Rugby WA back on firm footing after deal with Rugby Australia
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New Rugby WA chairman John Edwards, left, with former Force captain Matt Hodgson in Perth yesterday. Picture: Getty Images
WAYNE SMITH
The Australian12:00AM December 9, 2017
9 Comments
For the first time this year, Rugby WA has emerged from a legal squabble with Rugby Australia with a smile on its face.
The state union lost its arbitration battle with the then Australian Rugby Union to keep the Western Force alive as a Super Rugby team and then lost a second time when it appealed the decision to the NSW Supreme Court. Not only was it left to face the culling of the Force but it also was left with a crippling legal bill.
But finally, thanks to some adept negotiations between the new RugbyWA chairman John Edwards and Rugby Australia chief executive Bill Pulver — with a little persuasive effort in the background by billionaire supporter Andrew Forrest thrown in — the national body has wiped all of the Rugby WA’s outstanding legal fees. “With Andrew’s help, we have convinced RA and other creditors to wipe the balance sheet clean, giving us a fresh start,” *Edwards said.
The deal was part of a settlement package, which allowed RugbyWA to come out of voluntary administration. Edwards has replaced the long-serving Tony Howarth as RugbyWA chairman, although Howarth’s service did not end completely. It is understood that he and other board members and supporters made a significant commitment of personal funds to ensure RugbyWA could begin with a clean slate.
Forrest, meanwhile, also backed up his support in a real sense, committing $2 million to help specifically with the general administration of RugbyWA, the Future Force Academy, as well as women’s rugby and junior development. “It has been a very difficult year for our rugby family in WA but through adversity, we have emerged stronger and more determined than ever to show the rest of the country what a successful, united grassroots community looks like,” Forrest said.
RA has also returned to the west its intellectual property, meaning that the “Western Force” name can now be revived, be it in Forrest’s planned Indo Pacific Rugby Championship or by *renaming the WA side in the *National Rugby Championship. Currently the Perth Spirit represent the state but the RugbyWA board raised the possibility in an open letter to the WA rugby *community of letting the people decide if the Force take their place, wearing the familiar blue.
“This is a significant sign after a long battle that Rugby Australia acknowledges the importance of our code and our solidarity in the West,” the letter read. “More *support is promised and we will certainly be seeking it.”
Support, indeed, is coming from all sides, with the West Australian government giving RugbyWA a 24-month reprieve from paying off its $1.14m debt.
Although the Australian Securities & Investment Commission continues to consider the recommendation of the Senate inquiry into rugby in Australia and whether to pursue any individuals, the war between Rugby Australia and the west appears to have *finally come to an end.
Meanwhile, Forrest, his IPRC team and RA are due to have critical talks next week to determine whether the national body will give the necessary approval to his Indo-Pacific tournament
Originally Posted by Kiap
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