It won’t kill you to wait. Don’t text and drive.

    RUGBYWA MEDIA RELEASE

   Tuesday, 5 September 2017

RUGBYWA STATEMENT

Having now watched the ARU Chairman address the media today it is important that RugbyWA strongly contest the content of this interview.

Mr Clyne mentions that on August 2nd the ARU invited RugbyWA to make final offer to the ARU and said that RWA did not come back with anything substantive. This is not the fact.

On 4^th August RWA sent a long letter to the ARU which along with much else made the following points:

• Finance behind RWA is certain not uncertain.

• Though we have no visibility on the balance sheets of other franchises we highly doubt that there is another Australian franchise that has $2million cash at hand ready to contribute to its rugby program over and above traditional sources of income.  

• Before Mr Andrew Forrest’s recent commitment, we have always been highly confident (primarily through the feedback of those registrants who have not converted) that once we are able to announce that the Western Force will remain in the Super Rugby Competition we will convert a further minimum of $3million through our "Community Ownership model to reach our minimum target of $5 million. 

• With Mr Forrest’s support, this is an entirely different prospect.  We move from “highly confident” to “absolutely certain”.  

• To put this into context Mr Forrest (AO) has advised us, you and the Rugby community in the most public way possible that he will “Do What it takes” to save the Western Force and ensure our long-term stability.   

• We consider this is a verbal contract. This is a man who recently donated $400million to a wide range of social and scientific causes. The largest philanthropic donation by a living Australian. Mr Forrest and his team have carefully considered how they can best support the Western Force and have endorsed the Own The Force campaign by designing a revision to our current plan that will basically double the outcome by uniquely assisting new members who may not have been able to afford “up-front payments” in financing their membership.  Mr Forrest is a man of his word, a very proud West Australian and someone who constantly remains in the National Spotlight.  

• With respect, you should not be doubting his word or his intent. Own The Force is only one avenue available to him.  “

Mr Clyne also indicates that the ARU was and continued to be in dialogue with RugbyWA. This misrepresents the position in that themajority of dialogue was initiated by the ARU's lawyers. If fact, we understand that Andrew Forrest sought to meet with the ARU on numerous occasions both before and after August 4th.

These meetings were declined by the ARU Chairman with the only meeting occurring in Adelaide 22^nd August where, despite promisingtwo days earlier that the ARU were prepared to negotiate a reinstatement of the Western Force, the ARU Chairman again rebuffed Andrew Forrest's generous offer of both underwriting the Western Force and support Australian Rugby to the tune of $50 million.

Our view remains that since receiving legal advice in February the ARU Chairman had formed the view that the Western Force were the only team that could legally be removed from the competition. For the ARU to suggest that there was an objective and transparent process, evaluating the merits of both the Force and the Rebels, was misleading and disrespectful to the Western Australian and Victorian Rugby Unions.

It is now time for all the Australian member unions to hold the ARU Board accountable for the misinformation and lost opportunity to Australian rugby.

Should the Australian member unions not be prepared to hold the ARU Board accountable for the misleading process, the loss of an Australian Super Rugby side and $50million then we are confident the proposed Senate enquiry will.