AusLeisure

In a momentous day for Rugby Australia, the organisation has confirmed the appointment of highly-regarded sports administrator Raelene Castle as its  Chief Executive while also announcing its intent to secure the hosting rights for the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup and 2027 Rugby World Cup (Men's).

Former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Netball New Zealand Chief Executive Castle will begin in the role in January 2018, with Rugby Australia Chairman, Cameron Clyne saying she was the standout applicant from a list of over 200 candidates which included sporting and business leaders from across the globe.

Clyne announced “Raelene is an extremely impressive executive who covered every base as far as what the Board was looking for in a Chief Executive Officer to lead our game into an important new chapter.

“She offers an incredible wealth of experience in sports administration and business, with an outstanding track record in commercial, marketing and communications roles.

“Through her most recent roles as CEO of the Bulldogs and Netball New Zealand, Raelene has led sporting organisations at both a national and club level, giving her an in-depth understanding of what it takes to run a national sporting body as well as the unique challenges for clubs and the importance of building strong relationships and a unity of purpose within a sporting code.

“Raelene impressed the board with her vision for rugby and her clear understanding of what needs to be done to strengthen and unite the code at all levels. In talking to Raelene, and those who have worked with her over her successful sports administration career, it is clear that she fosters environments of collaboration and high performance, always leading by example.”

Welcoming her new role, Castle stated “I am honoured to be joining Rugby Australia and bringing to it my commercial and sports management and marketing experience.

“Having followed rugby closely for over 30 years and having worked in the New Zealand and Australian sporting environments for the past 10 years, there is no doubt Australian rugby has a clear international and domestic offering for both male and female athletes that can be further developed and strengthened.”

Wagga Wagga-born Castle will become the first woman to lead the national governing body for rugby and in doing so will become the first female Chief Executive across all of the major national unions in world rugby.

Before beginning her career in sports administration with Netball New Zealand in 2007, Castle was a successful communications and marketing executive in the corporate sector. She is a former Head of Business Marketing at Telecom NZ, Communications Manager at Bank of New Zealand and a Marketing Manager for Fuji Xerox.

She also has a rich sporting background as a former representative-level netball, tennis and lawn bowls player and as the daughter of New Zealand rugby league captain, Bruce Castle and three-time Commonwealth Games lawn bowls medallist, Marlene Castle.

Coinciding with the announcement of Castle’s appointment, the Rugby Australia Board announced that it will lodge official bids for both the Women’s and Men’s tournaments and that it will launch a new national women’s competition to kick off in 2018.

Australia hosted the men’s edition of the Rugby World Cup in 1987 (with New Zealand) and 2003 with great success, but has never hosted a Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Clyne commented “as we edge closer to the 15th anniversary of the last Rugby World Cup played in Australia, regarded by many as the greatest in the tournament’s history, we are excited to confirm that Rugby Australia will bid for the hosting rights for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2021 and the 2027 (Men’s) Rugby World Cup.

“The Rugby World Cup is the pinnacle for our Qantas Wallabies and Buildcorp Wallaroos teams and we want to bring those tournaments home for any player, boy or girl, man or woman, who ever dreamed of lifting the Cup here on our home soil.

“The Women’s World Cup is growing from strength to strength off the back of an incredible tournament in Ireland this year and given Australia’s track record in hosting major events, we are supremely confident of delivering a tournament like no other in 2021.”

“With the NSW Government’s commitment to build a network of three world-class rectangular venues in Sydney, adding to the mix of quality stadiums available across the country, our prospects of bringing the World Cups to Australia have never been better.”Rugby Australia will move immediately to establish a 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup bid team, chaired by a Rugby Australia Board member, to work with government and World Rugby to develop a tender for the bid.

The 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup will be ninth edition of the tournament, which was first contested in 1991 and has never previously been held in the southern hemisphere.

The Australian Women’s Rugby team, the Wallaroos, finished sixth at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup played in Ireland earlier this year, an event which attracted record attendances and worldwide television audiences for the women’s game.

Images: Cameron Clyne welcomes Raelene Castle to her new role (top), Raelene Castle (middle) and the Rugby World Cup (below).

12th December 2017 - RUGBY AUSTRALIA REVEALS SIGNIFICANT RISE IN SCHOOL PARTICIPATION PROGRAM

12th December 2017 - RAELENE CASTLE SET TO BE NAMED CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT RUGBY AUSTRALIA

28th October 2017 - AUSTRALIAN RUGBY UNION REBRANDS AS RUGBY AUSTRALIA

27th October 2017 - AUSTRALIAN RUGBY AND SPORTS SCIENCE BASE OPENS IN SYDNEY’S MOORE PARK 

20th June 2017 - BILL PULVER TO REMAIN AT ARU AS SUPER RUGBY TEAM STILL FACES AXE

11th April 2017 - ARU REPORTS SURPLUS AND PARTICIPATION GROWTH IN 2016

28th March 2017 - ARU REJECTS ROY MORGAN FINDINGS ON RUGBY PARTICIPATION

23rd March 2017 - MASSIVE DECLINE IN AUSTRALIANS’ PARTICIPATION IN RUGBY, SQUASH AND TENPIN BOWLING 

5th March 2017 - RUGBY CODES GET BIG GRANTS OVER HIGHER PARTICIPATION SPORTS IN NSW 

29th November 2016 - RUGBY SEVENS’ POPULARITY RISES IN THE WAKE OF AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WIN AT OLYMPICS

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.