Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan was sacked on Sunday evening as the state unions continue to fight over major centralisation plans for the sport.
McLennan had rejected a call from six rebellious state unions to resign by 5pm Sunday, before an extraordinary general meeting voted him out, as first reported by The Australian.
The businessman will be replaced immediately by former Wallaby Dan Herbert, with McLennan opting to quit the board entirely rather than remain as a director.
It comes after Rugby Australia’s plan to centralise the structure of the sport in the wake of the World Cup disaster, with Rugby Australia to create a united high performance program and effectively take charge of the Super Rugby franchises’ commercial functions.
NSW Rugby and Rugby Victoria supported the plan, as did Andrew and Nicola Forrest who own the Western Force.
McLennan also had the support of John Coates, the influential former Australian Olympic Committee boss.
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