She may not be the person to lead the game forward beyond 2020, but Wallabies legend Tim Horan believes Rugby Australia must, for the time being, rally behind their embattled CEO Raelene Castle to ride out the COVID-19 crisis.

Without a broadcast deal to secure the game’s finances beyond this year, Castle has come under heavy fire for turning down Fox Sports’ reported $40 million a year, five-year offer, for TV rights last November.

The failure to secure a deal less than a year out from the commencement of the next five-year instalment of Super Rugby has come home to roost following the unforeseen and catastrophic devastation that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused.

With Rugby Australia staring down the barrel of a $120 million black hole in 2020 should no more action be played this year, Castle’s future as CEO has come under question.

Both The Australian and Daily Telegraph last Friday reported that long-time backer on the RA board Pip Marlow’s support for Castle had weaned and that the CEO could be replaced over the weekend.

Watch Foxtel in an instant. Catch up and settle in with no installation & no lock in contract. Sign up to all of Foxtel Now with a 10 day free trial. New customers only

One RA board member, however, later told foxsports.com.au that Castle’s tenure hadn’t been discussed and that their focus was solely on keeping the game afloat over the next three to six months.

The Sydney Morning Herald reaffirmed that position, quoting interim RA chairman Paul McLean.

“We had a board discussion prior to Christmas and we indicated to her then she had 100 per cent board support and the board has not been back to talk about Raelene’s position since,” McLean told the Herald.

Speaking on Fox Sports, two-time World Cup-winning Wallaby Tim Horan said that there would come a time to scrutinise Castle’s performance as CEO, but for the time being every bit of energy had to go towards keeping rugby in Australia afloat.

“There will come a time when there’s a lot more questions on Raelene Castle,” Horan told Fox Sports.

LISTEN! James O’Connor this week on the Fox Rugby Podcast

– RA financial crisis, 2020 priorities, World XVs

ON YOUR PHONE? CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

SUBSCRIBE : iTUNES | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE PODS

“I think everyone in the game’s got to support the game at the moment for the next 90 days.

“My personal opinion is we’ve just got to let the board and the executives of Rugby Australia do their job for the next quarter,” he added.

“Try and get a broadcast deal in place, try and survive the next quarter.

“Can we get some content in the third quarter of this year?

“There’s going to be a lot of candidates who will put their hand up if the CEO’s role becomes available.

“I just think it’s too early, it’s not the right time to be talking about whether the CEO should be moving on and should be replaced because there has to be a proper process put in place if that is the case.

“Let Raelene Castle, let the board, let the people who are there at the moment try and get this game back to where it should be.

“It will take six to nine months to try and find a funding solution, try and find a broadcast partner or partners to move forward, and then you can start to discuss is Raelene Castle the right person for CEO.

MORE RUGBY NEWS

‘F*** THE RESEARCH’: Three rugby tragics drafted their ‘World XVs’

IDIOTS: Crusaders busted breaching lockdown in secret training session

THREAT: Rennie could walk as Wallabies coach if Castle is kicked to touch

“I just don’t think it’s the right time at the moment, there’s too much happening to delve too deep.”

One of the key factors that can secure rugby’s future in Australia is a broadcast deal.

Last month Castle told reporters in Sydney that the broadcast negotiations had been put on hold until July, as RA and its prospective tenders come to grips with the ramifications of COVID-19.

But Horan said that it remained important that those discussions continue and floated the idea of recently appointed board member Peter Wiggs, who is said to have a strong relationship with Foxtel CEO Patrick Delaney, playing a key role in any future negotiations over the broadcast rights.

“Rugby Australia, I know they’ve put the negotiations on hold for the next couple of months, I actually think if you can over the next couple of months try and get an idea of: is there a broadcast deal there?” Horan said.

“Is there a broadcaster?

“Is it Fox Sports? Is it Optus? Is it Amazon? Who is going to be?

“And then you’ve got to look at someone like Peter Wiggs, who has just come on the Rugby Australia board, who is the current chairman of the V8 Supercars, so he’s got a very good relationship with (Foxtel CEO Patrick Delaney), understands broadcast negotiations, maybe he should take it over while Raelene Castle and the team can really just get their head above water and save the game here in Australia.

“The 90 days is going to be really important for Rugby Australia.

“One, to strike a deal with RUPA – the players’ association – and two, to then restart broadcast negotiations so when you do go to World Rugby or the Australian Government, you’ve actually got a game that’s going to continue for the next five years and an asset to protect.”

Meanwhile, Horan predicted that if the players’ governing body RUPA didn’t come to an agreement with RA over pay cuts by the end of the week that governing body would be forced to take matters into their own hands.

“RUPA really needs to get to a solution by the end of the week’s otherwise I think Rugby Australia will start to make their own decisions about what should be happening,” Horan said.

“The players have a responsibility.

“Michael Hooper’s the captain of the Wallabies, he knows how important this is to get a deal in place for the next three to six months so this game can survive.”