All eyes are on the Wallabies thanks to Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i, but Hamish McLennan’s pursuit of the Roosters star sparked a boardroom split at Rugby Australia. This is how the deal went down – and how much it will cost RA.
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McLennan’s pitch to the board was that Sua'ali'i’s costs should be roughly divided by three and financed by the Wallabies, NSW Waratahs and the ARF.
It was based on a verbal commitment from a wealthy benefactor – a close contact of McLennan – who was willing to put in close to $500,000 a year to help fund Sua'ali'i’s salary.
Any financial assistance McLennan was banking on disappeared when he was removed as chairman. The funds have not materialised nor been sourced by the current RA administration, leaving head office (which now also owns the Waratahs) to cover Sua'ali'i’s multi-million-dollar deal from its own coffers.