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With the Wallabies ranked No.7 in the world following a poor Rugby World Cup, the code has no broadcast deal beyond this year and is yet to finalise the make-up of Super Rugby in the future. Given the economic impact of COVID-19, it is not an ideal time for RA to be looking for a new major sponsor to emblazon its logo across the front of the famous gold jersey.

While Rennie has been in the top job for a matter of months and is still getting his head around the Australian rugby landscape, he knows that winning changes everything. One or two victories against the All Blacks next month on enemy territory could be just the tonic for the ailing code.

“Our job is to play some positive footy and help our marketing people bring in another big sponsor,” Rennie said. “We’ll play our part and hopefully somebody comes on board quickly.”

Reappointed captain Michael Hooper labelled the news of Qantas’ departure “upsetting”.

“We’re under no illusions we want to perform and performing does take care of some things,” Hooper said. “If things come from that … amazing.”

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Before COVID-19, RA and Qantas had renegotiated a contract until the end of 2021, but sources with knowledge of the deal say the value was less than previous arrangements.

Qantas, which recorded a $1.9 billion annual loss for the 2019-2020 financial year, prompting thousands of job cuts, told RA it could not afford to continue with that deal and the governing body agreed to end the contract.

Unlike Australia’s national cricket and football teams – who will also lose their Qantas sponsorship money, but have agreed to contra-only deals involving free flights and marketing – RA’s preference was for the sponsorship money itself.

“Contra is important to us, clearly because of the travel we do, but cash is king right now,” Clarke told the Herald. “We need to support our game with resource and that’s cash, so we weren’t able to come to an arrangement.”

Clarke said his phone had been lighting up on Wednesday following the “disappointing news”.

“Not kidding you, the phones have been ringing since the announcement came out, so we’re quietly confident we’re going to be able to find a new partner for next year,” Clarke said.

“Very disappointing after a 30-year partnership to receive that call, but understandable. When COVID hit, it was very clear the pressure their business was under, which is no surprise to anybody and so we’ve been working through the situation with them and unfortunately it culminated in their decision.”

RA says there has been no indication other key sponsors are considering pulling out, but Clarke hinted some deals may have to be renegotiated.

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“We’re delighted that most of them have stuck and committed themselves to honour their agreements,” Clarke said. “Clearly we need to massage some of those because we’re not creating as much content as we might have in a non-COVID year.”

Asked whether Qantas’ exit increased the importance of maximising the new broadcast deal, Clarke replied: “It’s totally independent from this news. We are well progressed with discussions but finding a new partner is going to be very important for the front of the jersey. It gives us time at least to reach into the market and find a new partner for next year and beyond.”

Qantas chief customer officer Stephanie Tully said the decision was extremely tough for the business.

“In an environment where thousands of our people have lost jobs and thousands more are stood down while they wait for flying to restart, we can’t maintain these sponsorships in the way we have in the past,” Tully said. “While we’re dealing with this crisis and its aftermath, the cash cost of our sponsorships has to be zero.”

A Perth radio station reported on Wednesday evening that Fortescue Metals Group, the company founded by billionaire Andrew Forrest, was set to replace Qantas as the Wallabies’ new major sponsor. RA chairman Hamish McLennan rubbished the claim.

“Not true,” he said. “Haven’t even spoken to them.”