ACT Brumbies assistant coach Ben Mowen has urged Rugby Australia officials to focus on long-term goals as they embark on a mission to rebuild the sport. A year of on-field and off-field turmoil has left the code at its lowest ebb in decades and many fearing for the game's future. The return of Eddie Jones was originally hailed a major coup, however it quickly turned into a nightmare as he steered the Wallabies to a disastrous World Cup group stage exit. The coach resigned soon after, with speculation swirling he interviewed for the Japanese job while in France. Former chairman Hamish McLennan's mission to centralise the sport has also left the game more divided than ever, ultimately leading to a member union bid to overthrow the controversial figure. The RA board eventually voted to replace him as chairman and McLennan resigned completely soon after. New chairman Daniel Herbert has an opportunity to unite the states and territories and lead the sport forward with a clean slate. The first order of business is hiring a Wallabies high-performance director, with interviews entering their final stages. Harlequins director of rugby and former Australian sevens coach Billy Millard is among the contenders and RA hopes to have the process wrapped up in the coming weeks. From there, the new rugby boss will recruit a Wallabies coach and commence a build towards the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour and 2027 home World Cup. A former Australian skipper, Mowen laments the decline in recent years but remains optimistic a long-term mindset will allow the game to eventually flourish. "The key is doing it slow and doing it right," Mowen said. "Potentially in the past we've gone for sugar hits. In my opinion, we have to have a pick and stick policy. Getting the right people in that role and trusting them to do that over a long period of time is important. "Four years seems like a long time, but it's not, certainly not at the international rugby level. You're getting guys for three or four months at a time, you're on a short prep, so continuity in that role is really important. My hope is we get the right people in those jobs and then we let them do those jobs for a long time." While he's determined to see Australian rugby thrive, Mowen's immediate focus is on leading the Brumbies to a Super Rugby title. The former ACT captain led the team through a period of regeneration that culminated in a trip to the 2013 Super Rugby final. The side has performed consistently well since then, however they have not been able to progress beyond the semi-final in the last two seasons. Having returned to the club earlier this year as an assistant coach, Mowen said the challenge is helping the Brumbies go from good to great. "We've spoken a lot about the fact it's been good here for a while and we want to make it great," he said. "There's a higher level of expectation for us to be at a good performance level earlier. That's what we've been driving with the guys and they're reacting well." Mowen acknowledged the transition from good to great is the toughest a team can make, however it's one the side is relishing. The Crusaders have won the past five combined Super Rugby titles and the Brumbies aren't satisfied with being the leading Australian franchise, they want to topple the New Zealand clubs. "It's about understanding what we've done previously hasn't achieved the outcome we want. You can get caught in the trap of comparing where we are at the moment to where we were last year and saying 'we're on track' but in reality, that's not what we want to achieve," Mowen said. "Four is not a number we're after, we're after one and that's a big gap to close so we're pushing the guys each day. We're really trying to make the training mentally tough so they adjust on the run and they're doing a great job so far."