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JSJ
2.52 The committee heard from a number of submitters who believed that some consideration was given to removing the Western Force prior to 2017 and may have coincided with the negotiation of the Alliance Agreement in 2016.
2.55 The committee also notes that the ARU management commissioned a report by Accenture in April 2016 and the report ultimately made a recommendation that the number of teams be cut to four. Despite Mr Clyne disputing the ARU were looking to cut a team prior to the delivery of that report, the committee notes the timeline of the report being drafted, from April 2016 onwards coincides with the negotiation and finalisation of the Western Force Alliance Agreement which ultimately meant the ARU had secured the licence of the Western Force.
2.67 Working from public statements, submitters observed that the ARU may have considered removing a team about the time that the Alliance Agreement was being negotiated:
Given the ARU had doubts about the viability of five Australian teams since the expansion in 2011, and that they started the process to reduce the numbers within a few weeks of signing the Alliance Agreement, it defies credulity that the ARU did not consider the possibility that the agreement could be used to remove the Force.[84]
2.68 That suggestion was supported by a set of ARU Board minutes from the meeting on 18 August 2016 indicating that ARU management considered the removal of one Australian Super Rugby team to be 'preferable' both financially and from a high performance perspective
2.101 Confidential evidence provided to the committee shows the ARU were directly involved in the execution of the transfer of the Melbourne Rebels' licence from Imperium to Victorian Rugby Union. The committee understands these negotiations were well underway by June 2017.
2.102 The committee has significant concerns that the decision to remove the Western Force was made earlier than 11 August 2017 and was skewed against the Western Force by not placing enough emphasis on historic financial data, and the ownership structure of the Melbourne Rebels.