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Australian Rugby Union Rejects Super Rugby Merger Proposal

The Australian Rugby Union is "holding firm on safeguarding the Brumbies from the Super Rugby chopping block, amid calls to merge the club with Melbourne Rebels," according to the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. Rebels Owner Andrew Cox "welcomed discussion of the merger idea," raised by former Wallabies coach John Connolly, who has backed the "vulnerable" Western Force to remain in the competition. But an ARU spokesperson said that there had been "no change in its position" that the Brumbies be excluded from discussions around cutting Australia's Super Rugby participation from five to four teams. Both the Rebels and Force insisted the ARU has "no legal right to remove them after governing body SANZAAR's decision to reduce Super Rugby by three teams, including two from South Africa" (NZ HERALD, 4/25). In Sydney, Wayne Smith reported Cox said, "We’re interested in anything that will help grow the game, ­settle this mess and ensure the ­viability of the Melbourne ­license." With that quote, Cox gave his "clearest indication yet he is prepared to consider a Rebels-Brumbies merger." Should threats of legal action become a reality, one of the first orders of business in the discovery process "would surely be ascertaining what process the ARU followed when it decided to excuse the Brumbies from the endangered list." The ARU "appears to be clearing the decks for just such a legal process." It is understood that directors have "each been sent a note from the ARU’s legal advisers warning them that anything they write in emails or texts might be revealed during the discovery process" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 4/26).

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