0
WAYNE SMITH
Senior sport writerBrisbane
@WayneKeithSmith
There were unconfirmed reports last night that Melbourne Rebels owner Andrew Cox had signed over the Super Rugby licence to the Victorian Rugby Union.
If true, it almost certainly spells the end of the Australian Rugby Union’s hopes of buying the licence back from Cox and closing down the Rebels, in accord with its promise to SANZAAR in January that it will cull one of its five Super Rugby sides in time for next season.
It is understood that no consortium is involved in the deal and that the VRU would assume stewardship of the Rebels, at least for the short term. How that would impact on Cox and his financial stake in the franchise remains to be seen.
This all comes as the Sunwolves, the Japanese Super Rugby side that is supposed to take the place of the Western Force or the Rebels — the two teams on the endangered list — in the Australian conference next year, are under pressure from SANZAAR to improve their competitiveness.
“SANZAAR have some concerns about the competitive nature of the Sunwolves and we’re working with them to make sure the team is more competitive,” a spokesman for the Japanese side told The Australian last night. “The participation agreement goes to 2020 so SANZAAR want to make sure that we have plans in place to ensure we are competitive, going forward.”
Notwithstanding the fact that the Sunwolves finished off the regular season with a stunning 48-21 victory over a Blues side that may have organised it’s end-of-season breakup trip a week early, the Japanese side has been a conspicuous underperformer in Super Rugby.
The expectation is that it will continue in the competition and become the fifth member of the Australian conference but the fact that SANZAAR already is pressuring it raises the intriguing question of what SANZAAR will do if the ARU is not able to honour its pledge to reduce to four teams.
A SANZAAR spokesman last night insisted there had been no talks, even of a preliminary nature, about the possibility that both the Force and the Rebels would resist the ARU attempt to expel them.
Yet it would be irresponsible of the ARU at this point not to be at least considering approaching SANZAAR with a warning that, because of legal manoeuvres, it cannot keep its word and that the 2018 Super Rugby draw will have to be done on the basis of all five Australian teams participating.
Intriguingly, an ARU spokesman said yesterday that no action would be taken by the national body before the arbitration process between the Force and the ARU has run its course. The process is expected to begin on Monday week.
If the court decides in favour of the Force, the Perth club cannot be kicked out Super Rugby before 2020, and maybe not even then, if the on-field performance of the side of late are taken into consideration.
In the event that the Force does prevail at arbitration, the ARU then would have no option but to cut the Rebels.
It is in this light that the ARU’s present inaction become understandable. The only way any deal between the VRU and Cox can be ratified is if the ARU signs off on it. But it would be extremely reluctant to do so if that thereby secured the future of the franchise.
Small wonder the ARU is keeping its powder dry, awaiting the outcome of the arbitration hearing, to determine if it is able to cull the Force — seemingly still its first preference — or, instead, move on to the Rebels.
If this whole imbroglio is not already complicated enough, there are further stumbling blocks. Even if the ARU wins the arbitration decision, that almost certainly will not be the end of it.
The Force had signalled its intention to appeal such a decision — though it will need to cite valid legal justification besides “we don’t like that decision, give us another one” — even before Perth billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest intervened in the crisis. But his assurance last weekend that he would stand behind the club through thick and thin suggests that the ARU might be faced with a lengthy and costly battle in the courts. Forrest’s involvement, however, does open up the possibility that the Force might play some of its matches in Melbourne next year if the Rebels were closed down. The two franchises have, curiously, formed a bond of oppression during the 103-day battle by the ARU to close down one of them and a merger of sorts could be the outcome.
One rumour, however, did prove to be entirely unfounded. There was a strong suggestion that Rob Clarke, who resigned last month as chief operations officer of the ARU, was acting as a consultant for the VRU/Rebels. However, Clarke contacted The Australian last night to insist there was no substance to the reports.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...f5429e3af5bb74