Probably owned by someone originally from NSW or QLD.
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Probably owned by someone originally from NSW or QLD.
Western Australian of the Year, Mr Andrew Forrest AO, has called on the Australian Rugby Union to declare its support for the Western Force after an unprecedented show of grassroots support for the club.
The ‘Own the Force’ campaign has had a stunning response with 4,700 people committing to fund the club, to the tune of $8 million.
Mr Forrest has thrown the full spectrum of support into saving the Western Force. This now includes offering unsecured and interest free loans to those supporters who really want to join the ‘Own the Force’ fund but can’t afford to. The loans would then be repaid to Rugby WA, not to Mr Forrest.
Classic pre arbitration move. The ARU silks will be advising their clients as we speak. The words will be "SETTLE THIS NOW"
Very encouraging stuff thankyou to all those supporters from the big end of town.
I didn't realise OTF was going so well.
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/07...-and-the-force
Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest and former Wallaby John Welborn have renewed calls for the ARU to facilitate a Brumbies takeover of the Rebels, saying the Western Force are simply too valuable to axe.
RugbyWA and the ARU will begin arbitration in Sydney on Monday, with the fate of the Force hanging in the balance.
The Force will argue the 'alignment' deal they signed with the ARU last year guarantees their future until the end of the current broadcast deal in 2020.
But the ARU will counter that argument by saying the broadcast landscape has now changed given the Super Rugby competition will be reduced from 18 to 15 teams next season.
The South African Rugby Union has already axed the Cheetahs and Kings but the Force have found some powerful allies in their fight for survival.
Forrest, who is valued at $4.8 billion, has pledged to do whatever it takes to ensure the Force survive.
Looks like all 3 Rebels fans have been on Facebook today judging by the comments section.
Good. But I'd rather it read "former Wallaby, WARATAHS CAPTAIN and MOST CAPPED LOCK, John Welborne". ;)
ARU logic seems sound... :confused:Quote:
... the ARU will counter that argument by saying the broadcast landscape has now changed given the Super Rugby competition will be reduced from 18 to 15 teams next season.
They can drop the Force if the broadcast deal changes, but the broadcast deal won't change if they don't drop the Force.
I guess they have to drop another team first ...
Dunno about the merge idea.
But there is a loan opportunity for those of us who could not afford a share! Go the Force!
Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s ‘elegant’ plan to save Western Force
July 31, 2017: The Australian
Wayne Smith
Perth billionaire mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has secured the Western Force’s financial position on the very day it begins its legal battle with the Australian Rugby Union to save itself from the Super Rugby cull.
In a move so elegant it just might become the model for modern-day philanthropy, Forrest has pledged to give an interest-free loan to anyone who wishes to purchase shares in the Own the Force campaign, but cannot afford the money up front.
What makes the scheme so elegant is that people who take up the offer for the shares, valued at $1000 each, will repay the loan not to Forrest but rather to RugbyWA, thereby doubling the benefit to the code.
At last count, there were 4700 pledges from the public to buy shares in the Force, worth approximately $8 million. But the fact that members of the public would realise that by purchasing a $1000 share, they effectively will be giving $2000 worth of aid to RugbyWA, which might mean many other potential shareholders will come forth.
Certainly the scheme fits neatly with Forrest’s intention to be an enabler who finds solutions rather than a mere cheque-writer, although filling in the fine details to his grand plans sometimes takes some doing.
“This has been exercising our minds all morning about how this will all work logistically,” said Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry, who was delighted at the initiative, which will result in half of the money invested going to grassroots rugby.
Both the ARU and the Force insisted that the first stage of their legal battle, the arbitration process, would go ahead, though neither Sinderberry nor ARU chairman Cameron Clyne was prepared to speculate on whether Forrest’s initiative might deter the ARU from shutting down the Force as a Super Rugby entity even if it wins the case.
Still, Forrest’s plan certainly shifts the momentum dramatically in favour of the Force. Two of the principal drivers propelling the ARU’s intention to cut back the number of Australian Super Rugby teams from five to four are the present unsustainable state of professional rugby, and the need to devote a far greater sum to grassroots rugby. In one swoop, Forrest’s masterstroke addresses both those issues, at least as they apply to Western Australia.
The Force are not the only club facing possible execution, with the ARU also nominating the Melbourne Rebels as the other Super Rugby club that could be culled.
But Forrest also revived the idea that the Brumbies might merge with or even take over the Rebels, offering to provide options for the Canberra-based club to expand its sponsorship base. It is understood he has written to the Brumbies outlining his plan, which also includes a rugby academy in Melbourne to provide the club with a player pathway.
He called on the ARU to lead the sport, not just litigate, and certainly such a scheme would provide the national body and the Brumbies with a win-win situation. The same might not be said, however, for the Rebels themselves, who presumably would be shut down in line with the ARU’s intention to deliver only four teams to the starting line for Super Rugby next year, not the current five.
“It will bolster the rugby culture in Victoria, giving players there access to one of the best teams in the country,” Forrest said. “It will allow the Brumbies to broaden their sponsorship appeal and it will, importantly, allow the Western Force to continue to grow its incredible support base.”
Forrest’s other alternative involved a merger of Force and Rebels, although the rugby academy would be aligned, this time, with the Perth club. While the Rebels might struggle to find any upside in these proposals, the reality is that a merger would be a more palatable outcome to being axed entirely.
There is no question, however, that Forrest’s loyalties lie entirely with the Force, which has simply refused to accept its threatened Super Rugby obliteration. Indeed, he said he was humbled by the passion West Australians had shown in ensuring the Force not only survived, but thrived.
“I have not had to pick up the phone,” he said. “Business leaders have been calling me. Support has also come from ordinary folk, from all over the state, who don’t even follow rugby. Like me, they have been inspired by this grassroots movement to save the Force.”
Yet support has also come from the top end of town, with a group of businessmen agreeing to fund the Force’s legal campaign.
At the heart of the arbitration battle that starts today is the issue of whether a clause in the agreement signed between the ARU and the Force when it took over the club last year guarantees a Super Rugby presence in Perth until the end of the current broadcast deal. The Force insist it does.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...82a63b747110a9
I definitely don't like the merge idea. That would presumably mean Melbourne would be the 'base' and we'd only get a meagre 4 Perth games a year. Logistically, a Brumbies-Rebels merger would be more fair.
Why the hell would we want 50% of Melbournes financial disaster of a franchise so we can watch the 50% that we built be thrown down the drain?
Actually, why would any sane person go near the Rebels to "save" them after their financial record. Merging the Brumbies with Melbourne is obviously a good outcome for us but it would unfairly destroy the Brumbies, who like us, have survived on their own merits. On field records aside, the Brumbies financial record is sound, why would the Brumbies want to destroy their financial stability by taking on Melbournes problems. Splitting games between the 2 cities would only alienate fans further resulting in attendances plummeting and the financial woes deepening. Merging the Brumbies and Melbourne would destroy the Brumbies as a successful* stand alone club only to save the Rebels who are the root cause of Australian Rugbys financial woes.
In the same way, how is the VRU buying the Rebels license any guarantee of financial security? They have not announced any consortium or financial backers. The VRUs primary funding source is the ARU. This would just reburden the ARU with needing to cover the incredible losses already incurred by 2 private owners and the ARU already in keeping this pipedream afloat, into the future. The Rebels as a business is a spectacular failure and this would directly contradict the ARUs need to "reduce costs".