Former ACT Brumbies coach Andy Friend says it was a ''dishonest'' organisation that led to his downfall and described the final two weeks of his tenure as an ''absolute farce''.
And Friend warned incoming Brumbies mentor Jake White to immediately make it clear that he was the boss over the playing group.
The Brumbies finished a horror Super Rugby season last weekend when they were beaten 41-7 by the NSW Waratahs at ANZ Stadium.
Having stayed silent since the day of his sacking, Friend opened up yesterday in interviews on ABC radio and with The Canberra Times as he launched his charity bike ride from Cooktown to Canberra.
He was damning of the way his sacking was handled after he lost the support of senior players and ultimately the club board.
''The last two weeks [of his time as coach] were an absolute farce. For all of that to be lumped on your lap showed a complete lack of trust and character from the people who did that,'' Friend said. ''I go to bed every single night comfortable with who I am and have a tremendous sleep. I'm sure there are people that work in that organisation who would struggle to do that.''
The Brumbies suffered their worst ever Super Rugby campaign following Friend's departure.
They won just four of their 16 games. Had it not been for a small late-season revival where they beat the top-of-the-table Queensland Reds and bottom-placed Melbourne Rebels the year would have looked a lot worse.
Tony Rea took over the reins in Friend's absence. But the change in coach didn't change the team's fortunes as it battled its way to 13th on the ladder.
Friend supported Rea's brutally honest assessment of the club after the loss to the Johannesburg Lions in May in which Rea said his players had no fight and questioned the squad and administration, which is led by long-time chief executive Andrew Fagan.
''What you find in dishonest organisations like those is they'll hose down everything if they can,'' Friend said.
''People in positions that had some authority needed to be stronger than what they were. To make any business relationship or sporting team successful, you need strong people to make tough decisions.''
Fagan did not want to be drawn into a war of words with Friend, but stood by his decision and said the change in the coaching ranks was needed for the club to move forward.
''Andy is entitled to his opinion, we've moved on and I don't think it's healthy or appropriate to debate this in public,'' Fagan said.
''Those involved in the club over the past few years know the issues that existed, the conversations that took place and the changes that were required to help the Brumbies present the best rugby program in the country.
''We've moved on, we have appointed a world class head coach in Jake White who is tremendously excited about working with this club.''
Former World Cup-winning coach White will arrive in Canberra next month to start rebuilding the two-time Super Rugby champions.
White will have to do it with a rising group of young players with the club concentrating on building a successful team during his four-year tenure.
The high involvement of senior players was perceived to have contributed to Friend's axing.
Friend said he encouraged players to be involved in the team's decision making, but he regretted some of the choices he made.
''When you sit back and look at it I have to take some responsibility there [for what happened],'' Friend said. ''There are definitely some things that, if I had my time again, I would have done differently.
''There are certain people that I put in positions of trust that I wouldn't do ... There are certain things I did in terms of the way I tried to get the group functioning, that if I knew what I know now, I wouldn't have done those things.
''But the day I got sacked, I moved on with it.''
And his advice to White is simple.
''The Brumbies have been known for having player input and I'm actually a supporter of it.
''I think you need your senior players involved, but at the end of the day the buck has to stop with the coach and the players need to realise that.
''As long as that line is not crossed for Jake, he's going to have a tremendous time.
''But he needs to get it sorted ... I was more than happy to involve players in decisions in an open and honest way.
''But I don't believe that open honesty went both ways ... that has happened, we're moving on from it.''
