Geoffrey Stooke deserves a right royal rugby salute
By David Lord
Outside of Perth, very few of the rugby faithful would ever have heard of Geoffrey Stooke, but he has two genuine claims to fame.
He was the long-term president of RugbyWA from 1988 to 2011, and the only ARU director – in nine – to vote against Australia losing either the Force or the Rebels in a Super Rugby format shakeup.
It’s inconceivable just one in nine voted for Australia to retain five franchises when the ARU is the custodian of rugby for players, their sponsors, and their supporters.
ARU chairman Cameron Clyne and CEO Bill Pulver were the chief movers of the four-franchise vote – both having either a banking or financial CV.
Turn the clock back to the last chairman, Michael Hawker, and last CEO, John O’Neill, and there’s no way they would shirked their responsibilities as rugby custodians – and both of them came from banking backgrounds.
It was rugby first, then the financial for Hawker and O’Neill. Not financial first and rugby second as it is for Clyne and Pulver.
And for shirking their priority responsibilities, the current ARU board will definitely be sued by the Force if they go, and probably by the Rebels if they go.
Poetic justice as Clyne, Pulver, and six other directors that include three former Wallabies in John Eales, a legend in the code, plus Dr Brett Robinson and Paul McLean, as well as Elizabeth Broderick, Pip Marlow and Ann Sherry, seem to have forgotten their custodian briefs.
Axing a franchise will throw 30-plus footballers to the wolves on the open market, and leave thousands of supporters team-less.
Not on.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/04/12...-rugby-salute/
