Clarke has been appointed as interim chief executive following the resignation of Raelene Castle last month. 

He had previously served as chief operating officer of the governing body twice, last leaving in 2017, and has also held the role of chief executive at Super Rugby teams Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels. 

Clarke will take up the interim role immediately but is not aiming to stay in the position permanently. 

Despite this, he set out some of his plans for his time with Rugby Australia. 

"I think getting the game across Australia playing again after COVID-19 is critical and I know a lot of good work's been done already by people in Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby clubs and community level around that, so the first priority is that and working with broadcast partners, Foxtel and Network Ten to complete the rest of this season, however it will work," he said, as reported by rugby.com.au.

"Then it's turning our minds to 2021 and beyond, what competition structures are going to make most sense and working into our SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby) partnership to intersect with potential broadcast partners.

"I think the challenges aren't that different to what they were when I was involved, maybe some of the issues are more critical from a time point of view and that's what we need to focus on and try and get some traction with."

Clarke's appointment comes at a time of turmoil, however, with Wiggs resigning from his position just hours before. 

He had only been in the role for four weeks, but left following a disagreement with interim chair Paul McLean over the recruitment process for the new chief executive. 

Wiggs had been tipped to take over from McLean as chairman, with the official reportedly wanting Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll to succeed Castle if he took the role.

Carroll previously held roles at Rugby Australia, including two spells as general manager, as well as serving as deputy chief executive from 2007 to 2013.

He was also general manager for the 2003 World Cup.

McLean rejected this idea due to the conflict of interest arising from the friendship between Wiggs and Carroll, it is claimed, with fellow Board members also said to object to the pace of Wiggs' plans that would have skipped any formal recruitment or interview process.

It was suggested that Wiggs stay as director and incoming Rugby Australia Board member Hamish McLennan be promoted to chairman, at which point Wiggs is said to have resigned from the governing body. 

Carroll had also said that he was committed to the AOC.

The change in personnel comes after Castle stepped down following two-and-a-half years at the helm of Rugby Australia, following pressure from a group of former players. 

She left the organisation in significant financial trouble, having announced a preliminary AUD$9.4 million (£4.6 million/$5.7 million/€5.2 million) loss for 2019 in March. 

The situation has been worsened by the coronavirus crisis and the suspension of Super Rugby.

Despite the continuing commotion, the majority of Australian state unions have declared their support for McLean and the current Rugby Australia Board. 

The Australian Capital Territory and Southern New South Wales Rugby Union, Queensland Rugby Union, Rugby Victoria, Rugby Western Australia, Rugby South Australia and Rugby Tasmania all expressed support for the Board's recent run of decisions, with New South Wales Rugby the only major state not to do so.