Channel Ten blows up at 'shameful' Raelene Castle departure

Ten’s outgoing chief executive has reportedly lashed Rugby Australia over the circumstances of Raelene Castle’s resignation as Optus signalled an intention to further delay talks on a new broadcast deal.

The developments put the code into further turmoil as RA chairman Paul McLean prepares to sit down on Monday for talks with 10 former Wallabies captains who wrote a letter expressing their discontent at the state of rugby.

HORRIFYING: Castle's scary 'death threat' amid Israel Folau saga

‘NOBODY TURNS UP’: FitzSimons blasts former Wallabies captains

Ten boss Paul Anderson described the failure to keep the network in the loop about corporate leadership changes at RA as “deeply concerning”.

“Ten has been the free to air broadcaster and a major advocate for rugby in Australia for the best part of the last decade - I think the events of last week have been shameful,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“We are very concerned at what this means for the game.”

The newspaper also reported that Optus wanted to put off talks about a broadcast deal for 12 months, meaning RA would potentially have to extend their existing deal with Foxtel for another year.

Rugby Australia chairman slams ‘abhorrent’ bullying

McLean previously backed Castle, who he says copped abhorrent bullying from “faceless people” during nearly three years in the job.

Castle stepped down on Thursday night, with former Wallabies captain McLean replacing her in the “very short term” before the search for a replacement officially begins on Monday.

He described Castle as someone who would run through broken glass for the organisation and that it was the criticism most did not see that lead to her decision to quit.

“Criticism is easy, being cynical is easy, but decision making is tough,” McLean said.

“She was able to do that and do that with some clarity.

“She would run through broken glass to get things done, and she has done that.”

Castle’s handling of the Israel Folau settlement and her rejection of Fox Sports' initial broadcast deal beyond this season were a source of criticism from some quarters, while the code's financial plight has been laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic.

A group of 11 former Wallabies captains wrote to RA earlier this week demanding administrative change, while long-time critic Alan Jones doubled down on Friday morning.

“She knows nothing about the game,” the former Wallabies coach turned broadcaster said on 2GB.

“It's like putting someone to become the first violinist in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra who can't read music.”

McLean said it was not the media criticism that stung though.

“It's the silent forces, the dark forces that upset me most,” he said.

“It's the people who didn't ask, didn't know the facts or 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.

“(If not for the) unwarranted criticism and, in fact, bullying, I think it might have been a different scenario.”

McLean insisted most people in Castle's position would "have thrown in the towel ages ago" but that inevitably her departure had become the clear way forward.

with AAP