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SYDNEY - Outgoing Australian Rugby Union (ARU) boss Gary Flowers concedes the buck stops with him but refuses to accept responsibility for all things wrong with Australian rugby.
Flowers announced on Friday that he would stand down as ARU chief executive when his contract expires on December 31 and today said he would happily leave his post earlier if asked.
But he was adamant he is not to blame for every problem plaguing the code in Australia.
Flowers has copped flak for everything from Australian rugby's fall from grace to bickering between leading coaches to plummeting crowd figures and even, pray tell, for the pedantic rules that continue to be a blight on the game.
"I'm ready to hear about global warming and the ARU being responsible for that at the moment," Flowers told Sydney radio 2KY today.
Flowers said it was "rightly so" that he be accountable for some of the problems but felt equally he should also be credited with making many positive contributions to Australian rugby since succeeding John O'Neill in June 2004.
"The ARU is the peak body for the sport and the country and therefore we do bear responsibility and the buck stops with the CEO for many things," he said.
"But I'd like to think that we have put enough things in place to ensure that we get back to where we should be both at provincial level and at the international level.
"In the period that I've been there, we have picked up the ball on a number of significant issues and we haven't shied away from taking them on and, in fact, not only have we taken them on but we actually got somewhere with them.
"In particular, the national competition was something that rugby had been talking about for a decade and not been able to grasp and get through.
"I'd like to think that I've actually played some part in getting an outcome there."
Flowers was adamant the code was not in crisis and pointed to Australia's "federated system" for the almost inevitable tensions between the states.
"We've now got four professional provinces. Each of the states in many ways wants to pursue their own interests or push their own interests," he said.
"From a governor's perspective, it would be great to think that (when I'm gone) people would put self-interests to one side and think about the game on a holistic basis.
"That may be a pipedream but anyway ..."
Flowers said he would not seek an extension of his contract at the end of the year purely because "the position was going to require another three or four-year commitment".
"And that was a timeframe that, after sitting down with my family and thinking about it myself, is something that wasn't just for me at this point of my career," he said.
He will happily walk away early from his high-ranking position if a suitable successor is found.
"I think the important thing now is that there be a smooth transition in terms of the new CEO and that can happen as quickly as it should," he said
His replacement should "strong-minded and pretty resilient", Flowers said.
"Because, at the end of the day, you're going to be pushed and pulled in many directions."
- AAP
