Australian Super Rugby side Western Force issued a writ against the Australian Rugby Union in an "extraordinary move to head off plans to evict them from Super Rugby," according to Wayne Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. Melbourne Rebels Owner Andrew Cox said that his team reserves all of its rights as it also considers "going down the legal route." The ARU on Monday announced it would "make a call this week on which team would be culled from the competition," with the choice now confined to the Force and the Rebels. But after holding an "unsatisfactory meeting with the ARU," the Force decided to launch a "pre-emptive strike." The writ taken out in the Supreme Court notifies the ARU of the Force’s intention to "apply for an injunction" against the plan to revoke its Super Rugby license. The writ demands that the ARU "act in strict accordance with the agreement it signed" when it took over the Force more than a year ago. Until now, "the Force have attempted to play the emotional card but clearly the ARU is taking a hard line," dismissing the team's "overwhelming display of fan support that has culminated in the Own the Force campaign" to raise between A$5M ($3.75M) and A$10M ($7.5M) to buy back the license. ARU CEO Bill Pulver announced that the bottom line was "indeed the bottom line." He said, "Fan passion should be financially measurable" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 4/11). ABC's Thomas & Wildie reported Force CEO Mark Sinderberry said that he was confident the Force would "still be in the Super Rugby competition next year, but believed the game had been damaged by recent events." He said, "I think the whole game has suffered through this process and that's certainly regrettable. Now we need to make sure the right decision is made and for the right reasons" (ABC, 4/10). ABC's Browning & Stuart reported the Rebels and Force are on "life support" after the ARU confirmed one of the franchises would be cut. Pulver and ARU Chair Cameron Clyne "made the announcement." Clyne said that the ARU had completed an "exhaustive analysis" on the Rebels, ACT Brumbies and Force. Clyne: "After reviewing management's findings, the board made the decision to eliminate the Brumbies from the process and identified that consultation is required with both the Western Force and Melbourne Rebels to further understand their financial position" (ABC, 4/10).
BALANCING ACT: The London GUARDIAN reported the ARU’s decision to cut one Australian team "comes amid pressure due to financial losses and fan discontent over the confusing and unbalanced competition." SANZAAR on Sunday announced its intention to cut the competition from 18 teams to 15 and from four conferences to three. Clyne: "Super Rugby has placed an increasingly heavy burden on the ARU business in recent years and the acceleration of revenue declines in our Super Rugby businesses has placed the game under extreme financial pressure" (GUARDIAN, 4/9).
'FINANCIAL PROBLEM': In Sydney, Tom Decent reported the ARU concedes expanding Super Rugby to 18 teams last year was a "major mistake" but is "adamant the increase had no bearing on the decision to axe a local franchise." Pulver, a "long-time advocate of maintaining a national footprint and keeping five teams," said that he had changed his mind, citing "increasing financial hardships" in the code. He said, "Sadly, it is very clear to me now that we cannot sustain five teams either from a financial perspective or a high performance perspective. It's tragic to think of one team being dropped but long term this is in the best interests of Australian rugby." When SANZAAR expanded the number of Super Rugby teams from 15 to 18 in '16, there was "hope the inclusion of Argentinian and Japanese franchises would generate more revenue," however that has not been the case, with declining TV ratings and crowd numbers "evident since the restructure." Clyne believes the expansion was "detrimental to the game as a whole, mostly from a financial perspective." He said, "It became clear almost immediately upon expansion this was a financial problem" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 4/10). In Sydney, Iain Payten reported Cox slammed the ARU's "appalling" handling of the Super Rugby review process and said that he would "also reserve his legal rights pending the ARU’s call." Cox declined to comment on the license issue and "instead attacked the ARU for putting the Rebels in the firing line as they prepare to host the Brumbies this week." He said that he had been "led to believe the Rebels were in the clear and had relayed that to his players." Cox: "The whole process has been incredibly badly managed by SANZAAR and the ARU and this has clearly impacted the Force, the Rebels and the Brumbies financially. I don’t think anyone involved with either of those governing bodies (ARU/SANZAAR) could or should be proud of this whole process or the impact it is having on Australian Rugby" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 4/10).
SA RUGBY APPROVES: SPORT24 reported the decision to reduce Super Rugby competitors by three teams was "unanimously agreed by the four SANZAAR partners." Franchises, broadcasters and fans "were all engaged in the process." South Africa Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said, "Fans, media and broadcasters have spoken and we have listened to them. The 18-team Super Rugby competition has not worked and we had to face up to that hard fact." SA Rugby will "now begin internal consultations to identify its four entrants" in the '18 competition (SPORT24, 4/9).
