The Australian Rugby Union announced its intention to axe the Perth-based Western Force from Super Rugby on Friday but "the protracted saga may not be over yet with Rugby Western Australia pondering a legal challenge to the decision," according to Nick Mulvenney of REUTERS. ARU Chair Cameron Clyne said, "Our decision to exit the Western Force has been guided primarily by financial outcomes. This is a sad day for rugby, especially for Western Force fans. We accept that there will be anger and resentment over this decision and we sympathise with those fans. We sincerely hope that they are not lost to the game forever." RugbyWA responded "almost immediately" with a statement saying that it would pursue "every possible means," including legal action, to ensure the Western Force remained in the competition. Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest warned the ARU last week that he would be "first in line to fight the embattled governing body if it cut Western Force" (REUTERS, 8/11). The AAP reported the ARU "vowed to address the anticipated scramble for the services of Western Force players." But Western Force CEO Mark Sinderberry said, "There's no need for any immediate decisions from the players, and they're aware of that." Asked if there were any restrictions on other teams recruiting Force players or if it was "open slather," ARU CEO Bill Pulver said that it would start "that exercise" on Monday. Pulver: "All the contracted players will have their contracts honored and hopefully most of them will actually find a new Super Rugby team" (AAP, 8/11).
PARTING SHOT: In Sydney, Wayne Smith reported Pulver will "resign as soon as a replacement can be found." The announcement was among a "series of shockwaves" that "rocked the game in the wake of the national body's decision to cull the Western Force from Super Rugby." The first of them arrived before Pulver announced his decision, with ARU Dir Geoff Stooke, the Force's founding chair, "resigning with immediate effect from the board." He said that the Force was the victim of "a totally corrupt process" and described the ARU's rationale that Australian rugby was "financially unsustainable trying to keep five teams alive" as "horseshit." Pulver's resignation was "not unexpected but it still came as a shock when he announced it" Friday night. He insisted he was "very, very sorry for all the people in Western Australia but it's the right decision" to remove the Force. Pulver said, "I'm not denying that this will not have an impact there." As for his own position, he admitted that it had been "a difficult year for rugby." Pulver added, "I think it's the right time for a change" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/12).
NO QUALMS: The AAP's Justin Chadwick reported Forrest said that he will have "no qualms about taking the ARU through a costly legal battle," saying that the governing body is famous for "bleeding money." Forrest's legal team is in the process of taking out an injunction against the ARU's decision to axe the Western Force. If the Forrest-backed RugbyWA wins a right of appeal, it will take the matter to the Australian Supreme Court. The ARU is "already struggling financially," and it "could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars" if it is defeated in court (AAP, 8/13).
TEAM SPIRIT?: In Sydney, Smith also reported the Western Force fears that it is not just its Super Rugby team the ARU is "intent on terminating," but also its National Rugby Championship side, the Perth Spirit. The ARU reportedly intends to cut the Perth Spirit from the NRC at the end of this season. RugbyWA Vice-Chair John Edwards said that the club only realized its NRC team was "also under threat during negotiations a few weeks ago" after the ARU issued a termination of alliance agreement. Edwards said, "In the course of renegotiation about what would happen should we lose the arbitration, the NRC Spirit team was in the Alliance as well and we asked them about that. They basically said this will be their last season, the one that's about to start. We said, 'Why would you do that?' And they said they were not quite sure there would be much support for (the team), or much interest." An ARU spokesperson said Sunday that "nothing official had yet been resolved about the Perth NRC side beyond the end of this season" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/14).
PROFESSIONAL PATHWAYS: Also in Sydney, Adrian Proszenko reported Western Australia rugby league officials revealed plans to introduce U20 and reserve grade teams in New South Wales Rugby League competitions in a move that will "provide professional pathways for players affected by Western Force's departure from the Super Rugby scene." National Rugby League Western Australia funds the West Coast Pirates to play in the NSWRL's SG Ball competition and officials recently met with NRL Head of Football Brian Canavan to discuss "other potential pathways." The ambition is for a U20 and then a reserve grade presence in the NSW Cup, "viewed as the first steps" toward "potentially fielding an NRL team in the west." NRLWA CEO John Sackson said, "If the Force were to depart the sporting landscape in Perth it would be advantageous for rugby league. ... Competitively speaking, rugby union is our number one competitor and for many years they have cherry-picked many of our best young players due to their ability to lure them across to the Western Force academy with the prospect of playing the game at an elite level without leaving the state" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/12).
