Raelene Castle was a victim of "abhorrent" social media bullying that meant her position as Rugby Australia chief executive had been discussed for a period of six months, interim chairman Paul McLean has revealed.
McLean admitted to being appalled by what Castle had shown him over the past few months, and hit out at sections of the media who had promoted misinformation, as both external and internal forces brought about her resignation on Thursday evening.
A meeting on Wednesday night "crystalised" the board's thinking before McLean informed Castle on Thursday that she no longer had its support, a position to which she had previously confirmed would result in her walking away from the game.
"One of my greatest concerns with Raelene was her welfare and how she was on a daily basis because a lesser person would have thrown the towel in ages ago, quite simply," McLean told reporters on a conference call on Friday.
"So the discussion that we had to have is: What is the succession plan if Raelene walked in or rang me and said 'I'm gone, I can't do this anymore'? So we've had some broader discussions about that for the last six months.
"And I suppose it crystalised with some new eyes around the table, and it probably crystalised given the circumstances we're all faced with from a general economy and how we're living our life at the moment. So that Wednesday evening discussion probably crystalised some thinking that had been happening for six months."
The presence of online bullying, and criticism of Castle for decisions that were not of her doing or beyond her control, have clearly angered McLean.
Describing himself as "old school" whereby individuals met face-to-face to hash out their issues, McLean hit out at some of the dark places where Castle's criticism had proven most vicious, on social media in particular.
"I think the things that you don't read, that you don't see, and I'm not a social media person, but I'm aware of some of the things that were said over a period of time in a quite vicious and vitriolic way," McLean said. "So I think it's the silent forces, the dark forces, I suppose, are the things that upset me most.
"I think most of you as professionals on things like that would come through the front door and get the information correct before and then write about it. I think it's the people who didn't ask for the information, didn't know the facts, or were just one of those faceless people out there. That was the damaging thing from her perspective.
"And she shared some of that with me, which I found quite abhorrent."
McLean paid tribute to Castle's determination and identified her efforts in unifying Australia's various rugby unions as among the accomplishments of her nearly two-and-a-half-year stint as RA CEO.
"Certainly during her tenure, the most critical thing that she has done, besides engaging at the community level in her own inimitable way, and provided guidance and pathways for our community game, she's also done what others have failed to do in the past and that was to align our high-performance areas across the country.
"And hopefully that will be a very strong legacy that she leaves at Rugby Australia because if we are to restore our position as a force, a genuine force and a consistent force in world rugby, we need to be aligned on the field in those particular areas."
Senior Australian rugby figures this week mobilized against Castle and the board, with 10 former Wallabies captains co-signing a letter calling for a complete overhaul of Rugby Australia's leadership.
The letter has reopened old wounds within Australian rugby, with suggestions the letter did nothing but point out the game's issues and failed to offer any clear solutions.
McLean confirmed he had spoken with the group's unofficial leader, Nick Farr-Jones, about joining an already established working group. He also pointed to the significance of the names that had not added their name to that list.
"I've had numerous conversations with Nick Farr-Jones and let's be clear here, it's a very small collective of people who have been involved in the game of late; the significance of that group is probably the people who aren't on the list... and I have constructive discussions with Nick about that," McLean said.
"It's great that people want to put their hand up and be involved but they need to be a part of the process. And one of the things that we've done reasonably well over the last six months or so is be on the journey with the member unions.
"We've already started some initial discussions about what's it going to look like; how are they going to be involved; what are the things that are important; what are the things that aren't important. And I think that group, the Farr-Jones group, could easily, and I suggested to them, join in with that wider group very easily. So I've left it with them on that basis."