Australia's rugby players' union has appointed an experienced lawyer and administrator its new chief executive in the lead up to one of the most important broadcast negotiations in recent history.
It us understood Prataal Raj beat respected former Wallaby Justin Harrison to claim the top job at the Rugby Union Players' Association after former CEO Ross Xenos quit in June and took a commercial role with the Melbourne Rebels.
Respected former Wallaby Justin Harrison, centre, is believed to have reached the final stages of the selection process to lead the Rugby Union Players' Association. Credit:Robert Peet
Raj is a corporate lawyer with a decade of experience across the legal, sports and technology industries, including five years with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and two years as a lawyer with the International Cricket Council. He is currently chief operating officer at financial services tech firm GiVV Technologies.
The choice is a clear indication of RUPA's intentions. Rugby Australia are in advanced negotiations with their SANZAAR partners New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina on the future of Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship, with a new broadcast deal to be nutted out over the next 12 months before the current one ends in 2020.
Under a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by RUPA, Australia's professional players receive 29 per cent of revenue generated by the professional game, giving the organisation a strong interest in ensuring any changes to competition structure deliver a rise in broadcast revenue.
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Raj's appointment signals the RUPA board's interest in having a strong say in what decisions RA makes about the future of Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship. Harrison, who lives in France, is an enormously popular and widely respected figure but more in the mould of a rugby statesman than a shrewd negotiator. He would be a powerful and vocal advocate for the needs of players. In Raj, however, the RUPA board may feel they will have a savvy operator with experience in other sports and the commercial world.
It is understood the field also included former Wallaby and Rugby Australia executive Adam Freier, a former RUPA president who was approached by the organisation to apply for the role. It is understood conversations did not progress beyond an initial meeting. Former Australian Olympic Committee executive Fiona de Jong was shortlisted alongside an executive from football.
Raj's appointment is expected to be announced on Monday afternoon.
Georgina Robinson is a Sports Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald
