Unnamed sauces have confirmed the ARU have begun the process to replace embattled CEO Bill Pulver should the board decide to terminate the remaining term of his contract.
Top of the list is current Western Force CEO Mark Sinderberry.
More to come...
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Unnamed sauces have confirmed the ARU have begun the process to replace embattled CEO Bill Pulver should the board decide to terminate the remaining term of his contract.
Top of the list is current Western Force CEO Mark Sinderberry.
More to come...
i dont wanna lose sinderberry... but... it would be good to have a guy at the top!
NOOOOOO!
Where there is smoke there is fire.
I'd say the Job is his unless he turns it down to remain here in the west.
It is Eddie Jones opinion - at this stage
Rugby WA boss Mark Sinderberry could replace Bill Pulver as ARU CEO should Pulver be sacked by: Iain Payten From: The Daily Telegraph October 28, 2014 9:00PM 1
A yet-to-be-completed TV deal may provide some job security for Bill Pulver but Rugby WA boss Mark Sinderberry has been backed as an heir apparent should the ARU board dump their embattled chief executive.
Pulver’s leadership of Australian rugby has come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks as the code deals with a seemingly endless Kurtley Beale-Di Patston saga, and reels daily from the damage to its public image.
Calls for Pulver to step down have multiplied and a report yesterday said the ARU board were “headhunting” potential replacements to give the code a clean start.
Anonymous ARU chairman Michael Hawker has also come under fire to keep his job.
The Daily Telegraph understands SANZAR’s broadcast negotiations may give Pulver some breathing room, however, with the ARU board keen to convey some semblance of stability.
The entry of Japan to Super Rugby last week will see extra millions added to a previously reported $35-40 million per year deal for the ARU from 2016, and SANZAR negotiations about the exact split of broadcast money are yet to be finalised.
Pulver surviving deep in the last year of his contract 2015 looks increasingly doubtful, however, with support for his position dwindling across ARU stakeholders.
With the experienced Andrew Fagan recently moving to the Adelaide Crows, replacement deputy Rob Clarke or Queensland’s profit-turning CEO Jim Carmichael have been mentioned as alternatives.
But former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones believes Sinderberry’s 20-years as a rugby administrator — from being the inaugural Brumbies CEO to running London giants Saracens — makes him a walk-up start.
“If you look at his CV, he has the strongest CV of anyone in Australia in terms of rugby administration,” Jones said.
“He knows the game of rugby. He has put together a champion team at the Brumbies, put together the foundations of Saracens being one of the strongest teams in Europe.
“Now he has gone to the Force and definitely helped them resurrect themselves. He has all the markers in place.”
Not from NSW or Queensland, Sinderberry’s lack of political backing at board level should not be a reason to overlook him, said Jones, who believes the blue and red factions at the ARU need to “pull their heads in” for the sake of the struggling code.
Jones said for Australian rugby to pick itself back up and move forward, it has to unite nationally under strong leadership; the existence of which he currently questions.
“I read about Beale not being told to front the media after his hearing. That’s just incredible. That is incredible,” Jones said.
“There has to be someone there who has a strong vision for the game and for Australian rugby. (John) O’Neill had his faults but what he has was a strong vision for the game and how to achieve it. Everything was then cohesive about doing it.
“To have a vibrant rugby community in Australia, you need a strong Wallabies team. That’s where the money comes from, that’s the reality of it. Everything has to be geared towards that.
“If provinces don’t come in line, there’s got to be action taken. You need a strong guy at the top that’s prepared to do that. You are not going to be liked because you are going to have to bang heads together to get a result. Because that’s what needs to happen.
“I think if that happens Australian rugby can turn it around very quickly. But it is not going to happen in the situation we are in now.”
Michael Cheika’s proposal to involve all four state coaches in his Wallabies program is a “fantastic first step”, Jones said.
“The big thing is we have to become the smart country again,” he added.
“While it’s always been separate provinces, when Australian rugby has been strong, everyone has worked together to produce a strong Wallaby team.”
You want a clean slate?
Sack the board!
They're more of a problem than the CEO.