Phil Waugh confirmed as new Rugby Australia CEO

Rugby Australia has today announced Phil Waugh as its newest Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Waugh becomes the first Wallaby to occupy the role, having earned 79 caps for the national side as Wallaby Number 766.

Since he concluded his professional career with the Waratahs in 2011, Waugh has gone on to build extensive executive and governance experience.

He has been a Non-Executive Director on the Rugby Australia board since July 2018, and he has most recently been an Executive, Broker Distribution at National Australia Bank.

Waugh spent four years at Westpac, where he rose to become Head of Private Wealth for Westpac and St George (NSW, QLD and ACT) and led the response to COVID-19 for Westpac’s Business Bank. He also spent more than five years at Commonwealth Bank, rising to the position of Head of Asset Finance.

Waugh’s Board and governance experience has seen him hold multiple Non-Executive Directorship positions within the hospitality, finance and sporting industries. Most notable was Phil’s appointment as a Trustee of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust in 2013.

Waugh’s illustrious playing career began with the Narrabeen Tigers on Sydney’s northern beaches, before he went on to play First XV in his final three years at Shore school, and going on to play for Australian Schoolboys in 1996 and 1997.

The openside flanker played for the Australian Under-19s and Under-21s, and made his debut for the NSW Waratahs as a 19 year-old in 1999. He went on to play 136 caps for the Waratahs and retired in 2011 as the club’s most capped player and captain.

Waugh played at two Rugby World Cups for the Wallabies (2003 and 2007), was the John Eales Medallist in 2003, and became the Wallabies’ 74^th Test captain in 2006.

A Warringah Rats junior, Waugh spent his Club Rugby days at Sydney University.