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I think at this point it’s important to give credit where credit’s due re. John Eales. (yes i’m going to continue to use his real name and not some silly sledge of a nickname like a high school student) he’s been the most engaged with the supporters throughout this ‘process’ and seems happy to professionally respond to a heap of emails from the fan base, even when they have personal attacks in them - even when on holidays it seems.
While he’s not shining as bright for me as he used to. Gotta admire that about the bloke. It would be very easy for him to have an assistant screen his emails and delete ones about the discontinuation of the force’s licence. Those other f*ckers could learn a thing or two from him.
Looking on the other side of the coin, he and Brett Robinson Appear to have been instrumental in the whole corrupt saga.
Imho he has badly tarnished one of the strongest reputations in modern Australia.
C'mon the
Im not convinced. I beleive he is complicit in all of this. He was an instrumental architect of this whole sorry saga. He has grubby connections to some consulting/management firms who deal directly with the ARU and seems just as dirty as Clarke,Clyne and Pulver. I hope the senate inquiry throws the book at him and his legacy becomes ashes.
He attended the cafe in Adelaide with Patsy. Rejected the $50m offer before they sat down. Nuff said
The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor
They used to call him Nobody, as in Nobodys Perfect. Now they call him Nobody, as in The lights are on but Nobodys home.
Eales "I am a shareholder of International Quarterback"
http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/05/03...e-rugby-media/
Allison, Is there any indication in the annual reports, on what services were provided? I imagine a $200K PA deal and invoices would have to be signed off by the ARU CEO. His next door neighbour.
I posted this after Pulver's appearance. Now, having read that a lot of the seemingly more than double average running expenses of the Rabble could be squared away as "management" fees, consult fees and the like it makes you wonder if perhaps this rabid spending is just par for the course in Australian Rugby admin.
On reading the Hansard transcript I noticed how agitated Pulver was at the questioning about past funding arrangements to the Rebels/Imperium/VRU. He kept asking the relevance to the ToR's, and had that explained chapter and verse by Senator Reynolds. She also informed him that how much weighting past performance related to the scorecard was of major interest to the inquiry. He answered, almost too quickly, "The primary weighting was looking forward, not looking backwards."
Now, politicians are expert in these matters of how to get report/reviews to say exactly what you want. You just set them up so that they can arrive at no other conclusion than the desired one. Remembering that the "scorecard" was compiled with the help of "consultants", the tabling of the 13 ARU internal reviews of the past decade could prove interesting. "Independent" reviews can provide a lot of defensive ammo for people like the Pulver and Clyne when facing oversight of their dealings . So just how "independant" they were may be key.
Take the only one Pulver was prepared to mention - probably because Sydney based Rugby WA director David Vaux is involved somehow, was conducted by Saltbush Capital. Saltbush capital has been running 20-odd years and was founded by former Wallaby and ARU director Steve Williams and Sydney Uni RUFC Director and former player Patrick Allaway. These two are also involved in a venture capital enterprise called Allaway, Hawker, Williams. Bet you can't guess which Hawker. .
Now, I'm not unaware of the up-front and worldwide Rugby Business Network, though I know nothing of how it operates. But if the rest of those inquiries are provided by similarly "independant" operations you begin to wonder what real value they provide, apart from being a nice little earner. The ARU governance model is supposed to be best practice and chock full of directors more than capable of running the show, presumably without the need for "outside" help from their mates more than once a year. And with few results due to those pesky state Unions not playing ball, according to Pulver.
Interesting times.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
No mention no. Just says services and says they were 'at arms length' or some such. I don't have access to the docs until I get home tonight so will check then. I Googled the company though and it looks like they source sponsorship opportunities for sporting organisations. I assume therefore that the services were in relation to that sort of work.
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Sent to Board member Brett Robinson
Dear Dr. Robinson,
The Senate Enquiry findings have now shown that the actions of the ARU in cutting the Western Force have been devious and despite Mr Clyne’s and Mr Pulver’s protests, have proved that right from the start the Western Force were the only team to be considered to be culled.
Mr Pulver, in the first Senate Enquiry hearing in Perth, made a big deal about grass roots rugby being underfunded as funds had to go to propping up the Super Rugby teams and mentioned a 6 million dollar a year saving by cutting a team however he was unable to confirm this saving would go directly to grass roots rugby. Now it appears that the money will be going to Super Rugby to pay for higher salary caps and larger squads. The decisions of this board are bleeding grass roots rugby dry.
Senator Reynolds, in her presentation to the Senate yesterday stated that the dealings of the ARU in respect to the sale of the Rebels to Andrew Cox and then the later sale to the VRU should be investigated further. She also alluded to some interference by someone with links to the ARU in an attempt to influence the findings of the Senate Committee. Surely if there was nothing to hide further investigation should not be a problem.
I remember many years ago following your rugby career with the Brumbies and it saddens me that someone with your rugby links seemingly cannot see the damage being done to Australian rugby. I have been a Wallabies supporter for 40 years but I feel I can no longer support my National team because of the actions of the board, in fact I feel so strongly about the situation that I will be contacting sponsors of the team to urge them to consider their sponsorship.
The actions of the board has seen the heart and soul of my team cut out in an attempt to revive the Rebels. Only today it was announced more Force players have signed for the Rebels to continue their careers. Players like Dickie Hardwick were given an opportunity to play SR in their home State and have taken that opportunity. I know he would not have gone if the Force had not been cut. He told me he grew up with the Force and players like Matt Hodgson were his idols. What is the future for all the other young players who now have no pathway here in WA.?
I would be pleased to hear your opinions on the matters above
Regards,
Thanks for your note and can I say up front how difficult the past 6 mths must have been for you and all of the rugby community of WA. As you mentioned I have been involved in rugby for my entire life and care deeply about it and all the gifts it has provided me with. As the GM of the ARU High performance Unit I was intimately involved in the establishment of the Force so have a deep affinity to Rugby in WA.
Unfortunately however over recent years the on field performance of our Super Rugby teams has been declining to the point where this year we did not beat a NZ team. This lack of on field success ultimately has had a significant impact on the commercial viability of our Super teams. We as the governing body of our sport had little choice but to seek to consolidate our talent to drive an improvement in performance that is directly correlated to commercial sustainability. The decision to go to 4 teams was endorsed by the members of our game and unfortunately for our WA rugby community that team was the Force. The decision was based on the information we had at the time and was driven by the financial position of the 2 organisation being considered for removal.
Whilst I understand this means little to you as you grieve the loss of your team it was the basis for where we got to. As for the pathway, we will continue to support the Perth Spirit and I am working directly with Andrew Forrest to see if we can't get the IPRC off the ground which will see a WA team.
Can I ask you to reconsider your support of the Wallabies as they represent this great country of ours and all that the game of rugby stands for and should not be the focus of your anger.