Rugby chairman in heated radio exchange over Castle future
https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/rug...07-p53hrg.html
Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne has shot down speculation Raelene Castle will be toppled at a board meeting on Monday.
In a fiery exchange with radio broadcaster Ben Fordham on Friday afternoon, Clyne said he was "100 per cent sure" Castle had the unanimous support of the RA board.
"So this board meeting on Monday, you're 100 per cent confident that no one will raise Raelene Castle's future at that board meeting?" Fordham asked on 2GB.
Clyne replied, "I'm 100 per cent confident".
It capped a robust back-and-forth between Fordham and the outgoing RA chair, who phoned in to address claims made by 2GB producer James Willis.
Willis had called into Fordham's show to claim RA directors were considering dismissing Castle over her management of the Israel Folau settlement agreement earlier this week.
"There's a board meeting on Monday and board members have told me today they are talking about the idea of dismissing Raelene Castle," Willis told Fordham.
"That will be discussed on Monday for the simple reason they were kept in the dark on the Israel Folau matter, told it was a black-and-white case, Folau would be sacked, no money entitled, they've now had to pay a huge amount of money. The board's angry."
Clyne was furious about the comments, labelling it "one fabrication after another".
"First of all the board meeting on Monday is a regularly scheduled board meeting, Raelene's future is not on the agenda," he said.
"Well, let me tell you that [regarding] the settlement discussions, the Rugby Australia board and the NSW board were fully informed all the way through and both were unanimously supportive of the settlement discussion."
RA and Castle have come under heavy fire from all sections for resolving the case through a confidential settlement after a three-day, court-ordered mediation process, the last formal attempt before the case was due to go to trial in the Federal Circuit Court.
Folau sued RA and the NSW Waratahs for unlawful termination under the Fair Work Act, claiming he had been sacked in May because of his religion. He wanted $14 million in compensation, an apology and reinstatement.
The settlement amount has not been revealed, but legal experts and board sources have told the Herald a figure of between $4 million and $5 million would be a likely figure. The court-ordered mediation was the second formal attempt at settlement, but the Herald is aware of at least two other attempts made by RA and the Waratahs' legal teams since May to offer an out-of-court solution.
There is more at the linked article, including a transcript of the call.
