Raelene Castle resigns as CEO of Rugby Australia after turbulent months

Raelene Castle has resigned as CEO of Rugby Australia.

Following a series of turbulent months where Wallabies greats have repeatedly called for her to be removed from the top office in Australian rugby, Castle reportedly pulled the trigger on Thursday afternoon in a call with Rugby Australia interim chairman Paul McLean.

The Kiwi executive was previously chief executive of Netball New Zealand from 2007 to 2013 before taking control of Rugby Australia.

Castle released a statement to ABC 7.30 host Leigh Sales.

"I love rugby on every level and I will always love the code and the people I have had the honour of working with since I took this role," Castle said in the statement.

"I made it clear to the board that I would stand up and take the flack and do everything possible to serve everyone's best interests. In the last couple of hours, it has been made clear to me that the board believes my no longer being CEO would help give them the clear air they believe they need.

"The game is bigger than any one individual — so this evening I told the Chair that I would resign from the role.

"I will do whatever is needed to ensure an orderly handover. I wish the code and everyone who loves rugby nothing but the best and I would like to thank the people I work with and the broader rugby community for their enormous support."

Raelene Castle has been under fire for months in her position as CEO of Rugby Australia. Photo / Getty Images

The Sydney Morning Herald reports Castle saw the writing on the wall when she was excluded from a board of directors conference call on Wednesday night.

The report claims Castle was not even aware until Thursday that sections of the board had lost faith in her administration.

She appeared on the ABC show on Thursday night, having previously agreed to a pre-recorded interview.

She dropped her bombshell resignation just minutes before the program aired her earlier interview.

It ends a tumultuous era of Australian rugby with Castle overseeing the shambolic quarter-final exit at last year's Rugby World Cup where her relationship with former coach Michael Cheika reportedly fell apart.

Castle has also been criticised for her handling of the Israel Folau legal battle and the dire situation the game finds itself in as it tries to find an interested TV partner for a broadcast deal beginning next year.