The Rogues Rant

Welcome to The Rogues Rant, an occasional look at all things Rugby.

Who is Raelene Castle? She is the person with the task of leading Rugby Australia out of the Doldrums in 2018 and beyond. Castle recently announced as the new CEO of Rugby Australia, replacing the outgoing Bill Pulver, takes over in January 2018 with a huge task ahead. Castle is an Australian born New Zealander, born in Wagga Wagga in the 1960’s. Her father Bruce Castle was a Kiwi Rugby League representative who spent a couple years in Wagga Wagga as Captain/Coach of Turvey Park Rugby League Club. Castle’s mother Marlene is a four times Commonwealth Games Bowls representative for New Zealand, so sport has played a significant part in Raelene’s life. From a successful Commercial Marketing background Castle was the CEO of Netball New Zealand for six years before holding the top Job at the Canterbury Bulldogs. After four turbulent years as the Bulldogs CEO, Castle moves into the top Rugby job with plenty of work to do to resurrect the fortunes of Rugby at all levels. With her broad experiences in her past positions she is well placed to hit the ground running in the overall Australian sporting landscape. Let’s hope she can bring all aspects of the Australian game together for the sake of Rugby right across the country.

NSW Rugby and the Waratahs have moved into their new home at the UNSW David Phillips Sports Complex. The facility is to become a High Performance Hub for the NSW Waratahs with the Waratahs head office and training base re-locating from Allianz Stadium. The UNSW Logo will also become a part of the Waratahs playing strip in 2018 as the two organizations enter a partnership aimed at providing high performance facilities for the University and the wider community. The Waratahs will continue to play their Super Rugby home games at Allianz Stadium.