Peter Horne was hired as Rugby Australia’s high performance director to get the game ‘back on track’. Recent results suggest he is making headway

After the Wallabies’ dismal World Cup exit last year, Rugby Australia needed help. The men’s side was coachless and clueless. The women’s team was also coachless and in active revolt at the largesse lavished on the men’s game. Australia’s sevens teams needed calm and cohesion leading into the Paris Olympics. The Melbourne Rebels were heading to the gallows and the other Super sides were at loggerheads.

The job called for a human octopus: a firefighter to douse the bin fires Eddie Jones left behind, a psychiatrist to nurse shattered players and officials back to health, a peacemaker to connect the warring parties at state levels, a gardener to nurture the green shoots of the game into lush fields of talent, a headhunter to scout the finest talent for the pathways into the men’s and women’s teams across XVs and sevens. Most of all, a resolute leader to point the golden compass toward brighter horizons.