Newly-appointed Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle is confident she will be able to turn the struggling governing body around after a rocky 2017.
The Kiwi administrator was announced as Bill Pulver's successor last month, becoming the first female boss of any of the national governing bodies of the four major football codes in Australia.
Castle told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning she didn't make the decision lightly.
"I did a lot of due diligence before I accepted this job," she said.
The Kiwi was today confirmed as Australian Rugby's new CEO.
"If you didn't do that process, I don't think you would have been thorough in how you accessed all the information. I did a lot of work, talked to a lot of people - people who have been in the game for a very long period of time."
Castle said one of her key focuses initially will be patching up Rugby Australia's relationships with different unions after a poor 2017 Super Rugby campaign which saw the Western Force axed and no Australian clubs securing a win over their New Zealand rivals.
"We've had a very difficult year with the removal of the Force," she said.
"That's put enormous pressure on the relationships and the fabric of rugby right across the country so for me, it really is one of those relationship-building exercises where I need to make sure rugby comes together.
"That will allow us across the whole game, both at grassroots and international level to move the sport forward."
Castle was previously the chief executive of Netball NZ from 2007 to 2013 before taking over as CEO of the Canterbury Bulldogs until the end of 2017 season.
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