It's hurting our credibility

[The EnForcer]

Do others think that the sponsor payment issue so hotly reported by The Herald and fervently copied on by Rugby Heaven is ludicrous. As far as I can see the issue is based around protocol rather than dodgy dealings, and dodgy dealings is very much the way it is implied. In addition, the "latest issue" being abused by our media friends is Firepower sponsoring Russian Rugby players and coaches to join the WA academy. This is not new news and again the implied dodgy dealings and association with The Force is at the forefront of this front page report.

It appears we have a publisher with a greievance who is willing to destroy The Force's credibility, and potentially the ARU's plan to build up Australian rugby, in its attempt to justify its war on Firepower.

All I know is that firstly this vendetta is not going to help our recruitment policy, secondly damages our credibility with the WA government impacting on our bid to get a stadium and, alst but not least, has a direct and damaging effect on future sponsorship deals.

Whatever agenda is being followed here needs to be sorted out and the only people that can do that is the ARU. I hope our new man in the seat quickly responds to this issue and sorts it out as the curent ARU management are once again making a mess of things for Australian Rugby.

Extremely Unhappy

[jazza93]

your right this is just stupid now i cant believe there still going on with this. this could make other componies not want to sponser the force and if its war on firepower then we could lose them.

[Darren]

From the Waratahs Web Site

[Thequeerone]

When people start on a argument like this one (and this one does seem to be unfounded and personal ) people actually do see it for what it is - an attack by a small minded someone with a little bit of green monster lurking in the background and that person generally comes of looking like a complete idiot -

I'm hoping that this will be one of the first things O'Neil sorts out - Mr O'Meara will be publicly vindicated and the whole episode will become something of myth in the meantime everyone in the know - knows that the Western Force has good solid sponsors unlike the ARU (which is the real reason O'Neil has been let back in the door) and we will grow in stature and creditability especially when we have (Sharpie, Gitts, Mitchell, Staniforth, Pussey,Cross, Pelly, Pocock, Ioane and Hardy called up for a spots in the RWC squad)

[travelling_gerry]

http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/ar...089325445.html

ARU probes all 33 players out west

Jacquelin Magnay and Gerard Ryle
Saturday, June 9, 2007

Former Waratahs scrum half Chris O'Young has come under the scrutiny of the Australian Rugby Union as part of its ongoing investigation into player contracting by the Western Force.

Other third-party arrangements involving Force players, such as re-negotiated deals with the highest-paid player in the game, Matt Giteau, are also under the spotlight.

It is understood the ARU is closely inspecting arrangements that were put in place in 2005, before the player payment protocols were instigated, and is checking whether employment promises were followed through. One Super 14 provincial club has queried ARU officials about allegations Western Force paid some players for promised part-time jobs that never eventuated.

The ARU has asked for contract details of all 33 Western Force players but is understood to be particularly interested in a deal concerning O'Young, who went to Perth in 2005 for two seasons. He was recently released to play in Glasgow. During his tenure in Perth, O'Young was employed one to two days a week with the financial institution BankWest.

It is understood the ARU had not been notified of O'Young's employment arrangement, which has caused some concern. It is standard practice for Super 14 clubs to notify the ARU of outside arrangements. Another Force player, Brendan Cannon, obtained approval from the ARU to work as a property consultant.

However, other third-party player contracts such as the $4.5million Giteau deal are firmly under the spotlight, despite an earlier ARU investigation that found no evidence of breaches of protocols. Giteau has had late payments from one of his third-party sponsors, Firepower, and is in dispute with his manager.

The ARU has sought specific information from all Western Force players about their sponsorship arrangements, employment in Western Australia including speaking engagements, and jobs outside of rugby union.

BankWest head of corporate affairs, Ray Jordan, confirmed O'Young was employed part-time with BankWest. He worked one to two days a week in the human resources department from February 2006 until May 2007.

"When the Western Force approached us they were looking for opportunities and we had a shortage in the human resources area and Chris had that background. It gave him experience in corporate life and the arrangement worked pretty well, he was with us one to two days a week."

The investigation by the ARU follows revelations in the Herald that the Force's chief executive, Peter O'Meara, prepared an employment offer for Waratahs forward Al Kanaar that included potential third-party arrangements, which may be in breach of ARU player contract protocols.

Western Force chairman Geoff Stooke has previously noted that O'Meara had reassured him he had always complied with ARU contract protocols with respect to third-party arrangements.

Some player managers yesterday said they had yet to receive the ARU letters inquiring about contracts held by their Force clients and that they may withhold such information so as not to breach confidentiality clauses.

They questioned the legitimacy of the player protocols and were awaiting a directive from the Rugby Union Players' Association.

An ARU inquiry into Force's alleged negotiations with Kanaar led to a $110,000 fine last May. In an appeal in June the fine was reduced and part of it suspended.

One of the issues expected to be revisited is a signed letter from O'Meara that outlined a $258,000 offer to Kanaar via his manager, including cash, travel, a car allowance and a third-party arrangement with a sponsor, which was underwritten by the club.




http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/ar...089325442.html

Force on the Russian front

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Firepower plans to use Wallabies as its foot soldiers in Russia, reveal Gerard Ryle and Jacquelin Magnay.

Controversial side payments to players at the Western Force are linked to an ambitious plan for a rugby union super league in Russia, in which Wallabies may be required to give coaching clinics in Moscow.

The Herald understands a proposal - drawn up for the controversial Perth fuel technology company Firepower - involves bringing Russian players and coaches to the Force's rugby academy, sponsored by Firepower.

What makes the proposal unusual is that Russia is considered a third-tier rugby nation by the International Rugby Board, ranked along with such lightweights as Portugal, Namibia and Morocco.

Russia failed to qualify for the past four Rugby World Cups.

Yet part of the plan is to establish Russia as a full member of the IRB executive council within four years and create a cross-border competition called the EurAsia Cup by next year. The Russian SuperLeague involves eight clubs, with a target of 12 to 16 clubs by 2011 with average attendances at games in 2006 being 3285.

"The potential is high and there is no reason why Russia should not become a major force within what is the second largest team sport in the world," the proposal states.

It is unclear if complete details of the proposal are known by the board of the Western Force and by the Australian Rugby Union.

Western Force spokesman Tom Baddeley said: "I am not aware of [the Russian proposal] specifically but what I am aware of is that there have been in discussions about Rugby WA becoming a centre of excellence for second- and third-tier rugby nations getting involved with our program."

Any proposals for hosting foreign players had centred on a planned new facility that would be shared with other sporting codes and the local Institute of Sport, he said.

The proposal was drawn up late last year as part of Firepower's sponsorship of the Rugby Union of Russia (RUR). The RUR says other sponsors are Nemiroff, Deutsche Bank, Renasissance Capital, British Airways and DHL. Firepower is also a major sponsor of the Western Force.

Firepower, whose fuel pill is under scrutiny from authorities in Western Australia, has a joint venture business partnership with one of Russia's most controversial businessmen, Grigory Luchansky.

Luchansky is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen who has reportedly been the subject of intense scrutiny by Interpol, Britain's MI6 and Israeli law enforcement. He has at times been banned from entering Canada and once was denied entry to Britain and the US.

Firepower chairman Tim Johnston told The West Australian newspaper in June last year he had signed a $400million deal with a group of Russian refineries.

Johnston is understood to be seeking to list his company on London's Alternative Investment Market. The listing has been postponed several times since March last year.

Johnston recently bought the Sydney Kings basketball team for a reported $2 million. Firepower is also a major sponsor of South Sydney rugby league team.

The proposal drawn up by Russian rugby officials suggests that young players from Russia would study at the Firepower Rugby WA Academy and "Firepower coaches and players" would conduct coaching clinics in Moscow.

The Herald understands this is a reference to players at the Western Force who are receiving side payments from Firepower, including Matt Giteau, the country's most expensive recruit.

Giteau is believed to be one of six "Firepower ambassadors" - all Wallabies players - who were unveiled by Johnston when he accompanied the team during a tour of South Africa in February.

That announcement caught the club itself by surprise, according to Force chairman, Geoff Stooke. "There were player arrangements that came to our attention that took us quite by surprise," he told the Herald last week.

"There was a note passed around in Africa which talked about the overall business of Firepower, the products they were developing and distributing and these players would be ambassadors and it detailed who they were."

Some of the ambassadors were approached directly by Johnston, by-passing player managers.

The Australian Rugby Union last week launched an investigation into player contract negotiations involving the Western Force after it was revealed by the Herald that some were in breach of ARU protocols.

The Western Force's aggressive policy of attracting star players has long drawn suspicion from the ARU and other Super 14 clubs. It has been central to the team's rapid improvement. The club rose from wooden-spooners last year to the second most successful Australian team this season.

[The EnForcer]

Yup Gerry, those were the two articles i read this morning that sparked me up!!!!

Hey btw, has anybody noticed that one of the NSW sponsors is Enforcer Rugby....I feel a law suit coming on!

[travelling_gerry]

Heres a good one.....2 versions of the same story

from Rugby Heaven - Sydney Morning Herald

It is understood the ARU had not been notified of O'Young's employment arrangement, which has caused some concern. It is standard practice for Super 14 clubs to notify the ARU of outside arrangements. Another Force player, Brendan Cannon, obtained approval from the ARU to work as a property consultant.

And from Fox Sports - Daily Telegraph

Some Force players have already responded, with at least one high-profile member of the squad revealing a third-party deal which is likely to be approved by the ARU.

[James]

Yes, but little did everyone know Cannon was working as second hand man for Le Chiffre who is investing Fire Power terrorist money into the London stock exchange. What a wonderful job the Herald has done to uncover this international crime operation. They deserve a nobel peace prize for journalism.

[shasta]

I said here, when this story first broke that The Force and O'Meara may have been indirectly targetted by the SMH and that the main target seemed to be Firepower. If this was right then the sights seem to have been shifted directly to The Force. The SMH wouldn't target them on what seems to be more a matter of procedure rather than anything 'suss' just because their sponsored team is still smarting, or would they?

No. There must be some other agenda being run here and it's starting to do real harm.
The investigative journo involved has a pretty fair profile so I wonder what gives? Doesn't seem likely to be merely a spoiler against O'Meara now. JO'N's already got the nod.His e mail address is below. Should we invite him to fill us in?


FROM THE SMH WEBSITE
Gerard Ryle
Investigative editor


Gerard Ryle has been at the Herald since 1998, serving on the newsdesk, as features editor, special correspondent to the United States and as an investigative reporter. He previously worked for The Age, where his work on police corruption had massive ramifications.

His work has led to more than a dozen Federal, State and Senate inquiries ranging from land deals to blood safety. Gerard has won four Walkley Awards, two Commonwealth journalism awards, the George Munster Award for Independent Journalism, two Human Rights Awards, two Melbourne Press Club awards and prizes for science and medical writing.

He is one of only a handful of foreign journalists to be honoured in the prestigious Investigative Reporters and Editors awards in the United States.

He is a current Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan.

He can be reached at (02) 9282 2347 or gryle@smh.com.au.

[travelling_gerry]

a Paul Barry in waiting...............