 23, 2020
Jim Tucker of The Courier Mail said Castle was “forced out after a year-long bombardment ... some justified, some plain spiteful”.
“It follows a tumultuous year in which she never recovered from the sackings of Israel Folau and Michael Cheika.
“In truth, the poisoned parcel that the Folau issue was for whichever unlucky code ended with it in their lap was the beginning of the end for Castle’s two-year reign.”
Raelene Castle resigns but forced out after a year-long bombardment is a better term. Some justified, some plain spiteful https://t.co/KqGtooULdz
— Jim Tucker (@HulaBulaJim) April 23, 2020
Israel Folau (apart from Covid) has a career in football. Raelene does not. https://t.co/6gKAJsTsHi
— Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) April 23, 2020
It's about time Raelene Castle resigned as CEO of Rugby Australia. She's made horrible decisions left, right and centre and the Israel Folau saga was just the tipping point. #Rugby
— Trystan Spooner (@TrystanSpooner) April 23, 2020
Extremely disappointed that Raelene Castle has been made another scapegoat for Cameron Clyne’s era of incompetence that destroyed Australia in Super Rugby, and oversaw so much. I very much liked her leadership style. She stood strongly against homophobia and Israel Folau. #Rugby. https://t.co/rtKFZ7V2be
— Nicolas Hart (@DrNicolasHart) April 23, 2020
Folau 2 Castle 0 !! https://t.co/zc9JKwuYLY
— Matt Fox (@Matt_Fox) April 23, 2020
Israel Folau’s homophobic comments are now also Raelene Castle’s fault. As is a coach she didn’t hire. https://t.co/LV0tIlYvvv
— Ollie Ritchie (@OllieRitchie1) April 23, 2020
Letter from former Wallabies the final nail
The writing was on the wall for Castle when a group of 10 former players, led by World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones, signed a letter calling for a change in RA's administration earlier this week.
Castle said in a statement that she had been told RA needed “clear air”.
“I love rugby on every level and I will always love the code and the people I have had the honour of working with since I took this role,” Castle said.
“I made it clear to the board that I would stand up and take the flak and do everything possible to serve everyone's best interests.
“In the last couple of hours, it has been made clear to me that the board believes my no longer being CEO would help give them the clear air they believe they need.
“The game is bigger than any one individual - so this evening I told the chair that I would resign from the role.
“I will do whatever is needed to ensure an orderly handover. I wish the code and everyone who loves rugby nothing but the best and I would like to thank the people I work with and the broader rugby community for their enormous support.”
Former Test hooker Phil Kearns, who was among the cohort to sign the captains' plea, missed out on the role to Castle just over two years ago.
He said he has the business experience and financial backing to get RA back on track and resurrect the Wallabies to their former glory after slumping to No.7 in the world.
Castle met with Super Rugby chief executives on Thursday morning to plot their way through the competition shutdown and gave no hint she believed her time in the role was up.
She was however a late withdrawal from a meeting with the state chairmen to go over RA's financial position.
Castle completed an interview with ABC TV prior to her resignation and said then she believed David Rennie would honour his contract to coach the Wallabies regardless of her situation.
“Ultimately he knows that things can change and I know he has a desperate desire to coach the Wallabies. He's done a lot work and he's excited about the young talent coming through,” she said.
“He will come here regardless of where I sit.”
with AAP
