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For 2018 it looks like they will have a low-key “trial run” of the IPRC tournament. I will be there for these games in Perth (and, outside of that, will also check out some premier clubs near me and catch a few club games - more free weekends open up to do so now).
Plus the 2019 start will allow the IPRC time to organise the big operation that includes player recruitment and broadcasting rights. More details here
…The current SANZAAR broadcasting rights deals run out in 2020 and with Super Rugby proving to be unpopular with many fans and players it would also provide an alternative competition.
Some players have indicated they would join IPRC because they no longer want to play Super Rugby or want to return home from Europe with their families, IPRC representatives say.
Star Wallabies and overseas players have already been sounded out and Forrest has potential Asian backers for the four months competition of 10 home-and-away rounds plus finals.
Forrest has not yet nominated a salary cap but said the IPRC would offer lucrative contracts to help stem the overseas flood of Australian players.
… Forrest also wants the return of the Force intellectual property, including the name, bought by the governing body for $800,000 last year with a guarantee it could be bought back by the now defunct club.
He has said that it should be sold back for $1 - the amount Rugby AU sold the Melbourne Rebels to New Zealand businessman Andrew Cox and the same amount he sold it to the Victorian Rugby Union to effectively prevent the club’s closure ahead of the Force.
Those deals are the focus of a senate inquiry into Australian rugby that will announce its findings later this month.