Rugby chief brutally axed

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Rugby chief sacked harshly
Rugby Australia’s chairman, Hamish McLennan, has been removed following an unprecedented late-night board meeting that decided his fate.
Following the Wallabies’ dismal World Cup campaign, six state unions wrote to the 57-year-old demanding that he step down from his position right away. Queensland Rugby, ACT Rugby, Rugby WA, NT Rugby, Tasmania Rugby, and South Australia Rugby accused him of not behaving in the best interests of the game in a letter they issued on Friday. They also added:
“We no longer have any trust or faith in his leadership, or the direction in which he is taking rugby in Australia”.
And despite vowing to stay and fight for his position after slamming the letter as “divisive,” McLennan was brutally axed on Sunday night as a sorry chapter in Australian rugby came to an end.
The chairman, who was appointed in 2020 during the height of the Covid epidemic, has been under a lot of fire lately following the Wallabies’ historic collapse out of the World Cup pool stages. Having forced the resignation of Eddie Jones and the firing of Dave Rennie at the conclusion of the previous year, he was viewed as somewhat responsible.
Daniel Herbert, a former center for Australia who played for the Wallabies that won five consecutive Bledisloe Cups, the Rugby Championship, and the 1999 World Cup, has succeeded McLennan. Herbert has 67 Test caps.
‘It has never been more important for the Rugby Australia board, working with member unions, to come together and execute the reform we absolutely need for an aligned high-performance system and to deliver on the commitments we have made, including to invest in community and women’s rugby,’ Herbert said following the confirmation of his appointment.
“Australia will play home to the 2032 Olympic Games, the men’s and women’s rugby world cups in 2027 and 2029, and the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2025. The reforms we are pursuing currently will support our national teams’ competitiveness and foster greater interaction with the global rugby community and its supporters.”
Starlet addresses Wales ‘chatter’
After a stellar start to the season, Exeter Chiefs wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has spoken out about his future on the international scene, acknowledging that neither Wales nor England have gotten in touch with him yet.
The 20-year-old product of the Cardiff Academy is eligible for both countries, and both England and Warren Gatland are reportedly keeping a tight check on him in advance of the Six Nations. The athlete has been hailed as a “future Welsh international” by his former boss at Cardiff, Gruff Rees. He has also trained with the Wales national team and played for the U18 squad.
Recently, he acknowledged that he would “love to be a Welsh international”. Feyi-Waboso has made no secret of his allegiances and doubled down when asked what his priority would be if either Wales or England came calling.
“Wales is my native country; I was born there. I can communicate in Welsh somewhat,” he said on the BBC’s Scrum V. “They do possess a rather powerful
After a stellar start to the season, Exeter Chiefs wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has spoken out about his future on the international scene, acknowledging that neither Wales nor England have gotten in touch with him yet.
The Cardiff Academy product, 20, is qualified for both countries, and it is believed that Warren Gatland
Right now, the hot back three includes players like Rio Dyer, Josh Adams, and Louis Rees-Zammit.”
Though he has scored three tries in nine games thus far in the new campaign, the speedster is not getting ahead of himself, acknowledging that neither country has gotten in touch with him despite “chatter” about a possible call-up.
“Neither of them have spoken to me directly,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned at the moment it’s all chatter and at the moment I don’t want to entertain the chatter. I feel there’s a lot of my game that I need to work on, a lot that I’m still learning. It’s up to the coaches whether they decide if I get called up or not.
“It would be a huge privilege to get called up,” he added. “I would love to be called up but there’s a lot of my game that I need to work on to be considered an international. It’s nice to hear the chatter but you need to know where you are.”
Disgraced ex-World Rugby boss lands new job
Shamed former France coach Bernard Laporte has returned to rugby less than a year after he was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for bribery and corruption.
Laporte was convicted in a French court last December after it was ruled he showed favouritism in awarding a contract to sponsor the front of the French national team’s jerseys to close friend and billionaire owner of Top 14 club Montpellier, Mohed Altrad. This saw Laporte resign from his role as World Rugby vice-chairman, months before France hosted the World Cup.
He was also banned from working in rugby for two years, but that ban is suspended pending his appeal. And now the former FFR president and Six Nations winning coach – who led France between 1999 and 2007 – is back in the game after being appointed Montpellier’s new director of rugby.
The stunning move sees him succeed Philippe Saint-André and link up with his old friend Altrad, who was given an 18-month suspended sentence for his part in the offences, which according to the charges saw the pair carry out illegal influence-peddling and passive corruption.
And Altrad played down the controversy as Laporte’s appointment was confirmed, refusing to comment on proceedings in an exclusive interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, before issuing a statement lauding the former Toulon coach as “one of the best French rugby experts”.
“In this sporting period, which is one of the most complicated that this club that I love so much has known, Bernard Laporte will have to strengthen cohesion within the collective,” he said. “His support for our objectives, his passion for rugby make him the sports leader that the MHR urgently needs.”
Scarlets boss in awe of ‘world class’ star
Following Leinster’s 54-5 thrashing of the Scarlets, Dwayne Peel felt his team had learned a “tough lesson”.
A somber evening in Dublin witnessed the Irish province score eight tries, with several of their World Cup players having a good time on their first outings since coming home from France. In the end, that quality showed through as they scored fifty points, including touchdowns from Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, and Sam Prendergast.
Hugo Keenan, one of the returning Irish stars for Leinster, was singled out by Peel as the best player in the world for his position, and he acknowledged that his performance had “hurt” his team. Peel was not blind to the disparity between the two teams on the night.
“It was a tough lesson, they were obviously stacked and I thought the quality they had in their group told in the end,” he said. “We battled hard for the first 50-60 minutes, they started like a train like they always do here, they came out quickly and then we got back into the game. We had a few opportunities in their 22 at the end of the first half which we didn’t convert, but in the physical contest of the game they came out on top.
“They are big men and they won those battles,” he added. “They managed to win the gainline and a couple of times they bossed the breakdown, turned over the ball and our transition defence was caught lacking. I thought Keenan on the edge was world class, probably the best 15 in the world at the moment and people like that will hurt you.”
Peel stated that despite the crushing loss, his team has “lessons to be learned” and is optimistic that they can bounce back in their next west Wales derby against the Ospreys.
“Our boys have lessons to learn,” he continued. “We changed a few things and offered boys some chances. It’s beneficial for young boys to experience this because we have injured players and players at home. We must also acknowledge that the gap must be closed because it is now too great. We keep saying that we will get better, but patience and time will be needed.