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Building a country in disunion
By Wayne Smith
January 24, 2008
THE fallout from the Australian Rugby Union's scrapping of the Australian Rugby Championship continues, with the Western Force revealing plans to tour Britain in August if no worthwhile competition to replace the ARC is put in place.
The ARU has given no indication of what, if anything, it plans to run this year, even as an interim measure, to fill the player development void, although a spokesman said a competition of some description was "still on the table".
Although the four Super 14 clubs have been asked to put aside a block of time in September-October for a possible round-robin tournament, no firm arrangements have been made.
In the interim, NSW has taken advantage of the hole in the program by extending the Sydney premiership to 22 weeks, which may make it logistically impossible for Super 14 contracted players to then go into an inter-provincial competition without cutting into their designated rest period before pre-season training in mid-October.
The Force, in typical fashion, has taken matters into its own hands by arranging a tour of Britain in August.
"We are very supportive of the ARU putting in place an interim replacement for the ARC, something that provides a high-level third-tier competition for contracted players," Rugby WA chairman Geoff Stooke said.
"But if that's not forthcoming, we're in the process of negotiating a development tour of the UK for a squad of about 30 players. Four of the top clubs there, Leicester, Saracens, Northampton and Ospreys have indicated they are prepared to play."
The tour will be funded by what Stooke described as "new money". A number of new sponsors had come forward to support the ARC, only to discover the wheels had been removed from their sponsorship vehicle.
The Victorian Rugby Union alone stands to lose $350,000 in contracts that were locked in around the Melbourne Rebels.
Stooke was adamant the Force did not want Sydney clubs ringing its players, taking advantage of the fact they were at a loose end following the cancellation of the ARC, a cancellation driven by vested Sydney interests, in the eyes of many critics.
"Not one of our players will be playing club rugby anywhere but here (in Perth)," Stooke vowed.
It is not just the Force that is digging in its heels against what it regards as a selfish and ultimately self-defeating attempt by Sydney powerbrokers to replace the ARC with a national club competition based around four or five of the wealthiest and most powerful Sydney clubs.
Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan told The Australian any Canberra club that joined the mooted series would be disaffiliated.
Fagan said "as a matter of principle", the ACT would not support a national club competition and identified a key repercussion that appears not to have occurred to Sydney supporters of the proposed series.
"I think it would cause enormous issues with the strength of our competition," Fagan said. "I think you would find players flowing to play with one club."
He stressed any new third-tier competition could involve no more than eight teams playing a minimum of eight matches and the Super 14 pathways needed to be recognised. In short, there would need to be teams drawing on the professional resources of the Brumbies and Force.
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pretty please?
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"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau." 
Originally Posted by zimeric
