Rugby: Phil Waugh, former Australian international, appointed CEO of the Rugby Australia

Phil Waugh (43) will be appointed CEO of Rugby Australia on 06/06/2023. He has become the first former Australian rugby union international (79 caps between 2000 and 2009) to hold this position.

Phil Waugh has served on the Rugby Australia board since 2018 as a non-executive director, in addition to working in the banking sector for Commonwealth Bank (2011-2017), Westpac (2017-2021) and the NAB (since 2018).

"The Rugby Australia Board unanimously endorsed Phil’s selection as the new CEO of Rugby Australia," said Hamish McLennan chairman of Rugby Australia.

Phil Waugh succeeds Andy Marinos, who resigned as CEO on 01/05/2023. Appointed in February 2021, Marinos announced that he was leaving Rugby Australia "to pursue new opportunities". "In his two years, Marinos has overseen significant change for Rugby in Australia, including the financial turnaround from a AU$27.1m €16.4m) loss in 2020 to a AU$8.2m (€5m) profit for 2022," said Rugby Australia on 01/05/2023. During his tenure, the Australian Federation was awarded the hosting of the 2027 (men's) and 2029 (women's) Rugby World Cups.