Hamish McLennan urged to quit after RWC and Eddie Jones failure

Australian rugby's turbulent year looks set to continue, after six of the country's unions came together to demand the resignation of their chairperson Hamish McLennan.

In a joint statement, the unions from Queensland, ACT, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania have told the Rugby Australia chair to stand down from his position after he oversaw the Wallabies' disastrous World Cup campaign.

The New South Wales and Victorian Rugby Unions were not approached to sign the statement, due to their ongoing negotiations with Rugby Australia around high-performance centralisation.

McLennan, who been in the role since May 2020, was responsible for the sacking of head coach Dave Rennie in December 2022 as well as the ill-fated appointment of Eddie Jones.

Jones resigned earlier this month after less than a year in charge, following Australia's pool-stage exit at the Rugby World Cup.

The statement, which has been co-signed by six of the eight union chairs, has demanded that McLennan quit by 7am (Irish time) on Saturday, or else they will call an extraordinary general meeting to pass a resolution to remove him from the board.

Should an EGM be required, the rebel unions would need nine of the 16 votes to go their way to remove McLennan from his position.

In a lengthy statement, the six unions say they have lost faith in McLennan's ability to lead Australian rugby, and have accused him of "acting outside his role as a director".

"We do not believe Mr McLennan has been acting in the best interests of our game," the statement reads.

"We no longer have any trust or faith in his leadership, or the direction in which he is taking rugby in Australia. Additionally, we believe Mr McLennan has been acting outside his role as