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QRU in bid for president
Wayne Smith | March 12, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE normally ceremonial election of Australian Rugby Union president has become politically charged after Queensland yesterday nominated one of the game's greatest administrators to oppose the presumed president-in-waiting Ron Graham.
A decade after he played a central -- some would argue "the" central -- role in rugby turning professional in 1996 and then laying down the foundations of Australia's 1999 World Cup win, former ARU chairman Dick McGruther has ended his sabbatical and returned to the fray.
While McGruther yesterday self-deprecatingly said he had allowed himself to be nominated because he thought he had something to offer Australian rugby, Queensland Rugby Union chairman Peter Lewis threw down the gauntlet to Graham, NSW's candidate to replace Paul McLean as ARU president at the annual general meeting in a fortnight.
Citing Graham's central role in NSW rugby at the time it went bankrupt in 2000 and had to be administered by the Australian Rugby Union, Lewis said that conferring the ARU presidency on him would be "a reward for failure".
"Nothing personal but rugby is facing some serious financial issues in these difficult economic times and we need some good business people running the game," Lewis said.
"The (ARU) presidency is more than it sounds.
"David Crombie, the QRU president, is invited to all of our board meetings. He is a diplomat and a statesman and well-connected. The position can be very important and influential."
McGruther, who sits on a number of public company boards, was rated by past and current ARU chief executive John O'Neill as the best chairman he worked with in rugby.
Certainly McGruther's voice was one of the few on the ARU board O'Neill heeded and respected.
To win the presidency, McGruther -- whose nomination was seconded by South Australia -- would need the support of the southern states to offset NSW's voting strength. That is, of course, if NSW votes as a bloc, which might not be a given.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html