Hamish McLennan's exit provides Daniel Herbert a chance to unite rugby

With six member unions united and publicly declaring their intentions to oust him at an extraordinary general meeting, it was only a matter of when, not if, his exit came.

Unsurprisingly, McLennan fought to the bitter end and appeared set to inflict even more damage on the sport on the way out.

Thankfully, the Rugby Australia board saved the game two more months of bitter infighting and brought to an end a disastrous year.

Surely their jobs also would have been on the line had they backed McLennan leading into the EGM.

The problems within rugby, however, are deep and varied and McLennan's exit does not solve them.

What it does do, however, is provide a new face the chance to lead the game forward with a fresh vision and a sense of unity.

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McLennan loomed as an omnipresent figure over Australian rugby for the past three-and-a-half years. He was more Peter V'landys than Richard Goyder.

If you're wondering who Goyder is, that's exactly the point.

McLennan's outspoken nature was exactly what rugby needed when he stepped into the role in the midst of the COVID crisis in 2020 but the longer his tenure went on, the more it began to wear thin.

It seemed to be his way or the highway and there was no scope for negotiations or flexibility.

As the mistakes piled up, the disastrous Eddie Jones hire, the abandoned private equity bid, the shambolic nature of the centralisation process, McLennan became more emboldened.

Rather than recognising how his decisions had played a role in a horror year, the chairman doubled down. Only he was capable of lifting Australian rugby out of a hole.

The more stubborn he became, the more frustrated the member unions grew.

The Reds and Brumbies, in particular, have faced heavy criticism from McLennan and some quarters of the sport for their apparent self-interest and putting their interests ahead of the game.

This wasn't some flippant move, however, it was the last resort.

McLennan had plenty of opportunities to either resign or alter his ways in order to unite Australian rugby and set the sport on a path forward. He did neither.

Now interim chairman Daniel Herbert is tasked with the responsibility of repairing the sport.

To do so, he must bring the various factions together and lead in a democratic manner. The sport doesn't need an omnipotent chairman. It needs someone who can outline the direction of the code and trust his staff to implement it.

There are plenty of areas that require attention. The first is an agreement on the centralisation of the Super Rugby high-performance programs. This is an area the franchises are already aligned and it was only RA's insistence on taking control of all aspects of the teams that has prevented it from happening.

From there, Herbert and the board must outline a vision to grow grassroots playing numbers and attract more spectators to the sport.

Performances at both Super Rugby and the international level will play a key role in this.

RA is already in the final stages of mapping out a major new investment in the Wallaroos and that must continue in a highly competitive women's sport environment.

The recruitment of a men's high-performance boss and new Wallabies coach also shape as two of the most important decisions the board will make in years ahead of a 2025 British and Irish Lions tour and home World Cup in 2027.

Once Herbert and the board have outlined their vision for the sport, it will be time to step back and allow chief executive Phil Waugh to implement it.

This was one of the primary areas McLennan erred and played a key role in former chief executive Andy Marinos' exit in April.

Most importantly, Herbert needs to ensure rugby union is never in this position again.

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