O'Neill's return in question
I am starting to get very VERY suss of this whole, apparently Sydney based, push to get O'Neill back into the position with no form of process or accountability.
If O'Neill is such a man of impeccable business standing then he should be the one leading the call to have due process be seen to be done.
If he is so good then he will breeze through.
If he doesn't want the hassle or scrutiny of an interview process then IMHO he is most definitely not the man for the job.
Let us not forget that he has been there before and has left before.
Those issues need to be resolved prior to any new employment arrangement for the peace of mind of all parties.
He is not the Saviour and he most certainly isn't the ONLY CEO out there with the skills set to assist Australian Rugby to refocus.
I have no agenda against O'Neill, I recall him presiding over a successful time in our sport and by all accounts he would be seen to be the front runner to return due to familiarity if nothing else.
However familiarity can breed contempt as well.
I will be disgusted in this Board if they make any permanent appointment to any senior position without carrying out due process.
O'Neill's return in question
Greg Growden Chief Rugby Correspondent
Thursday, April 26, 2007
THE push to have John O'Neill return for a second term as the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union has hit a speed bump, with plans to have an extensive application process for the position certain to see him back away.
While ARU director Arvid Petersen has publicly called for O'Neill to immediately take over from Gary Flowers as the union's managing director, other officials are demanding a more cautious approach.
Some directors believe the ARU must call for applications, involve recruitment agencies and hold an extensive interview process for candidates.
Despite a concerted push for an appointment to be made within weeks, it could instead happen a considerable time after Flowers leaves on May 11.
There has already been discussion over ARU commercial operations general manager Brian Thorburn and head of the ARU rugby unit Pat Wilson running the organisation until Flowers's successor is announced.
Others have been pushing for former ARU chief operations officer and Brumbies chief executive Rob Clarke to return as an interim CEO.
Nonetheless, a drawn-out process is bound to see O'Neill lose interest in the job.
It is understood O'Neill, currently a senior executive with the STW Group, a communications, sports marketing and management company, will not apply for the ARU position. But if he was invited for an interview, he would be interested.
However, O'Neill is certain to lose any desire to return to the ARU, where he worked from 1995 to 2004 before becoming CEO of Football Federation Australia, if he has to be part of an extensive interview process.
The feeling among O'Neill's backers is that he does not want to be "part of a beauty parade".
Most ARU directors agree a replacement for Flowers must be made sooner rather than later. As one union source said last night: "We've just suffered from 3½ years of people sitting around doing nothing. We can't have another three months waiting for something to happen. The appointment of a new CEO has to be expedited."
The situation will hopefully become clearer after the ARU's reconvened annual general meeting at St Leonards on Saturday afternoon, where the new board of directors and a new chairman are scheduled to be announced.
Former Australian Defence Force chief Peter Cosgrove has been nominated as one of two new Queensland directors along with former Wallabies second-rower Rod McCall.
Cosgrove will replace Terry Jackman, who departed the ARU board last Thursday after a vote of no confidence, while McCall will take over from David Usasz, who resigned after the original AGM.
Petersen, the NSW Rugby Union chairman, remains favourite to be the new ARU chairman, replacing Ron Graham.
However, on several issues, the votes of the two independent board members - Rick Lee and Bob Dalziel - will be crucial. And Petersen may find himself in a difficult position if an extensive selection process is chosen by the board to find Flowers's replacement.
As Petersen has stated that O'Neill is the best man for the position, even as chairman he is bound to find opposition within the ARU towards his being involved in a selection panel or sub-committee to select the new CEO.
On Monday, Petersen said that O'Neill was "a proven sports administrator, one of the best in the world, and if he is available and we can talk him into it, he would be the right choice because we do need some strong leadership".
The following day, the chairman of the Sydney premiership clubs Alan Williamson demanded the immediate recall of O'Neill to the ARU.
"We call on John O'Neill to please consider and put his hand up for consideration for the position of CEO Australian Rugby," Williamson said.
"Our message is plain and simple. John, we need you. Our beloved game needs you."
O'Neill a $4million pawn
By Peter Kogoy
April 26, 2007
THE odds of John O'Neill returning to run Australian rugby hinge on two key planks: money and Canadian-born businessman Arvid Petersen seeing off Canberra lawyer Peter McGrath's challenge in a ballot for the chairmanship of the ARU.
The Australian has learned O'Neill's wage demand is understood to be $4million over three years, which he put to New South Wales Rugby Union chairman Petersen in a private discussion.
The Australian Rugby Union chairman will be settled at the adjourned AGM in Sydney, most likely to be held on Saturday.
The push for O'Neill to return gained further momentum when the presidents of the 13 Sydney premiership clubs on Tuesday came out in support of his appointment as ARU chief executive.
If O'Neill does get the nod, he will take over departing chief executive Gary Flower's honorary role as secretary of SANZAR (South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and the Australian Rugby Union) in an interim capacity.
Irrespective of what happens at the adjourned AGM on Saturday, Flowers has been allowed to stay on as secretary of the southern hemisphere peak rugby body in an interim capacity until his last day in office at the ARU on May 11. He will represent both bodies at next month's International Rugby Board executive meeting in Dublin.
It is understood O'Neill remains committed to his new role on the NSW Tourism Task Force. He has also accepted a seat on the board of under-performing gaming and wagering operator Tabcorp. He is scheduled to take up that position some time after June 30.
Notwithstanding Petersen's wish to have the former ARU and Football Federation Australia chief back running Australian rugby, O'Neill has his share of detractors, including ACTRU chairman McGrath.
McGrath yesterday maintained his stance of keeping his thoughts to himself.
"I've made it pretty clear all along that any discussion about ARU matters should be discussed in the boardroom only and not aired in the press," McGrath said.
But a rugby broker, who asked not to be named, told The Australian yesterday: "Even if Petersen does win the job as chairman, he's still not got the numbers to get O'Neill in his old job across the line".
It is clear the emergence of NSW-born retired Army chief Peter Cosgrove's nomination as one of two Queensland directors has eased interstate tensions after the code lurched into turmoil last week.
QRU chairman Peter Lewis had accused NSW officials of "a gutless boardroom betrayal", which forced the adjournment of the AGM.
ARU spokesman Brian West yesterday said the adjourned AGM meeting would now take place "most likely" on Saturday.
"Bob Dalziel, one of two independent directors, who is based in Melbourne, remains overseas," West said. "We now understand that he won't be back in the country until the weekend at the earliest."