Coach popular on social media: Rugby Australia

Adrian Warren
AAP
December 9, 2019 4:15PM


Rugby Australia has played down one of its most tumultuous years, preferring to laud the fact the majority of its social media followers approved of the new Wallabies coach.

The peak body in Australia issued a statement following its final board meeting of the year in Sydney on Monday but it barely touched on the Iong-running Israel Folau saga.

Last Wednesday RA apologised to and reached a settlement with Folau over his sacking, following an Instagram post which said "hell awaits" gay people.

Chief executive Raelene Castle said the settlement amount was confidential but described reports - some of which were as high as $8 million - as "wildly inaccurate".

In Monday's statement RA chairman Cameron Clyne only mentioned the Folau issue and potential hurdles with a new pay television deal in the last three paragraphs of the 528-word statement.

Instead he spoke about participation growth in the code; the Junior Wallabies and Wallaroos; and the overall success of the World Cup in Japan.

Australia disappointingly departed in the quarter-final stage of the World Cup after being thrashed by England, coach Michael Cheika's final match in charge.

There was no mention of Cheika in the statement but Clyne went on to point out how popular the appointment of new mentor Dave Rennie was.

"The hard work has already begun for the Wallabies as we build towards France 2023, and we are excited for the future after securing Dave Rennie as the new Wallabies head coach," Clyne said.

"It was encouraging to see the rugby community embrace Dave's appointment with 86 per cent of Facebook followers and 70 per cent of Instagram followers reacting positively to the news last month." (We already know that only 69.678% of stats are made up Cam)

Clyne finally re-iterated Castle was not in the firing line despite the Folau imbroglio, before touching on the future pay television deal which appears to be in the balance.

"Raelene's position is not in question and the board is united behind the process undertaken with Israel Folau," he said.

"2020 is an important year with the broadcast rights negotiations underway and we remain in dialogue with our long-term partner Fox Sports as we aim to deliver the strongest levels of coverage for all of our competitions over the next five-year cycle."

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/ru...t-ng-s-1983987

Castle's position "not in question", Clyne says
Yesterday at 5:56 PM
by Beth Newman


Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne says CEO Raelene Castle's position is "not in question", in a statement after the final 2019 board meeting.

There had been speculation that Castle's future would be placed on the board agenda on Monday with Sydney radio outlet 2GB claiming there was a lack of unity between the board and Castle over their approach to the Israel Folau case.

Clyne rang the radio station and engaged in a heated exchange with host Ben Fordham about the comments.

In the final part of a statement released on Monday evening, Clyne said the board was "united behind" the Folau settlement decision and Castle's position was "not in question".

“Raelene’s position is not in question and the Board is united behind the process undertaken with Israel Folau," he said in the statement.
Clyne also moved to clarify the status of Rugby Australia's broadcast negotiations after reports that Rugby AU had rejected an offer made by Fox Sports earlier this year for the rights from 2021 onwards.

“2020 is an important year with the broadcast rights negotiations underway and we remain in dialogue with our long-term partner Fox Sports as we aim to deliver the strongest levels of coverage for all of our competitions over the next five-year cycle," he said.

As part of the board gathering, the directors were given updates on various parts of Rugby Australia's business and Clyne was quick to draw attention to positive developments in the game in 2019.

“The board extends special thanks to the 900-plus Rugby clubs Australia-wide and all volunteers for their hard work over the 2019 season to grow and nurture our game," he said.

"Without them, none of the game’s achievements would be possible and there are many positives to take from the past 12 months.”
“The Rugby World Cup in Japan was enjoyed over 40,000 Australian travellers – second only behind English fans as the most to attend the tournament. The World Cup also gave Australian rugby its highest representation of match officials since 2003 with both Angus Gardner and Nic Berry taking the whistle.

“The hard work has already begun for the Wallabies as we build towards France 2023, and we are excited for the future after securing Dave Rennie as the new Wallabies head coach. It was encouraging to see the rugby community embrace Dave’s appointment with 86 per cent of Facebook followers and 70 per cent of Instagram followers reacting positively to the news last month.

“We look forward to sharing the next steps from the review and our plans to return the team to its rightful place at the top of the world rankings."

Clyne made specific mention of participation and pathway milestones reached in 2019.

“The Junior Wallabies came within a point of bringing home the Under 20s World Cup, and then our Schools & U18s team completed an undefeated tour of New Zealand. Importantly, the vast majority of these young stars of the future have been secured in our game long term,” he said.

“As we look towards the 2020 Olympic Games the sevens format is continuing to grow in popularity, with 41 spring and summer competitions kicking off across the country over the past two months.

“Over 30 clubs ran our new Get into Rugby program in clubs in 2019, introducing hundreds of new players of all ages to the game by giving them a sample of each of our three formats – XVs, sevens and Touch 7s.”

https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2019/1...meeting-update

Clyne forgets to mention that half of the Facebook & Instagram ‘followers’ are their own schills.

Valzc, are you suggesting that TWAS has been busy?

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Originally Posted by The InnFORCEr

"It was encouraging to see the rugby community embrace Dave's appointment with 86 per cent of Facebook followers and 70 per cent of Instagram followers reacting positively to the news last month." (We already know that only 69.678% of stats are made up Cam)

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You know an outfit is in trouble when their spinmeisters have to rely upon Facebook and Instagram endorsements to claim vindication.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FingerTips

You know an outfit is in trouble when their spinmeisters have to rely upon Facebook and Instagram endorsements to claim vindication.

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I notice the spinmeisters have never produced any similar positive endorsement figures for Clyne and his board

Huge sample size by RA. The 0.5% of rugby followers who comment on social media have endorsed something they did. Deluded beyond help is the RA board.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The InnFORCEr

It was encouraging to see the rugby community embrace Dave’s appointment with 86 per cent of Facebook followers and 70 per cent of Instagram followers reacting positively to the news last month.

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Wearing my pedant's hat - did they really get 86% of Facebook followers and 70% of Instagram followers to react positively, or do they mean 86% of Facebook comments and 70% of Instagram comments? The two really aren't the same thing.

On the Roar, on any story in any way critical of RA, 50% of comments are positive of the RA board. But they all come from the one poster.

he still hasn't found the station?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brokendown gunfighter

he still hasn't found the station?

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Oh, and here was me thinking it was a clever reference to his arguments (round and round without stopping)