ARU rejects Brumbies-Rebels Super merger

Wyn do I also need to mention the massive amount of money that has gone in to the Storm along with the debts they have had? Oops I just did.

'It was inevitable that bits and pieces of the debacle going on at this very moment, would emerge eventually. and if you read closely you’ll see that the Brumbies are not at all out of the overall possibility of getting dumped!' Is that more anti Brumbies drivel from Wayne Smith that you have to have an online subscription to read? Sorry I will give that a miss. If I want to read drivel I come on here at the price of my internet bill. Not paying extra for it. ;and if you read closely you’ll see that the Brumbies are not at all out of the overall possibility of getting dumped' You would want that wouldn't you. You have said that for the past 10 months. Well guess what the Brumbies and the ACT Government have lawyers too, like the Cheetahs and Force have an agreement to participate in a 18 team Super Rugby (which by the way the ARU is contracted to provide 5 teams in not 4), aren't going nowhere and ain't merging with no one. 'The SARU insisted they would have no problems cutting two teams, possibly the Cheetahs and the Kings' Well they are idiots and deluded. The Cheetahs already have their lawyers suing on the terms the Force are going down. As for the Kings the ANC will fill their boots as soon as the SARU clown college make their announcement.

Having encouraged him to leave the Force for the Brumbies in the first place.

Gazza whoever you are! Get a dog upya' and while you're doing that, just get to know what you're talking about! You need to get a.life and get that chip off your shoulders mate as it's obvious you can't bear seeing the written truth of all the problems in Aussie rugby ~ Further more you said it sunshine you handle all the bashing of Aussie rugby coz it needs it! ~ problem is the Aussie rugby is so bad, it needs all the bashing it can get! Just for you buttercup I was born in a Country where proper rugby is played and have turned.myself into an almost genuine Aussie many, many years ago and I've probably lived here longer than you've been around ~ like your style though putting up crap like that above is just like being savaged by a wet sheep! ~ You have a good day Gazza' but if you don't like what's put on here, don't read it, better still, get the he'll off here!

Pocock gets $760.000 for being on a sabbatical, ~ that is the heights of being ridiculous, he is but one player and he's not even anywhere near the best rugby player around!! Jeez!

Mate Kirky , I would stay out of the discussion if you have naff all to add other than pathetic Aussie Rugby bashing and if you hadn't noticed we don't need your help as we are pretty much in control of our own Aussie Rugby bashing so shove off , don't you have a sheep to shear or something .....?

Bakkies, I hope you read the articles in the "Australian" and "ABC" today mate, ~ very interesting reading indeed in regard the ''load of bull'' the ARU are putting out for us to chew on. It was inevitable that bits and pieces of the debacle going on at this very moment, would emerge eventually. and if you read closely you'll see that the Brumbies are not at all out of the overall possibility of getting dumped! The ARU is in big strife for sure, as at the latest meeting of the SANZAAR members to decide what format would be taking place come 2018, it was decided unanimously that three teams should go, two from the South African Conference and one from the Australian Conference, ~ The SARU insisted they would have no problems cutting two teams, possibly the Cheetahs and the Kings, thence the ARU insisted they'd have no issue dropping a Franchise, possibly the Force. What the ARU failed to tell Sanzaar was the Force had a signed and sealed legal Document saying that they were signatory to the playing rights of a Super Team in Australia until December 2020 at least, ~ to top it all off the Rebels have a legally bound document on similar lines as the Force! Sanzaar are aware of this Australian anomaly and have insisted the ARU get on with the process of ditching a Side as guaranteed else they, (SANZAAR} will sue them. So the ARU have misled Ruling Body Sanzaar by not informing them that the Force and Rebels have legal rights to continue beyond 2017 ~ it has told untruths in fact, and the ARU is being labelled as untrustworthy! Meanwhile some ''smart alec from within", organised the Brumbies to be absolved from the dumping process for no obvious reason except they don't deserve to go because they've been ''good boys'' for a number of years now having won a couple of Super Titles over a Decade ago! The other two Franchisees', Force and Rebels got onto this ''whitewash'' of the Brumbies, ~ hence the Court Action being instituted on their behalf and against the ARU if they even contemplate their removal! So in the general scheme of things the ARU as we all know are in a fair bit of strife, ~ If they don't cut their Conference quota to four teams, Sanzaar will sue them, ~ If they attempt to remove either of the two Teams mentioned here for possible removal they, will sue the ARU also, as they have legal Documents saying they can't be dropped. The SANZAAR Hierarchy were given a guarantee by the ARU that one team would be taken out of the Aussie' Conference, so they've misled the Governing Body as they can't drop anyone, and the only one Franchise who is the most likely to disappear one way or another, is the Brumbies, unless they also have a written Legal Document to the same effect as the Force and Rebels! Any other sporting Code whatever or whoever they may be and operating a Conference type system, if found to be in this sort of quandary those No Hopers running the overall body, ~ would be in no uncertain terms sacked as incompetents because whatever way you look at this debacle, it's going to cost a ''lot of money". Wonder why that is not happening? Read all this and more on "Google News" and you'll see it all in better prose than this!

I don't get your point. I never said that they were anywhere near being the best team in New Zealand or South Africa. Luckily, the ARU only have to look after Australian teams, of which the Brumbies are currently the best despite losing most of their experienced players at the end of last year.

Fionn ~Your Brumbies may be the top of the Heap in the Aussie' Conference but they are as you should well know, more than double the amount of points BEHIND the bottom placed Kiwi side, so I wouldn't crow on too much about that! You also should know or realise that, playing in a woefully weak Conference as the Australian one is, and where they are in fact playing badly as each of the other Conference Teams are, ~ It could very well be said that being at the top of this very Conference means nothing whatsoever apart from Aussie' bragging rights because they're going nowhere!

Downsizing is a failed growth and development strategy and kills quality.

Thanks, Mark.

The Brumbies have been a professional team exactly the same length of time as the Reds and the Waratahs! They were a foundation team in SR. ACT Rugby is as old as the ACT itself, and before that time would have been a part of NSW Rugby (not that the Sydney mafia would have cared) Why anybody sees the Brumbies as newcomers when they have been a professional franchise for 22 years beggars belief. The Reds and the Waratahs should have no better claim to longevity than the Brumbies,, and let's not forget that when the Kookaburras or the Vikings have played in the Shute Shield or the Brisbane comp, they regularly flogged their opposition. This anti-ACT sentiment is not only ridiculous, but it does nothing for cohesiveness in Australian Rugby.

You are dead right, but I never said it would be easy, nor cheap, nor fair. But then remember the ARU is responsible for maintaining grass roots across Australia. Not just Brisbane, Sydney and surrounding regions. I am not one of these people that say: your team's losing or broke so they must be cut, save the money for my franchise. Or 80% of the talent comes from here so cut the rest. That last 20% of talent and 35% of fans could be the difference between a winning wallaby side or the tipping point for a network deal. The ARU must not abandon the garrisons at the outposts and leave a desolate AFL wasteland behind. Sure some serious effort and treasure from the war chest will be needed but I believe it is worth it. Any merged teams get a bump for regional diversity to cover facilities, travel and an expanded playing group. I make no apologies for the disparity. The teams that "agree" to take guys C.Hunt and Folau not only get the alleged talent and fans, they also get a top up to cover the additional expenses they incur. The closest thing the Force have to a prestige player is TPN's afro. It is a celebrity personality on it's own. The fact that he is playing well is a bonus..

30%? More like 50% - to reflect the skill and execution of basics they have displayed this year!

I was told by a senior rugby official that all franchises have the same salary cap This ignores any ARU top ups for Wallaby squad members

Not as shocking as costing the ARU $10 million in total over 6 years despite being privately owned. Throw Brian Waldron in to the mix.

'Timbo I suggest you look at how much revenue Munster has lost by having two home grounds. ' Correction

Bakkies, that is not what I have advocated and you clearly have not read all my posts/responses which I do not expect you to do. Your comebacks are like "a side in the competition that has got stuffings by 80 points over a team that doesn’t" I get the gist of what you are saying but clearly you are prone to exaggeration to make your point - the score was 71 - 6 which was horrible and just under 40 points per half. By the way, how many points did the Canes put over the Brumbies in the second half when they got going? With reference to another response you made about "10 million, do you have to write it out in crayon" Maybe you should and indicate your sources because you are prone to exaggeration and maybe you rounded up 5.3 million or 6.5 million to 10 million and you know, 6.5 million over 5 years is like 1.3 million a year and that when compared to the figures cited in the Canberra Times of 9/2/2017 "The Brumbies lost $1.07 million in 2014 and $1.68 million in 2015. They have $1.5 million left in their cash reserves" it is not too shocking.

piru - I did say IMO, unfortunately for me I'm not always right so I looked up some average home and away attendance stats. The attendance stats for last year and this year are not as readily available as those from 2011 to 2015 so I will restrict my attention to those years for the Force (F), Rebels (R) and Brumbies (B) and include their position on the log as an indication of the kind of year the team had. These numbers sourced from Wikipedia and the SuperXV website. 2011: F 12 16201; R 15 17141; B 12 13083 2012: F 14 13255; R 13 13914; B 7 14419 2013: F 13 12631; R 12 11442; B 3 14287 2014: F 8 12757; R 15 11334; B 4 12460 2015: F 15 11734; R 10 10626; B 6 10575 Firstly piru between Melbourne and Perth there does not seem to be much difference except that below par performances in Melbourne appear to hurt more than they do in Perth. The NRL team has been a top team in the league and they have average attendances of about 14K to 15K which is typically in the top half. The 1st year of the Rebels did show some potential. What did surprise me most from these numbers is the relatively poor turnout the Brumbies had at their matches despite the fact that during all but 2011 they were always in with a chance to make the playoffs and considering they are claiming they have more of a right to remain than both the Force and the Rebels

Bakkies, Does the Rebels have a salary cap?