ARU spurns Victoria in Super 15 deal

[normie]

VICTORIAN rugby was in an uproar yesterday after the Australian Rugby Union awarded the Sydney-backed VicSuper15 consortium the Melbourne Super 15 licence if, as expected, SANZAR approves the Australian bid in October.

Months of petty politicking and infighting within Australian rugby ended with the Victorian Rugby Union, though supported by a virtual Who's Who of Melbourne, being sidelined by the ARU board, offered nothing more than a position on the interim board of the new privately funded company.

A bitterly disappointed VRU president Gary Gray could not say last night whether the union would be involved with the VicSuper15 group, which is to be chaired by former ARU director Bob Dalziel and backed financially by Sydney-based mining entrepreneur Kevin Maloney.

At a meeting with ARU chief executive John O'Neill and his deputy Matt Carroll on Monday, Maloney, a long-time patron of the Southern Districts Rugby Club in Sydney, pledged to invest $2 million of the required $10 million capital base.

The Belgravia Group's Geoff Lord, chairman of the Melbourne Victory A-League football club, also has been invited by the ARU to invest in the new professional franchise and no doubt will be aiming to rationalise his soccer operation by taking on such tasks as promotion, marketing and ticketing for the new Super 15 club.

The ARU also intends inviting existing VRU investors to come on board but in that they will be disappointed.

VRU bid chairman Harold Mitchell said yesterday all the principals of the official Victorian rugby consortium had withdrawn, taking their money with them.

Former World Cup-winning Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen, a key adviser to the VRU bid, confirmed last night he too had withdrawn from the process.

On July 8, The Australian reported that Moorabbin club president Steve Curnow had widely circulated an email in which he claimed that "members of the ARU" had told him that "Victoria had a snowflakes (sic) chance in hell of the ARU ratifying a VRU bid for a Super XV licence while Gary Gray is president of the VRU".

It is now understood the VRU was provided with legal advice that before it submitted its expression of interest for the expansion licence, it should lodge a legal document with the ARU placing it on notice that it believed the whole process of selecting which consortium should win the licence had been fatally compromised.

The VRU chose not to act on that advice, believing it would only further undermine its chances, but certainly the manner in which the ARU rammed through its private equity model will be subjected to severe scrutiny in the weeks ahead.

"We'll be taking the matter up formally with the ARU board, as we will also be advising our brother state unions across Australia of the circumstances surrounding this process," Gray said.

For the rest of the article:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...7-2722,00.html

---------- Post added at 02:48 ---------- Previous post was at 02:45 ----------

Politics Politics. Power to the people rah rah rah!

[Hoolly Doolly]

something smells really fishy........stinks actually!

[Darren]

Agree. I think the ARU have gone about this the wrong way.

[shasta]

Given the rivalry between NSW & Vic over just about everything since before Federation, this may be a long lasting error of judgment. The team could be perceived as a NSW imposter and take a long time to establish any following among native Victorians.

[AndyS]

Moreover, a statement like - "Maloney insisted the VRU had to be part of the new organisation. "You can't put this thing together without them being involved. Melbourne needs a home-grown player base. The VRU is Melbourne rugby."" - begs the question what will happen if the VRU digs its heels in....

I don't necessarily think that it is a bad thing to have the professional and amateur ranks separated, but the VRU would want to be at least as well funded as they would be if they were running the show. Frankly, I struggle to see how that can be possible and can see little but grief ahead all around.

[mudskipper]

If you look at the members of the Tahs and NSWRU past doorstop press statements... perhaps a pro side in VIC is best independent and has to fund its self with part direct assistance from the ARU...

[shasta]

I don't necessarily think that it is a bad thing to have the professional and amateur ranks separated, but the VRU would want to be at least as well funded as they would be if they were running the show. Frankly,.

With 20/20 hindsight that may have been a good model for pro franchises. Provided the conditions preclude discouraging player availability for Rep duties as happens in the NH.

I struggle to see how that can be possible and can see little but grief ahead all around

Yep. Seems to be a fair bit of backstage intrigue muddying the waters here.

[beige]

We probably should have seen this coming when the ARU named Victoria a few weeks ago but didn't pick a bid. I guess they were hoping things would just work out but it sounds like it didn't. Hopefully Maloney's genuine about bringing the VRU in to the fold (and that they're willing to do so) as the last thing we need is a disconnect between the VRU and the Melbourne franchise.

[Unknown Sauces]

Australian Rugby Union wishes to clarify its position on the Melbourne bid for the 15th Super Rugby licence following a newspaper report this morning headlined “ARU spurns Victoria in Super deal”.

To avoid further media confusion the ARU Board has endorsed, and continues to support, Melbourne as its preferred location for the additional Super Rugby team when SANZAR expands the competition in 2011.

Therefore, ARU rejects any notion that Victoria has been spurned. To the contrary, ARU has embraced Melbourne.

Any suggestion ARU had turned its back on Melbourne could only have been leveled if Western Sydney or Gold Coast had been nominated as the preferred Australian location.

Furthermore, the ARU Board has not made any decision as yet on the governance structure of the proposed Melbourne “club”.

It was claimed this morning the ARU Board had signed off on a way forward for the Melbourne bid. That is incorrect and media outlets would have been advised accordingly if they had contacted ARU for confirmation.

ARU also wants to emphasise Melbourne is not the only contender for the 15th Super Rugby licence.

South Africa is bidding against Australia and wants the team established not in Melbourne but on the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

For further clarification, there were three initial Expressions of Interest from Melbourne – from the VRU, the VicSuper15 consortium and the Belgravia company – when interested parties were asked to enter the bid process.

As a result an ARU working group has been striving to have the three parties come together to form one compelling bid that would ensure the October decision by the SANZAR Executive Committee goes Australia’s – and Melbourne’s – way.

The ARU Board will discuss and decide early next week on the roles and responsibilities the various parties will be invited to take if Melbourne is anointed as the 15th team by SANZAR.

The three original Melbourne bidders have all been informed they will have important contributions to make in the successful establishment and long-term viability of a Super Rugby side in Melbourne.

ARU is disappointed internal politics within Victorian Rugby have prevented all three parties embracing a “brothers-in-arms” approach that would give Melbourne its best chance of becoming the next home for a Super Rugby team.

[Darren]

well that added absolutely zero...

[brokendown gunfighter]

yep,utter crap

[Eebs]

Yesterday the Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) spit the dummy at being told they won't have a hand in running the new Super 15 franchise if Melbourne is to win it. Sour Grapes!!

The VRU are generally viewed as being overstaffed, out of touch and constantly running over budget. To attack via the local media and brand the opposition a "Sydney based bid" is cynical in the extreme.

Three members of their board quit on the eve of presenting their bid. There would have had to have been a compelling reason for these three to tender their resignations and yet we haven't heard any explanation for the split from the VRU. All that was done was to have a brief statement posted on the VRU website distancing themselves from anything these "Rebels" might be attempting.

Initially they spoke about presenting a united front but as soon as they were told that they were to be relegated to what they considered a minor role they squealed.

The VRU should pull their heads in and stick to managing the day to day running of the State competition

[GIGS20]

Yesterday the Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) spit the dummy at being told they won't have a hand in running the new Super 15 franchise if Melbourne is to win it. Sour Grapes!!

The VRU are generally viewed as being overstaffed, out of touch and constantly running over budget. To attack via the local media and brand the opposition a "Sydney based bid" is cynical in the extreme.

Three members of their board quit on the eve of presenting their bid. There would have had to have been a compelling reason for these three to tender their resignations and yet we haven't heard any explanation for the split from the VRU. All that was done was to have a brief statement posted on the VRU website distancing themselves from anything these "Rebels" might be attempting.

Initially they spoke about presenting a united front but as soon as they were told that they were to be relegated to what they considered a minor role they squealed.

The VRU should pull their heads in and stick to managing the day to day running of the State competition

Welcome aboard Eebs, thanks for your first post. Do you mind if I ask about your involvement in victorian rugby? You sure seem to have a feel for what's on the ground over there and I'm interested in knowing which side of the fence you're on.

I don't like the way any of this looks for Aussie rugby, whether the ARU or the VRU are the villains, doesn't really matter. If either side are the mugs in this sort of a shitfight, it'll stink a little too much like SARU for my liking!

[Eebs]

Hi GIGS20, I've played in Victoria for the last 18 years and still pull on the boots occasionally. I'm much happier with the Vic Super 15 bid.

The negative publicity doesn't look good for Aussie rugby but the finger of blame has to be pointed at the VRU for stirring things up. There is only one regular journo in AFL dominated Melbourne and he seems to be firmly in the VRU's pocket.

Sure, Victoria can't wait to have a team in Melbourne, but who cares if the VRU is involved in running it. If half the stories about their general incompetence are true then we should all be rejoicing that they got brushed.

Unfortunately, as the VRU seem to be the only ones crying to the press and the ARU is walking a tightrope about what they can say publicly (thanks to the fun and games up North), the only thing that seems to be emanating from the process is disharmony.

[Elf1]

Welcome aboard Eebs, thanks for the insight into Vic rugby.