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Righto, time for action Peter!
'Nothing sacrosanct' in review
By Jim Tucker
May 01, 2007
NEW Australian Rugby Union chairman Peter McGrath is committed to a summit meeting of key stakeholders this month to start thrashing out the code's major issues.
"Everything is up for review. Nothing is sacrosanct just because it's the way it has always been done," McGrath promised yesterday.
They are the fighting words that Super 14 bosses and fans want to hear but the proof will be how the Queanbeyan lawyer and his nine-man ARU board start moving rugby's mountains.
Impressive Western Force go-getter Peter O'Meara is the early frontrunner for the board's most urgent task - selecting a fresh, driven chief executive.
McGrath understood Force coach John Mitchell's sensible plea for a contracting window less disruptive to the Super 14 season.
"The contracting system is such a critical part of the game so, yes, we'll be taking all the viewpoints in the review at the end of Super 14," McGrath said.
"My experience with contracts is that it's never the perfect time - too early in the season and you disrupt the team and too late in the season you disrupt players and coaches."
McGrath was elected chairman last Saturday afternoon in Sydney.
"On the playing side, it's not the doom-and-gloom that some are suggesting," he said.
"I saw a fantastic game of rugby with that win (by the Brumbies) over a powerful Crusaders team.
"I have high hopes that the Wallabies will be very competitive throughout the season."
McGrath, 52, is an intriguing football mix.
He played rugby for ACT against the 1974 All Blacks and was a foundation player for the Canberra Raiders rugby league team in 1982.