After some serious public comments from Tony Ridnell, Michael Fealey and others criticizing the leadership at USA Rugby, Goff Rugby Report sat down with USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville to discuss the criticism.

The criticism has come out following the USA’s performance at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and Melville addressed that directly.

“I’m as disappointed as anyone about the performance of the team,” said Melville. “ We all had high expectations. We gave the team with the best buildup to a Rugby World Cup. We beat Canada, Japan, and came close to Samoa. The signs were pretty good. In the World Cup every team we played was ranked ahead of us, but we went there with the belief we could win one or two games.

“But Japan did a fantastic job against South Africa, and that made our game against them tougher than ever. Certainly we had an opportunity missed against Samoa. 

“So with all that, I understand peoples’ feelings. But while we are disappointed about the World Cup, that doesn’t mean everything’s bad.”

Melville pointed to the USA Men’s 7s team winning in London, the qualification to the Olympics of both the Men’s and Women’s 7s teams, and the fact that the Men’s 15s Eagles had recorded some good victories leading in to the World Cup.

“The picture being painted is that it’s all bad, and it’s not,” he said. “The game is growing, we are making strides, and people are just throwing stones.”

Many of those stones are being thrown directly at Melville.

“I understand that,” added Melville. “I appointed the coach. It was the same with the 7s team. I appointed the coach and then made a change. It comes down to me. Results do matter to me. I am a competitive person, and I was upset about the results. But is getting rid of me the answer? I don’t know. I believe we can keep this thing moving forward, and the criticism comes with the job.”

Melville also addressed some other issues that have led to criticism.

Rugby International Marketing, the for-profit arm of USA Rugby, is 90% owned by USA Rugby, he said.

“We have some investment that enables us to do more things and not have membership dues spent on those things,” he said. “It was voted on by Congress, which represents the membership. No Board Member is a shareholder. There’s an allegation that there’s some profiteering from the Board, and that’s not true. That sort of [criticism] frustrates me.”

Melville said that his salary has not changed, but now USA Rugby pays half of it, and RIM pays the other half. He has no equity in RIM.

“I think RIM is better for USA Rugby,” he said. 

Another criticism Melville has run into is the fact that he is English, and perhaps then is not invested in the game. As it turns out, two weeks, said Melville, he was sworn in as a US Citizen.

“I am an American,” he said. “I am passionate about the game of rugby in America. I see the growth in the game, and the improvement, especially in 7s, and I continue to strive to take this forward.”