‘I thought he was going to punch me’ – Rugby Australia boss confronted after abject Rugby World Cup defeat

Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan was involved in an altercation with a Wallabies supporter following their dismal defeat to Wales in the Rugby World Cup.

McLennan revealed that he was confronted by a fan while in a restaurant in Lyon on the night of that heavy defeat.

That 40-6 reversal put them on the brink of elimination from the global tournament, with Australia hoping that Portugal can do them a favour this weekend.

Need help from Portugal

Os Lobos need to beat Fiji and deny them any sort of bonus-point for Eddie Jones’ side to progress, otherwise they will exit at the pool stage for the first time ever.

Supporters are angry at Rugby Australia, who decided to sack head coach Dave Rennie just eight months out from the World Cup and bring back Jones.

It has so far proven to be a disastrous decision and one fan wanted to be make his feelings known to the governing body’s chairman.

According to McLennan, a supporter came up to the table where he and his family were sat and placed a glass of milk in front of him.

“He ordered me to drink it,” the RA chairman said. “I took a sip. He told me milk was what all he and his family were all drinking following the Wales defeat.

“He sat there for 10 minutes. He was particularly aggrieved, which I understand, but I think he crossed the line. It got so messy I thought he was going to swing a punch at me or try to glass me.

“It was ugly, and it was embarrassing for me in front of the family and everyone was shocked. I haven’t told anyone before now apart from friends. I guess it is just a sign of the times.”

McLennan and Rugby Australia have received plenty of criticism for their decision to change coaches but he stands by that call.

“I was really concerned that we would get knocked out at the pool stages, which is why we made the change from Dave to Eddie,” McLennan told Telegraph Sport.

“So, we wanted to give ourselves the best possible chance of going deeper. That is the great irony of the situation.

“Eddie is a fantastic coach. People may not like the way he conducts himself in the media but he has worked his ass off and he is a smart guy.

“He has a great win rate and a great World Cup record versus a coach [Rennie] that had never been to a World Cup and had just lost to Italy.”

Long-term approach

McLennan has also asked for patience from the fans as the governing body seeks to improve the game from top to bottom.

“The pile-on is there, but we have got to think long term,” he said.

“We’ve got to think about centralisation, better recruitment of players, better retention of players to stop them going overseas, fix our media rights and continue to get sponsors on board for both men and women and promote the game.

“And doing all that while there is not a lot of money in the bank.

“Rugby in Australia has suffered from short-termism and I have said since day one we have to think long term and 2027 will be our moment.”

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