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Super cull fiasco claims top ARU scalp - Wayne Smith The Australian
While the process of culling an Australian team from Super Rugby is building towards a climax, the Australian Rugby Union has been rocked by the resignation of its chief operating officer, Rob Clarke.
A former Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels CEO, Clarke had been a pivotal figure in the move to reduce Australia’s Super Rugby presence from five teams to four. It’s an exercise that has spun out of control and looks destined to be resolved in the courts.
There had been reports last month that the ARU directors were unhappy with some of the advice they had been given by management. But while Clarke was heavily involved in the procedure of identifying franchises that ended up on the endangered list, it is not known how significant this criticism was in bringing about his departure.
In particular, the board wanted to know which members of management had reassured Melbourne Rebels owner Andrew Cox — erroneously as it happened — that his club was not to be axed.
The fact that Clarke has chosen to make no comment on his resignation “until the ongoing Super Rugby process has concluded”, strongly points to it being a major factor in his decision. Certainly rumours that he intended to resign to take up a position as CEO of Australian Sailing were completely overtaken when John Lee, a former director of the Australian Sports Commission, was appointed to the role. Clarke, who addressed ARU staffers yesterday to advise them he would leave next month, has given no public indication of what he intends to move on to.
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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...d97569975400c3