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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...5cf8e0e30f5741
WAYNE SMITH
Senior sport writerBrisbane
@WayneKeithSmith
Billionaire Perth mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has *offered to broaden his support from merely the Western Force and RugbyWA to also include rugby generally through Australia — but, until now, he has been snubbed by the Australian Rugby Union.
That should be music to the ears of the embattled ARU, which was forced to embark on its high-risk strategy of culling one of its five Super Rugby teams precisely because it was running short of money.
Forrest, after all, has given away $400 million to charity over the past year and he and his wife Nicole have indicated they want to give away the majority of their wealth during their lifetimes.
That such a person should come knocking on the door of Australian rugby should have been the answer to every work-related prayer ARU chairman Cameron Clyne and chief executive Bill Pulver have offered up in recent times. Instead, the ARU hierarchy has shunned Forrest, declining him even the chance to discuss the matter face-to-face.
In a letter yesterday to Clyne and the ARU board of directors, a copy of which was leaked to The Weekend Australian, Forrest repeated his offer to help the game nationally on condition that the ARU reinstate the Force’s Super Rugby licence.
“As an Australian philanthropist and businessman, who is offering my full support to the Western Force, to RugbyWA and rugby generally in Australia, your approach to hiding behind litigation, instead of leadership, is personally and deeply upsetting to me,” Forrest wrote. “I do expect to be treated respectfully and I do not expect to be lied to (and) then repeatedly denied an audience with you.”
The letter, however, might yet produce a good outcome, with an ARU spokesman indicating to this newspaper that while Clyne had not yet responded to Forrest, he was inclined to grant him the meeting he requests.
Nonetheless, Forrest still had not received a reply eight hours after emailing the letter to the national union.
“Hearing that the ARU would meet with me via the media is no more reliable than the ARU’s initial assurance that they would talk to me once arbitration was over,” Forrest said. “They did exactly the opposite. They have not mailed a response or picked up the phone. Making representations to the media and not to me directly does not hold water.”
The ARU initially deferred a proposed meeting with Forrest while it was involved in arbitration proceedings with the Force, claiming it would meet with him after the hearing was over. Yet within hours of winning the arbitration result last Friday, it moved to discontinue the Force as a Super Rugby entity.
In response, the Force had lodged their intention to apply for leave to appeal the decision in the NSW Supreme Court. The hearing has been set for Wednesday and if the Force are granted leave, it is understood their appeal could then be heard immediately.
“Win or lose the appeal, you, the board, should show leadership and support the Western Force, if only because it’s the right thing to do. My support for the Western Force will not waiver,” Forrest wrote.
Forrest complained that the continual refusal of the ARU to consider alternative solutions to shutting the Western Force down was a “terrible indictment” of the national body’s stewardship.
“I have made it abundantly clear to the ARU that my support extends nationally but is predicated on the national union conforming to the basic values of the game which seeks to nurture, support, and grow rugby on a national footprint.
“This is not leadership. It is shockingly poor governance. The current crisis you have created is a neglect of your duties as directors and a fundamental breach of your duties to the game.”
The ARU could head off a potential crisis on another front by reinstating the Force, with the Western Australian government understood to be considering legal action after having spent around $120 million on upgrading nib Stadium for use by the team as their home ground.
Meanwhile, the Force will hold a public rally at their Perth headquarters at 9.30am tomorrow to give their supporters a chance to vent their rage at the ARU. Captain Matt Hodgson and newly-resigned ARU director Geoff Stooke will address the gathering.