Force Goooooooone
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Honestly, SANZAAR shouldn't be the ones running Super Rugby. You look at most other major pro comps around the world and they're run by organisations that exist solely to look after and grow their comps. Then you look at Super Rugby and there's three (now four but I'm not sure how much influence the Argies have) different unions with different interests constantly pulling the comp in different directions. That's why we got the fifth Aussie team, the fifth and sixth SA teams, the Japanese team, the god awful conference system, shit teams being handed token spots in the finals, the June test break right in the worst possible spot, the absolutely fucked schedule and now three teams being dropped (one of which was the second best team in the Aussie conference).
Most of those problems were obvious and pointed out long beforehand but SANZAAR never gave a shit how much they hurt the comp because each union was getting what they wanted and they all seemed to figure the comp could just work around their goals.
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I don't know why the Aussies are having a whinge about SANZAAR. Last time i checked the Aussies made up 1/3 of SANZAR when expansion started. The ARU are the ones that pushed for a new Aust team in the AFL fortress. They are the ones that fucked up by not including clauses in their franchise contracts allowing them to cut/change teams and they are the ones who have failed to provide enough high quality players for their teams by throwing money at league players and guys like Beiba while neglecting grass roots.
SANZAAR deserve criticism but the ARU are part of that.
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It's getting more and more "interesting".
The $20 million deal that punted the Western Force out of Super Rugby
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@Stargazer said in Force Goooooooone:
It's getting more and more "interesting".
The $20 million deal that punted the Western Force out of Super Rugby
Massive stretch at the end of the article re team names and where they're from
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@mooshld said in Force Goooooooone:
I heard a rumor they are in talks with the sun rebels now about a merger.
MY source is reddit so I will take it with a pinch of salt but its an interesting idea.
The same sauce that named the AB side before it was announced on sacred Thursday....
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Force Supreme Court decision handed down:
The Western Force has had its appeal dismissed in the Supreme Court this morning, meaning the club is still set for the Super Rugby axe. The club's billionaire backer Andrew Forrest has flagged taking the fight to the Court of Appeal and the High Court, any further action would be determined by whether or not the club can gain an injunction to again pause the process. If you would like to read the full explanation of the appeal and the subsequent decision, click here. In the discussion part of the document, Justice Hammerschlag explained the basis of his decision by delving into the legalities of the Alliance Agreement. ...It waffles on from there into the legalese.
Most importantly: Best Judge name ever.
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What I really would like to know is what they are going to do with all these players that are (still) contracted to the Force. These guys and their families need financial security and have already been waiting for a long time. What's going to happen to them? I can't remember reading about any firm plans from the ARU about ensuring that these players aren't without a job after the NRC/international season.
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@booboo said in Force Goooooooone:
So Forrest will start his own comp
He won't. He can't. The ARU is the ruling union in the country. No one else is going to play in Twiggy's comp because those unions (New Zealand, South Africa, etc.) want to be able to play internationally and he doesn't have a bottomless pit of money.
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He can because as long as his players are registered with the ARFU all they have to do is apply for an international clearance to be able to play in a match overseas. Provided the players are not holders of any ARFU professional contract there is no valid reason for the ARFU to withhold the clearance. About the only impediment looks to be the players local club and they can only withhold their clearance if they have not paid their subscription (or not returned all club issued gear). Similarly all incoming players only need a clearance from their home union.
Having said that you are right, it will cost him a huge amount of money to run so unless he gets some major buy in from the Japan RFU it will mostly have to come out of his own pocket as sponsorship is unlikely to go anywhere near covering the costs.
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Hodgson responds to Supreme Court call
An emotional Matt Hodgson fought back tears while vowing to fight back with the Force, after Rugby WA's appeal was dismissed in the Supreme Court this morning. Hodgson, mining magnate Andrew Forrest and coach Dave Wessels all fronted media in Perth this morning, in response to the Supreme Court decision. Fighting back tears, Hodgson spoke with pride when asked about the Force's future in a rebel competition, which was announced by Forrest moments before the ex-captain fronted the cameras. "We will always be known as the Force," Hodgson said. "We will always represent WA, we will always wear the blue proudly and we will always wear the gold as well. "We always want to represent what we have done here in the last 12 years, we don't want to forget what we have done, we are just pushing forward as a club and as a unit. "We may not be called the Force, they might take that away, we might send them a bill for it but we will always be known as the Western Force and as long as Western Australia is in our name somewhere we will be proud to put that on." Hodgson expressed his frustration, once again, with the way the decision has been handled by the ARU board. "Again, today, they're not here," Hodgson said. "No one has called me, no one has talked to meI thought I did good for the sport for 12 years, representing and captaining my country and no one has spoken to me about this. "A phone call would be nice, a reason would be even nicer again."Apparently there is a Test match on this weekend that both of them will be watching so I am free Friday night if they want to come over for dinner and we can talk about these decisions." Asked how fans would react, Hodgson said he expected them to wear blue or black - as a sign of mourning - to the Wallabies' clash with the Springboks on Saturday night. "Fans will be angry," he said. "The process, the reason, the transparency, the corruption, it's been frustrating. "I don't think the fans or the players will deal with it well. "Shrinking the game, taking away half the country and the fastest growing juniors, 5000 people on the hill to watch the Perth Spirit, you're taking that away from them." (...) -
He also said he had plans to set up a new six-team rugby competition in the Indo-Pacific region, with a Perth-based team to participate.
Perth, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands?
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Ghost of Kerry Packer looks down on Twiggy Forrest and smiles
"I love seeing this shit," said Packer.
Ghost of Kerry Packer looks down on Twiggy Forrest and smiles
The philanthropic mining magnate announced heāll start a rival rugby competition to Super Rugby similar to the IPL cricket championship that will guarantee the future of the Force. Speaking to The Advocate through a local spirit medium, Mr Packer said he was happy to see another billionaire give something back to the punter. āGood on him for going rogue,ā said Kerry. āSeeing a bloke back himself against the establishment is just the best. Reminds me of me crushing the old cricketing guard. Shit I crushed them,ā āAnyway, I wish the best of luck to our new little ārebelā Twiggy and good on him. Ciao.ā The medium then collapsed and writhed around on the floor speaking in tongues. At the press conference this morning, Mr Forrest said today marked a bright new dawn for the struggling football code, which has waned in popularity recently. āIf you look at it this way, itās a big fuck you to the ARU and every fluffybunny involved in it,ā said Forrest. āThis is what happened with cricket. Iāve got money coming out my fucking ears and I love the Western Force more than Tame Impala or a cold Export Tin on Rottnest,ā āIām doing this because I love rugby more than I hate the ARU.ā More to come. -
A footnote: a few people have asked of Twiggy Forrest's whereabouts, particularly with his $50M offer in tow, over the last few years.
Its a good point, but someone pointed out that Fortescue Metals Group (Twiggy's main interest) has sponsored the Force for years.
I had a look, and it appears they're a jersey sponsor for Matt Hodgson. So hardly in the order of $50M, even if he was involved.
Not that this makes the ARU look any less like a pack of shunts. They say they'd be insolvent by end 2019 with 5 teams. But there is fairly solid evidence they'd be insolvent by the end of 2020 with 4 teams, too.
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Pretty shitty that it's the Force that had to go - they seem to be the most family orientated / rugby values at the fore of all the Aussie teams. True, they haven't won much, and at times have been nothing other than whipping boys, but I always thought it was good to have them in there.
Over the years Ive made an effort to watch the kiwi teams against the Force, I've made ZERO effort to watch them play the Rebels, and latter, the Sunwolves.
I fear for the future of Super rugby, and as a follow on, professional rugby in New Zealand. Super is such a shambles, and the crowd numbers are terrible. The Safa's have their foot in the NH now, and with them being the dependent cash cow to the Super tournament, and then being on an equal footing with the NH, it makes so much sense for them to dissolve Sanzaar and focus on the NH.
The decision to keep the Rebels and dump the force, just reeks of the sort of thinking that has seen the tournament become what it has.
Emotional Hodgson responds to Supreme Court call
