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Thread: ACT Brumbies now in Australian Rugby Union's gun ahead of Super Rugby cull

  1. #16
    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Egan View Post
    Anybody who tells you they know the outcome of this mess is lying, could be as big as the Spanish Inquisition by the time this is over. Seems to become more complicated the longer this situation goes on.
    I'm pretty confident one outcome of this will be heads rolling at ARU HQ.

    I just can't say with any honesty that I know whose head it will be.

    It should be Bill Pulver, the entire management team and probably several board members, but who knows who will be the scapegoat for this mess.

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    C'mon the

  2. #17
    Veteran sittingbison's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GIGS20 View Post
    ...It should be Bill Pulver, the entire management team and probably several board members, but who knows who will be the scapegoat for this mess.
    Shouldnt be a scapegoat...they are all culpable.

    Paid advisers/managers should be fired, then the CEO, then the entire board stood down with an official vote of no confidence from the stakeholders.

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    The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor

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    If fairness, if they were halfway competent hacks, they would have dotted the i's, crossed the t's and the Force would have been porked already.

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  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by travelling_gerry View Post
    Did anyone expect the Spanish Inquisition?
    John Eales...

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    Nathan Sharpe, Legend.

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    Brumbies not wanting a bar of any merger.

    ACT Brumbies boss Michael Thomson says Melbourne merger will kill rugby in two cities

    ACT Brumbies boss Michael Thomson has shut the door on speculation of a merger with the Melbourne Rebels, declaring the move would kill rugby in two cities.

    Australian rugby's off-field drama is dragging on as officials work through a process to cut either the Melbourne Rebels or Western Force in a Super Rugby overhaul.

    The ARU moved the Brumbies into a safe zone on April 10, guaranteeing their existence as a "sustainable presence" after a review of club finances, high performance, sponsorship and governance.

    But the Rebels and Force are fighting to save their place in the competition and have attempted to drag the Brumbies back into the saga.

    here has been ongoing speculation the Rebels should merge with the Brumbies and be based in Melbourne, despite the Canberra club's success on and off the field.

    The Rebels and Force have needed significant financial handouts from the ARU in recent years, with the ARU spending an unbudgeted $28 million to prop up Super Rugby clubs.

    None of that money was spent in Canberra. The Brumbies have asked the ARU for financial assistance just once in the club's 21-year history and repaid it in full.

    Rebels owner Andrew Cox told The Australian he is still open to a Melbourne-Brumbies merger, but the ARU is not discussing that as an option.

    Thomson said it was disappointing to see the conversation resurfaced and said the Brumbies had no intention of leaving Canberra.

    "We're not looking at merging or contemplating a move to Melbourne, we are stable on our own two feet and in a far better position than a majority of Super Rugby teams," Thomson said.

    "When you look at on-field performance, sustainability and participation numbers, there's virtually no reason that you would even consider having us as part of this discussion.

    "We don't see any benefit in being part of it and the other piece around it is if we were to play four games in Canberra and four in Melbourne it would kill both clubs."

    Thomson believes his assurances from the ARU will hold strong, despite the national body bracing for ugly legal battles with the Force and Rebels.

    "We're certainly not getting any indication that they'll go back on their word, they're working through a process to get to a final solution and I've had assurances from the ARU that we're not part of that process," Thomson said.

    An ARU spokesman reiterated that message on Monday, saying: "There has been no change to the ARU's position that the Brumbies are no longer part of any discussion with regards to the process of reducing to four Super Rugby teams for the 2018 season."

    Former Wallabies coach John Connolly said the ARU could not continue with its self-interested approach by safeguarding the Brumbies.

    "The position the ARU find themselves in at the moment, this is the only call that makes any sense - the Melbourne Brumbies," Connolly told The Australian.

    But history, television broadcast numbers and player development give plenty of reasons why the Brumbies deserve to be a stand alone club.

    The Brumbies have won two Super Rugby titles, made the finals in the past four years and have developed more Wallabies than any Australian franchise.

    Much has been made of the Rebels and Force developing pathways, but the Brumbies have more local juniors in their squad than the Melbourne and Perth franchises.

    The Brumbies are second most watched Australian team on Fox Spots, only behind the NSW Waratahs, averaging 16,000 more viewers than the Rebels and the Force. The Brumbies also lead the overseas broadcast statistics.

    Thomson said it was frustrating the club was still being dragged into the drawn-out saga, adding there was enough work to be done in rugby without the distraction.

    "Certainly all of the Australian sides are struggling but we're the best of them and have been the best since our inception in terms of profitability and on-field performance," Thomson said.

    "Between 35-37 per cent of our players go on to play Wallabies, while the Force and Rebels franchises produce less than 15 per cent.

    "There has been discussion that it takes time to build a franchise and it does take time, but we were pretty much successful on-field from our inception and have comparatively remained so.

    "I don't want to put the boot into any franchise but it would be remiss of me not to respond saying we're happy with how we're developing talent and how we've performed throughout our history.

    "Can we get better? Without a doubt and we need to get better, but the ARU have been clear that we're no longer part of this process, so the speculation is disappointing."


    http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/su...25-gvrt0k.html

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    Legend Contributor Alison's Avatar
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    For the first time, I am beginning to feel a sense of inevitability about all this. The fact that the ARU won't even meet with us now suggests that they have no intention whatsoever of changing their mind about killing us off and don't care how much it costs to do it. For them, the end justifies the means.

    The ARU and its cronies are behaving exactly like the RFU old farts that Will Carling spoke out about all those years ago. English rugby has moved way past the old days of being a sport for 'rich boys from posh schools'. The ARU seems stubbornly determined to stay in those dark ages. And with that attitude at the helm in such a big and rich global market now, Australian rugby will never hold the Bledisloe again.

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    Veteran sittingbison's Avatar
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    FFS when will those lying bastards start telling the truth....never unfortunately

    Brumbies had just one bailout, paid back in full? Did they have to give up license and IP as collateral? No. Guess what, Force have also had one bailout, forced to give up the crown jewells, and can also pay back in full after only 1 year. No mention of Brumbies selling their "gift" land to stay afloat.

    The mysterious $28m? Its well documented the Force are responsible for about $4m of that (with collateral to be paid back, not a gift), not half as constantly insinuated....who is responsible for the other $24m? Well look at that, the Kansas City Shuffle.

    And again no mention on how those "criteria" to exclude from cull were measured.

    Crap journalism from SMH once again

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  9. #24
    Champion SinBin's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=sittingbison;428396]FFS when will those lying bastards start telling the truth....never unfortunately .../QUOTE]

    Writer: Eamonn Tiernan FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
    Eamonn Tiernan is a sports reporter with The Canberra Times

    Our local sports journo Nick Taylor has been pretty objective in his coverage of this saga, reporting both sides factually. National Journo Wayne Smith likewise.

    Eamonn Tierman piece - Absolute Propaganda

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  10. #25
    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alison View Post
    For the first time, I am beginning to feel a sense of inevitability about all this. The fact that the ARU won't even meet with us now suggests that they have no intention whatsoever of changing their mind about killing us off and don't care how much it costs to do it. For them, the end justifies the means.

    The ARU and its cronies are behaving exactly like the RFU old farts that Will Carling spoke out about all those years ago. English rugby has moved way past the old days of being a sport for 'rich boys from posh schools'. The ARU seems stubbornly determined to stay in those dark ages. And with that attitude at the helm in such a big and rich global market now, Australian rugby will never hold the Bledisloe again.
    Unfortunately I've had that feeling since that Sunday afternoon.

    Quite an amazing downfall for a sport that at the turn of the century/post 2003 RWC was probably challenging NRL and AFL for relevance and I would now have it sitting in a comfortable 4th behind Soccer at the moment in Australia and the present rate will continue it's downward spiral into irrelevance.

    I know of several other sporting forums (NRL and AFL) and fans of both of those codes are laughing at the ineptitude shown by the ARU throughout this whole saga.

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Keep the faith people,

    I'm sure our legal team will be able to bankrupt the ARU if we're cut.

    I'm not sure we will be playing rugby next year, but I AM sure that if we aren't, neither will most of the high profile players.

    I'm prepared to accept the complete destruction of the ARU in its current form as a second option.

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  12. #27
    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GIGS20 View Post
    I'm prepared to accept the complete destruction of the ARU in its current form as a second option.
    I look forward to toasting marshmellow's on the ARU funeral pyre

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  13. #28
    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    I would travel to Sydney to do that, wearing a 2006 Force Jersey

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  14. #29
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    I don't think the Fat Lady has sung yet tbh. There are variables such as Alan Jones influence both in a public and private way within Sydney and a state government which can use this to galvanise the state behind him in a west v east situation. Anything can happen.

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  15. #30
    Champion MI5_Dog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alison View Post
    For the first time, I am beginning to feel a sense of inevitability about all this. The fact that the ARU won't even meet with us now suggests that they have no intention whatsoever of changing their mind about killing us off and don't care how much it costs to do it. For them, the end justifies the means.
    But they do care about the cost. In fact that's the only thing they care about. Make it too expensive and they'll look somewhere else to 'cut costs'.
    The fact that they won't meet with the Force is a good thing. It means they're lost and on the back foot. If they thought that they could just cut the Force then they'd be happy to meet.
    To my mind I think they are imploding and desperate. They've got plenty of time before the cut has to be made. All the way through to the start of the 2018 season really as much as that would really harm all the teams in Aus.
    They'll stall for time until they have their backs to the wall and are forced (if you'll excuse the pun) into a decision.

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