Gary Flowers Resigns

[Thequeerone]

I think you lot saw this coming !!



Thursday, 19 April 2007



GARY FLOWERS OFFER TO RESIGN ACCEPTED BY ARU BOARD



The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) Board of Directors today accepted the resignation of Managing Director & CEO Gary Flowers, which will take effect from 11 May 2007.



The Board received the offer to resign from Gary last night, prior to the Annual General Meeting, which has been accepted.



Gary made the offer following his advice to the Board last week that he would not renew his contract at the end of this year.



“I had an obligation to the Board under my contract to provide timely advice as to my intentions beyond this year. I gave that advice a week ago and committed myself to staying to year end and keeping the organisation moving forward while the Board found my replacement.



“I was committed to overseeing an orderly transition.



“However, I no longer consider that smooth transition to be possible. While it is disappointing, I believe it is in the best interests of the game and for me personally.



“That is the position I put to the Board, prior to the AGM and any vote for the new Chairman. They asked me to stay until 11 May and attend the International Rugby Board (iRB) meeting where a number of critical issues will be discussed. These range from the current state of a key Northern Hemisphere tournament, through the signing of SANZAR players by Northern Hemisphere teams and to the Australian bid for the iRB Sevens Rugby World Cup for Men and, for the first time, Women to be held in 2009.



Australia is also pushing for the rapid introduction internationally of the new playing laws that have been successfully trialed in a number of places around the world, including the Premier Rugby Club competitions in Sydney and Brisbane.



“My fervent hope now is that the rugby community gets behind the new Chairman and my successor.



“There are a number of key initiatives underway for implementation over the balance of the year. I am confident that my departure will not compromise these initiatives.



“It has been a privilege to lead the management team and to be the CEO of this great sporting institution,” said Gary Flowers.

[frontrow]

Where have all the flowers gone, la laaa lala...
Good luck in the future gary....

[Burgs]

I reckon this whole thing stinks.
I totally agree that things have to/had to change but little good can come out of such a rabble and from such a disruptive toe cutting process.
In good faith Flowers agreed to see out his contract and give the agreed amount of notice.
To then be forced to offer his immediate resignation is just pure political maneuvering.
It is to his credit that he didn't tell them to jam the whole lot and walk out today instead of hanging around to represent his assassins in May at the IRB table.
Strong buildings are built on strong foundations, the new ARU Towers are destined to be a house of cards, set to come crashing down at the next petty squabble.
The only option to have half a chance of saving the situation is to appoint an independent successor to Flowers from oversees, someone who doesn’t come with 150 years of bullsheet politics peering over his shoulder.
The exact same is my reasoning to appoint Deanes to the Wallaby top job rather than any Australian.
The Australian Rugby leadership is in desperate need of a full blown enema to blow….. you get the point

[jazza93]

yea what he said

[shasta]

I saw Bill Young on Fox today. He said the bloodletting could go as far as John Connolly. Jaysus in a WC year! As basket cases go the ARU is starting to look uncomfortably like the old soccer administration. Perhaps radical surgery is needed there too.