A reply from the ARU..

So i get one of the weekly "Aren't you glad we support you" emails this morning. I think it was for a bunch of bottles of sorrow drowning at less then suicidal prices.. I think the colour was red or something?..

I never take up any of the ARU's special offers. So I was about to click delete when i thought "Fuck it".. I clicked reply and wrote..

I'd rather you give me back our Super Rugby Team.
Cheers.

..and clicked send. Now I expected this to go to some unmanned/no-reply/you can all go hang email box..

Evidently not.. As i got this in the email 10 minutes later.. Interestingly there's a link for "the current life expectancy of The Western Force".. So clearly plenty of ordinary people are poking them about this..
~ laughs ~

Yes I have had many of these cases over the last few months, they have given me a case number on every occasion, however that's where it ends as it appears they never get back you after that initial email. But it has given some pleasure including today's email from the ARU stating weve got a gift to you, which was met with the reply 'weve got a gift for you, its called a senate inquiry!'

I replied mine with 'And twiggy's got a pressie for you too!'

The only way I was able to get a reply to my email to them months back about the accounts was to email Pulver direct and ask him for the courtesy of a reply. To his credit he replied immediately with some of the info I had requested and forwarded my email to Todd Day for the rest of it. Todd also replied promptly avec the requested info.

If their customer service is run by robotics and the public's requests for info are dealt with by the exec directors, it does make me wonder where the hell the ARU's annual salary bill of about $23MILLION goes.

$23m ... may I suggest Pocock sabatical, Genia, Cooper's Super and a few other useless QC's, Trail commission to RC Toulon for RWC appearances Messrs Giteau & Mitchell, final payments to the C-level execs that have already left ...

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Originally Posted by Alison

If their customer service is run by robotics and the public's requests for info are dealt with by the exec directors, it does make me wonder where the hell the ARU's annual salary bill of about $23MILLION goes.

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Pay them what they're worth and we'd be able to keep 5 teams.

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Originally Posted by Kev

$23m ... may I suggest Pocock sabatical, Genia, Cooper's Super and a few other useless QC's, Trail commission to RC Toulon for RWC appearances Messrs Giteau & Mitchell, final payments to the C-level execs that have already left ...

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This is off the top of my head but I think that unless those players are direct employees of the ARU, their salaries aren't included under the salary heading in the accounts so would not be part of the $23mill....

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Originally Posted by GIGS20

Pay them what they're worth and we'd be able to keep 5 teams.

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And add 3 more!

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Originally Posted by Alison

...... it does make me wonder where the hell the ARU's annual salary bill of about $23MILLION goes.

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ground hire fee's .........

An interesting podcast from G&GR which is an Will Reid (video journalist with SBS) interview with Bill Pulver (for SBS Viceland).
The interview was made shortly after the decision to axe the Western Force.
The documentary was entitled: "Is Australian Rugby Dying?".

A good deal of talk about Shute Shield with little mention of Grass Roots until near the end.

His takeaways re measurement of future success:
1. Success at Wallabies/Elite level.
2. Increase participation at the lowest levels of the game.
3. Get Rugby back into schools.
4. Engage with country areas (build on NRC footprint and Wallabies visiting rural areas)

Will WA classify as a rural area now then? FUARU