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No I felt he was trying to ingratiate himself on us.. he said he was always in favour of keeping 5... however that is NOT what transpired when questioned..
He came up to me and said "I'd like to introduce my self I'm Bill Pulver and put out his hand.. I was polite and took it and said "Oh! don't worry I know who you are!!"
I would have like to have said... "yes you are the Lying, cheating, self serving over paid bastard that has no interest in Australian Rugby"...
After all this the ARU had better provide their full support to the IPRC.
Heres not a surprise
www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/rugby-union/former-aru-official-denies-undermining-force/news-story/bd28a665c042e91c2cfef7050d36a5dc+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=cl nk&gl=au]
Former ARU official denies undermining Force
Former ARU deputy Rob Clarke has rejected accusations from ex-Force boss Mark Sinderberry that he undermined the WA club as a secret Melbourne Rebels supporter during the Super Rugby downsizing process.
The allegation came during a feisty first day of the Senate inquiry into Australian rugby in Perth, where ARU boss Bill Pulver was also grilled by three WA senators about the Force’s closure.
Clarke’s involvement as a leading ARU figure in the decision to shut down the Force came under attack, with Sinderberry claiming the ex-chief operating officer of the ARU — and former CEO of the Rebels — was “supporting” the Melbourne club during the deliberations.
He alleged Clarke gave a confidential alliance agreement document to Victorian Rugby Union president Tim North in the middle of the saga. Clarke was effectively deputy to Pulver at the ARU until he resigned in May.
“From an operation point of view I was having weekly meetings and I was reporting to the chief *operating officer of the ARU (Clarke), who on the surface was trying to be supportive but I have learned since he was actually supporting the Rebels’ cause and was ultimately re-engaged recently with the Rebels organisation,” Sinderberry said.
When Senator Linda Reynolds said it seemed “unusual” for an ex-Rebels boss to be influential in the Rebels v Force analysis, Sinderberry said: “I am glad you thought it was unusual as well.”
Sinderberry said Clarke was also an architect of the alliance agreement between the ARU and the Force, which saw the ARU take ownership of the Force in 2016 after the WA club went broke.
Sinderberry told the inquiry the VRU’s North informed him at the ARU EGM in June that someone at the ARU had given him a copy of the confidential alliance agreement. “Tim North said to me there were three people in the room,” Sinderberry told the hearing.
“The most senior person was Bill Pulver, the in-house counsel Richard (Hawkins) and the other person was Rob Clarke, the chief operating officer. The first two have denied absolutely giving him the document. Really at the back of this, the Rebels were told they weren’t at all at risk.”
Clarke said last night: “I absolutely empathise with the emotion of the Western Force and their supporters, but any allegations that have been made are totally baseless and I have nothing more to say on the matter.”
In an eventful hearing, Pulver admitted the Rebels were responsible for more than half of the $28 million in unbudgeted funds poured into Super Rugby teams by the ARU; the drain that prompted the ARU to cut a team.
Pulver also revealed the Rebels were facing insolvency this year — which could have seen them shut down instead of the Force — before shareholders pumped in enough money to keep them afloat.
The ARU boss refused to breach confidentiality when grilled about the ARU’s deals with the Victorian government and former Rebels owner Andrew Cox.
Despite testimony to the contrary by Rugby WA, Pulver stuck to his insistence that Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s intervention came too late and said if the billionaire had come six months earlier and “effectively funded our purchase of the Melbourne Rebels licence, it may well have been a very different story”.
Pulver admitted the ARU had poured more money into the Rebels than any other franchise.
He conceded the ARU had waved off $13m in outstanding loans when striking a deal with Cox to take ownership in 2015, and committed to an unspecified additional funding package to help support the private owner.
Senator Reynolds and Pulver sparred over the ARU boss’s refusal to divulge those figures and details of the deal with the Victorian government.
Pulver was questioned as to why the Force were forced to sign an alliance agreement in 2015 when they went to the ARU for help for the first time, and not a loan.
Pulver said he didn’t recall the Force asking for a loan but Sinderberry said later he proposed several options, including a loan. The alliance agreement ultimately gave the ARU legal capacity to shut down the Force.
The hearing continues on October 11.
"12 Years aSupporter" starring the #SeaOfBlue
So he said she said.
Why would Mark make such a direct accusation on a specific item if not true? If Mark was told by North that he had received the agreement then it is not baseless. Also I would love Lou's opinion on Clarks involvement in the fiasco. It will be interesting to see if he has anything more to say when asked by the senators?
Generally speaking you aren’t learning much if your lips are moving!!!
So all this is solely down to the emotion of the Force fans!! Tosser...
We've also been advised that at the time the ARU were looking for a new Rebels private owner, there was another candidate who was not given the same opportunity as Cox and Iperium. There is also a suggestion that Iperium in NZ was on its knees facing Administration when the first cheque of the $6mm from the ARU came to the rescue. Further more it appears Imperium may have made a $2mm profit on the way before selling for $1. Great to see what the Balance Sheet looked like the day of the transfer. All above Board technically but that was funding no others received.
So that's gonna be a nice paper trail of money from the deal being shifted around to suit ARU & Iperium! What about also the rumour I've read that Pulver paid an employees mortgage for them? But what gets me is WHY the ARU were so supportive of Cox? Does this all point at Clarke, and maybe Cox threatened to blow the whistle on Clarke? Anything's possible with these croats.
So glad that the $13 million loan write-off and "special funding" of $6 million has FINALLY made it into the mainstream media.
Still saying you've got nothing to hide, Clyne? Bring on the 2nd hearing!!
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Probably a whole heap of quid pro quos behind it, Val. Nothing is beyond the pale for this lot.
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
All these things need to be brought out into the open!
One question that should be put to the ARU at the enquiry is whether they will return the Force IP to RugbyWA.
It doesn't matter if they vacilate and decline to answer. Getting them to put a response on the record (either way) can fuel the WA cause.