Force Goooooooone
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Just announced, the Force has been given the arse. Don't think we have heard the last of this one.
Western Force axed from Super Rugby - Australian Rugby Union
SYDNEY, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The Australian Rugby Union have decided to axe the Perth-based Western Force team from Super Rugby.
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Wrong choice
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Indeed, should have been the Reds
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shoulda been the Rebels.
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Fark, they must be pissed after finishing 2nd.
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Should have cut the Rebels. They cut the wrong team.
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From the ARU website:
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Titus O'Reily summed this situation up pretty well in his weekly AFL preview.
If you substitue Tasmania for The Force, and GC/Western Sydney for The Rebels, it's pretty fucking apt
Think of it like this, Tasmania is someone that currently goes to the gym. They can only go twice a week due to other commitments, but they go and enjoy it. Western Sydney and the Gold Coast are more like me. They don’t go to the gym, but they have the potential to go seven days a week because they’ve got nothing else on. Therefore, they have way more potential when it comes to going to the gym. Just look at the numbers, Tasmania, two days a week tops, me seven days a week. Now, the one thing the AFL seems to have missed is that I hate going to the gym. Sure, I visited the local gym once, but that’s because from the outside it looks a bit like an ice cream shop. That’s the problem with investing in potential when it comes to things that involve people, we rarely meet our potential. -
Could have been any of the Aussie teams really.
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Chuck this on the "Aussie Rugby in general" thread.
Pretty fucked, really. WA starting to deliver a few players but the time zone and travel were bollocks.
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@NTA said in Force Goooooooone:
Chuck this on the "Aussie Rugby in general" thread.
Pretty fucked, really. WA starting to deliver a few players but the time zone and travel were bollocks.
Given the number of games each week, the time zone didn't really seem that bad. Ended up being able to fit two Aussie games into a night.
Looking at the improvements to rugby in WA and the state of the Rebels, this is a really shit decision. But I guess that's what happens when you're run by the gutless ARU, who were probably terrified of the legal action dropping a team they don't own would bring. I would've even cut the Brumbies, who had an empty stadium for a fucking quarter final, before the Force (or dropped the Rebels and moved the Brumbies to Melbourne).
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@mariner4life said in Force Goooooooone:
Titus O'Reily summed this situation up pretty well in his weekly AFL preview.
If you substitue Tasmania for The Force, and GC/Western Sydney for The Rebels, it's pretty fucking apt
Think of it like this, Tasmania is someone that currently goes to the gym. They can only go twice a week due to other commitments, but they go and enjoy it. Western Sydney and the Gold Coast are more like me. They don’t go to the gym, but they have the potential to go seven days a week because they’ve got nothing else on. Therefore, they have way more potential when it comes to going to the gym. Just look at the numbers, Tasmania, two days a week tops, me seven days a week. Now, the one thing the AFL seems to have missed is that I hate going to the gym. Sure, I visited the local gym once, but that’s because from the outside it looks a bit like an ice cream shop. That’s the problem with investing in potential when it comes to things that involve people, we rarely meet our potential.I guess the major difference between the AFL and the ARU ( from what I can gather )
The AFL have money to burn and are prepared to keep throwing it away to get what they want in the end , even if it takes a long time and proves to be expensive
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ARU to discontinue Western Force Super Rugby Licence
By ARU Media Unit
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has today resolved to discontinue the Western Force Super Rugby licence. The decision comes after several weeks of consultation with Rugby bodies and stakeholders, including Government and commercial partners. ARU Chairman, Cameron Clyne said: “The ARU Board has today made the decision to discontinue the Western Force as the Super Rugby competition reverts to fifteen teams for the 2018 season. “This has been a complex process to reduce Australia’s Super Rugby representation to four teams as agreed by SANZAAR following its review of the competition. “We are regretful that this issue has consumed so much of the public commentary on the game in 2017. It was clearly not our intention for this to play out over such a lengthy period however there have been factors outside the ARU’s control that have prevented us from completing the process. “Our decision to exit the Western Force has been guided primarily by financial outcomes. “As we have reinforced throughout this process, there are commercial realities which are linked to declining on-field performance across our Super Rugby teams which has put Australian Rugby in a position where it can no longer sustain five teams. “Furthermore, the significant unbudgeted support funding that has been provided to Super Rugby teams over the past five years has greatly affected our capacity to invest in community Rugby. “This is a sad day for Rugby, especially for Western Force fans. We accept that there will be anger and resentment over this decision and we sympathise with those fans. We sincerely hope that they are not lost to the game forever. “The decision to exit the Western Force from Super Rugby is not a decision to abandon the game in Western Australia. “Western Australia will retain an important place in Australian Rugby and the ARU will continue to support youth development programs and the community game in the West. There will be a clear pathway for young Western Australian Rugby players to reach the highest level and represent the Wallabies. “Our immediate concern is to support the individuals at the Western Force through these difficult circumstances and we will deploy various ARU management staff to Western Australia to provide assistance to all players and staff.” -
What a shambles. Personally think getting rid of the brumbies would have been the way to go, despite their success.
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Now Pulver has quit...
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@Unite As he fucking should
The prick has more money than God and doesn't need the gig
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@Billy-Tell said in Force Goooooooone:
What a shambles. Personally think getting rid of the brumbies would have been the way to go, despite their success.
Financially I'd have thought the brumbies were gone. But they are the most successful Aussie franchise, how would that look...
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Pulver to step down after Super Rugby saga
ARU CEO Bill Pulver says he will step aside as soon as the governing body has a replacement, after announcing the ARU's decision to cut the Western Force. -
@canefan said in Force Goooooooone:
@Billy-Tell said in Force Goooooooone:
What a shambles. Personally think getting rid of the brumbies would have been the way to go, despite their success.
Financially I'd have thought the brumbies were gone. But they are the most successful Aussie franchise, how would that look...
Both the Perth and Melbourne clubs have haemorrhaged money over the years. Brumbies are semi-stable despite drawing fuck all gate.
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@NTA said in Force Goooooooone:
@canefan said in Force Goooooooone:
@Billy-Tell said in Force Goooooooone:
What a shambles. Personally think getting rid of the brumbies would have been the way to go, despite their success.
Financially I'd have thought the brumbies were gone. But they are the most successful Aussie franchise, how would that look...
Both the Perth and Melbourne clubs have haemorrhaged money over the years. Brumbies are semi-stable despite drawing fuck all gate.
Wasn't that billionaire going to bankroll Perth or was that rubbish? Personally I couldn't see them kicking out the bum boys
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@NTA What was the outcome of the "creative accounting" thing that caused a stir at the Brumbies a few years back?
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“Our decision to exit the Western Force has been guided primarily by financial outcomes.Am I the only one that reads that to mean that they can't afford to pay/buy out the owners of the Rebels, so they went with the Force because that is what they can afford to do right now?
I think it is a mistake. I am hardly an expert on the Australian sporting landscape, but from here it looks like nobody gives a shit about the Rebels in Melbourne. Long term I thought the Force had a better chance of being a medium fish in a medium pond, while the Rebels will always be drowned out by AFL in Melbourne.
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Some reactions:
Following today’s arbitration decision in favour of the ARU, and the subsequent announcement from ARU to discontinue the Western Force, RUPA CEO Ross Xenos has released the following statement: “Today's is the darkest day in the history of Australian Rugby with the custodian of the game confirming their desire to end the tenure of the Western Force and abandoning the game's national footprint." "The future of professional Rugby in Western Australia will now be the collateral damage of the decision making of the ARU and SANZAAR to expand Super Rugby to a convoluted and complicated 18 team structure against various advice and modelling received which explained the associated risks." “Players, staff and their families at the Western Force have been put under unprecedented and, quite frankly, completely unreasonable duress throughout this ridiculous and destructive process." “RUPA has and will continue to provide any support that is necessary for all players affected by the ARU's decision. We have staff in Perth and are in regular contact with all contracted players at the Force and their respective agents. RUPA will do whatever it takes to ensure that players' contractual rights are honoured and no player is unfairly disadvantaged by the ARU’s decision." “The people of Western Australia have campaigned fairly, passionately and with integrity in order to show that the Western Force deserve to have a place in Super Rugby. That campaign has fallen on deaf ears. We understand that Rugby WA are considering their legal position from this point forward and we respect their rights to explore such avenues." Out of respect for the players and staff at the Western Force, RUPA will not be making any further comment at this time. -
@Higgins from memory, the guy in charge had them over a barrel so they paid him out and shut him up. Probably cost them a bit
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On 9 September, the Wallabies will play the Springboks in Perth. Wonder how many people will show up.
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@canefan Twiggy Forrest is still there and promising a lot, but maybe he saw the writing on the wall and used it for a bit of cheap publicity.
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Completely wrong call. Western Australia had no league to contend with and was developing players. WA developed Wallabies. Rebels - can't think of a Wallaby from Victoria.
Wallabies go well and Aussie rugby thrives. Still 4 teams probably better reflect their depth, but Rebels should have been the team to go.
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@Rugger-Quizzes And that's the thing: we'd better win some fucking games this year in gold or things are going to get sour very quickly.
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Force say they will take it to court
The Western Force are set to take the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) to court after being axed from the Super Rugby competition - and billionaire Andrew Forrest has vowed to back them.
The ARU won its arbitration hearing against RugbyWA on Friday, and immediately announced it would axe the Force.
But the saga isn't about to end, with RugbyWA releasing a statement saying it will consider launching urgent proceedings in the Supreme Court of NSW.
It will also consider mounting legal action relating to the circumstances which led it to enter into the Alliance Agreement last year with the ARU.
Forrest reaffirmed his pledge to do everything within his powers to save the Force, with the issue set to be fought out in the courts."We want leadership from the Australian Rugby Union, not cowardly litigation," Forrest said.
"But if they want to continue to fight us, we will happily take them on for as long as it takes.
"This (decision by the ARU) is like dumping the fastest improving athlete or the silver medallist from the Olympic swimming squad and leaving the worst performer in there."It is a ludicrous and unfair legal initiative by the ARU. This would only get through litigation and never logic."
The Force had grown confident in recent weeks they would survive the axe, but Friday's arbitration decision leaves them on death's door.
The Perth-based franchise finished second in the Australian conference during the Super Rugby season, and had nine players selected last month in an extended Wallabies squad.
Grassroots rugby in WA has also grown from strength to strength since the Force's 2006 introduction.
But if the Force's expected appeal fails, they will be left with no choice but to wrap up operations.
The ARU said the decision to "discontinue the Force's licence" was based primarily on financial outcomes.
ARU chairman Cameron Clyne said Australian rugby couldn't sustain five teams.
The Melbourne Rebels had been the other team on the chopping block, but they are safe.
The Victorian Rugby Union owns the Rebels after buying them from former owner Andrew Cox for $1."This is a sad day for rugby, especially for Western Force fans," Clyne said in a statement.
"We accept that there will be anger and resentment over this decision and we sympathise with those fans. We sincerely hope that they are not lost to the game forever."The decision to exit the Western Force from Super Rugby is not a decision to abandon the game in Western Australia.
"Western Australia will retain an important place in Australian rugby and the ARU will continue to support youth development programs and the community game in the West."There will be a clear pathway for young Western Australian rugby players to reach the highest level and represent the Wallabies."
The Force's best finish was in 2014, when they only narrowly missed the finals with a 9-7 record.
The Force made vast improvement this year under rookie coach Dave Wessels, unearthing a host of talented players who the franchise hoped would carry them to a title within three years."Whilst the board of RugbyWA is extremely disappointed with the ARU's stated position, with the support of the Rugby community and numerous WA business identities including Mr Andrew Forrest we will continue the fight to retain the Force in Western Australia," the Force said in a statement.
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Wrong one.
ARU are hopeless.
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At least the ARU have been honest in declaring it came down to money.
Fact is the ARU are deep in the shit monetarily and the biggest overhead with the least output is the one to go. Pity they didn't apply that thinking to the Wallabies players a while back.
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Yep, shit decision. The ARU need to start making rugby decisions not basing everything purely on money or their ship will sink completely.
I hope the Rebels don't win a game next year.
One positive to come out of this however is that we have avoided the farcical situation where the ARU suddenly decides they don't want to cut a side like has been regularly suggested since this all began.
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@Crucial said in Force Goooooooone:
At least the ARU have been honest in declaring it came down to money.
Fact is the ARU are deep in the shit monetarily and the biggest overhead with the least output is the one to go. Pity they didn't apply that thinking to the Wallabies players a while back.
I read that as a bit of a dig at the Rebels... suggesting they were forced into a shit decision by financial blackmail. Just trying to shift a little bit of the blame in some minds. Yellow.
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The Force are gone....giving the NRL a golden opportunity to expand to Perth and reap all the benefits.....
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ARU have pissed away about $13M on the Rebels since Day 1 according to some reports.
Force at least had a plan to have fans buy a share of the joint.
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@NTA said in Force Goooooooone:
ARU have pissed away about $13M on the Rebels since Day 1 according to some reports.
Force at least had a plan to have fans buy a share of the joint.
Rebels will never overtake AFL and the Storm, it would have been easy to ditch them
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@canefan said in Force Goooooooone:
Rebels will never overtake AFL and the Storm, it would have been easy to ditch them
I think the truth was the opposite.
This decision had nothing to do with rugby, or even money. It was just about which team they could legally cut. The Rebels ownership deal gave the ARU no outs whatsoever, apart from buying back the team. Once it became clear that was never going to happen, they couldn't kick the Rebels out if they tried.
The Force, on the other hand, had a clause the ARU could enact. Which they have, to the detriment of our game.
While people are rightfully slamming Pulver now, the real errors were made years ago when these deals were done.
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@barbarian I meant from a rugby POV. But yeah, looks like an epic fail by the ARU
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@barbarian I guess the question is why those decision had to be made in the first place. There has been fault on many sides dating back a few years now.
Looking at the talent pool I think 4 teams is where Australian rugby is at. It's a tough decision but one that makes the most "sense" given the ownership arrangements. Very tough pill to swallow for fans etc, but Pulver hasn't been the only one that has made this bed.
Reducing Super rugby teams is a positive IMO, within the current SANZAAR model and TV deal.
Of course there are more structural issues that need to be addressed that go to the future of Super rugby but these short term decisions did need to be made. There will be a fallout no doubt.
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