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Thread: Bill Pulver’s Western Force assurances turn into empty promises

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    Bill Pulver’s Western Force assurances turn into empty promises

    Short memory eh Bill?- see the end of this story

    Nick Taylor
    Saturday, 29 July 2017 10:50AM

    Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver may not like to be reminded of pledges he made to Western Force as he tries to axe the club from next year’s Super Rugby competition.
    More than once he said the future was safe. They are assurances that have turned into empty promises.
    On Monday the Force finally get to confront their would-be executioner when they face the ARU in their unprecedented legal battle for survival.
    The long running farce moves to behind closed doors arbitration, 113 days since the under siege ARU boldly pronounced it was going to cut the Force or Melbourne Rebels.
    RugbyWA is confident its legal team, led by Malcolm McCusker, one of WA’s most experienced legal figures, has a watertight case.
    McCusker will argue that, among clauses in the ARU alliance with the Force, there is a guarantee to keep a side in Perth until the current broadcast deal ends in three years.
    The ARU will claim that because two South African teams have been cut and SANZAAR agreed to losing an Australian team, it brings a new deal.
    The hearing is listed for five days but even when a decision comes down it will not end the fight.
    If the Force is successful the cash-strapped ARU will have to consider whether it can afford a further expensive and lengthy battle against a club that has billionaire Andrew Forrest and a growing number of other big money players firmly in their corner.
    The Force has also already flagged it will seek costs expected to be about $650,000.
    If the arbitrator agrees with the ARU the Force will look at an appeal to the Supreme Court and are investigating all other legal avenues.
    None of that is good news for the ARU that insists it needs to cut a club because it does not have the financial capability or player depth to justify five teams.
    Yet it will not explain what will happen if the Force win arbitration and Rebels owner Andrew Cox refuses to sell back his license.
    The standard answer to questions about a plan B is that “all will be revealed when and if necessary” but the ARU may have to go cap in hand to SANZAAR, apologizing for the debacle it has created.
    A SANZAAR spokesman said that because of arbitration and requests from legal entities there would be no comment on the tournament, potential outcomes, what may eventuate and what the future may hold.
    “As per the SANZAAR Exco (executive committee) decision in April and subsequent announcement on April 9 the 2018 Super Rugby tournament is to be restructured to include 15 teams: five from NZ, four from Australia, four from RSA, one from Japan and one from Argentina,” he said.
    There seems no doubt the ARU believed it could discard the Force.
    It claimed the axe would fall within 48-72 hours of the announcement, made minutes after the Force’s 46-41 victory over Southern Kings at nib Stadium.
    Even as the announcement was being made two senior ARU staff were flying to Perth with their ill-conceived plan to oust the Force. Ironically the two men, chief operating officer Rob Clarke and chief financial officer Todd Day have both resigned.
    But if the governing body thought the Force were simply going to roll over and disappear from Australia’s rugby landscape they had seriously misjudged the strength of feeling.
    They launched a massive off-field offensive that stunned the ARU.
    *They began legal action, issuing a writ claiming the ARU were bound by the alliance agreement.
    *They found flaws in the business evaluation on which the ARU had based its arguement to cull the club.
    *They launched the Own The Force campaign to sell shares and raise upwards of $5 million to turn the franchise into Australia’s biggest fan-owned club.
    *They struck a $1.5 million sponsorship with the Road Safety Commission, the biggest 12-month deal ever signed by an Australian Super Rugby franchise, with a three-year rollover renewal option.
    *They received the full backing of mining magnate Forrest and other influential business figures in a fighting fund.
    The fight is now in the hands of the legal teams but whatever the outcome it is hard to see the damage to the integrity of Australian rugby being fully restored for a long time to come.
    What Bill Pulver said
    February 2013, on his first visit to Perth after his appointment.
    “No chance in the world that there will not be a Western Force.
    “We are 150 per cent committed to the franchises that we have. The future development of rugby, unquestionably in my mind, will involve the Perth team.
    “The five franchises are non-negotiable. I don’t think I can make that any clearer. It is crystal clear in my mind there will always be five franchises.”
    March 2016, after talks with RugbyWA and the State Government.
    “I would be very confident in telling you that the Western Force are going to be a successful part of the Perth sporting scene for a long, long time.
    “I still am very much a supporter of a national footprint for Super Rugby and you do not want to do anything that’s going to have any negative on the local community engagement.”
    November 2016, on the Own The Force scheme to buy back their license from the ARU and become financially independent.
    “If our Super Rugby clubs were put in a fundamentally stronger position financially, that would influence the decision. The dialogue that’s going on out west is incredibly relevant.”

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    Good job, Nick.

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    Immortal Contributor shasta's Avatar
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    I wonder if this one will be repeated on the other side of the Nullabor. Not that it will make one skerrick of difference. Even if the outcome of the legal jousting favours Rugby WA, there is going to be so much bad blood that it will take a long time to rebuild bridges.

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    Veteran sittingbison's Avatar
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    Too late she cried shasta, the bridges will never be rebuilt.

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

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    Quote Originally Posted by sittingbison View Post
    Too late she cried shasta, the bridges will never be rebuilt.
    Unless the ARU is completely restructured to include fair representation of the interests of ALL Australians, not just those who attend expensive Sydney schools.

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    C'mon the

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    Wow all the lies in black and white!!

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    (Previously WFDS) WFDom's Avatar
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    When was the first alleged meeting the ARU had with SANZAAR where they agreed to cut an Aussie team (knife us)?

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    Great game, Fucken battled right through to the 80!

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    I don't think that matters Dom, clone has on record that they knew pretty much from the get-go that 5 teams was unsustainable. Puts puller in an awkward position on the stand.

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    (Previously WFDS) WFDom's Avatar
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    I know Gigs but it just fu@king shits me mate

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    Great game, Fucken battled right through to the 80!

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Don't panic. If it's this obvious to us, a legal legend like the honourable Mr Mccusker will certainly have it in his bag of tricks.

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    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    RugbyWA should secede from the national governing body should the Force be axed.

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    Immortal Contributor shasta's Avatar
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    The issue is not whether Puller, Clone and Clunk are a bunch of untruthful incompetents.

    That has been decided in the affirmative in the court of public opinion months ago. Unfortunately it has no bearing at all far as I can see.

    The issue is whether they have the legal right to cut us. That is all.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jargan83 View Post
    RugbyWA should secede from the national governing body should the Force be axed.
    Form the "(W)ARU" and then bring SA & NT into it as well. be more encompassing just there

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    Quote Originally Posted by shasta View Post
    The issue is not whether Puller, Clone and Clunk are a bunch of untruthful incompetents. That has been decided in the affirmative in the court of public opinion months ago. Unfortunately it has no bearing at all far as I can see. The issue is whether they have the legal right to cut us. That is all.
    Apart from the fact that the lies they have on record both before and after the signing of the alliance agreement can be bought to bear in revealing the intention of the clause in question, moreover it can support the contention that RugbyWA signed the agreement under the impression that it meant exactly what they thought it meant. In the context of the injunction, the public statements made by clone, clunk, puller and douche (my candidate for a nickname) will apply directly and they might be the handcuffs that win the case for us.

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    C'mon the

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    Immortal Contributor shasta's Avatar
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    Maybe so. But the ARU's whole case seems to hinge on whether the "new" broadcast deal negates all of that. If it does we lose. If it doesn't we win - I hope.

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