Rebels future secure after licence transfer deal confirmed

Cox transferred ownership debt free. But feel free to articulate any uninformed negative speculation you like. We're used to it. From the very inception of the club, we've endured persistent speculation of this sort. The administration have done a great job to maintain the staff, players and sponsors for next season. I'll be renewing my membership.

Cheers guys.

......clearly too many expat Kiwis in Perth...........

You're missing my point, and it has nothing to do with the Melbourne/Perth battle. Regardless of location, a winning Wallabies team is what will get new stakeholders in the game, in all locations.

Maybe ... but only 4 will be in SR

Hannes and they are only two years off another RWC year and the Olympic Stadium will be renovated soon. Next year they have Ireland touring

LW it's not as bad as previously where the Brumbies were represented by the combined states in O'Neill's first stint as CEO. This led to a fractured relationship

The VRU President is a QC and presumably has gone over the contracts. The only thing that surprises about the VRU moves is how long it has taken them to move. The timing makes me think they know something about the likely outcome of the Force's arbitrartion.

The problem with the bullet to the head theory is that Rugby WA has very much bigger guns than the EARU.

Just like Melbourne, Perth has a large ex-pat Kiwi population who will turn out in large numbers for the All Blacks. As will the many other rugby fans in WA.

A nice new 60,000 seat rectangular configurable billion dollar stadium that is already hosting a Bledisloe next year availableb in Perth whenever it's wanted.

On both a strategic and commercial level the ARU performance must be a concern for the Board. If the ARU goes bankrupt and/or crippled by legal cost from fighting battles at multiple fronts, the Executive will resign and the ARU Board will be left with to pick up the pieces. The ARU Board must realise that they made a mistake to let their Executives agree the contracts and run he culling process without proper oversight. It is time for the to take their hands out of their pockets and change course as the ARU is heading towards disaster.

At what cost? The business models of both the Force and the Rebels could be on a sound footing and less dependent on the ARU. The ARU will loose power over rugby, and will have even less control over the franchises and states, they will not be trusted in WA nor Victoria for decades to come, teams will ask external interests for funding before the approach the ARU, the ARU's scope will be severely limited (there is no chance for a centralised NZ model) and if the ARU decide to continue to fight legal battles against multiple parties, it may go bankrupt. After this Executive team left, the ARU Board will have to pick of the pieces and may be liable in their personal capacity if the ARU is bankrupt.

We received reports of what was discussed and it boils down to if the broadcasting agreement was varied or if a new agreement was signed. It is highly likely that a reasonable person will see this change as variation instead of a new contract as SANZAAR public statements and media reports all are supportive of this fact. Even Cox saw this coming and quickly transferred his shares to the VRU knowing he will come under pressure to sell this week. Even if the unlikely happens and the Force loose the arbitration the ruling is non-binding and the ARU will have to fight this case in a WA supreme court at high cost and where they will need to explain in public their conduct in the culling process. Not a pleasant experience for the prima donnas in the ARU... IMO the ARU cannot win no matter what happens with the arbitration and may wish that the loose.

I read that since I commented this morning, weird that they've only decided this now.

Yes supply and demand. The ARU is not a price tacker they have a monopoly in Australia and can influence both supply and demand.

The ARU problems are far more than just a short term fix as cost may exceed revenue in RWC years that has been mentioned as one of the drivers for cutting a franchise. There are more fundamental problems including over-dependency on SANZAAR revenue with the change in SARU's commitment to SANZAAR, the fact that SANZAAR's products (the Rugby Championships and Superugby) have become stale, the poor return on investment on key Australian rugby players especially those contracted in NSW and QLD, the decline of rugby union in traditional rugby markets with increased competition from rival codes. Cost cutting is a short term fix but you can cost cut yourself into insignificance quickly and it will not address all the fundamental challenges that the ARU is facing, Also there appears to be no overriding ARU strategy that can do so. If I was in the ARU I will find ways to finance rugby across Australia independent of SANZAAR revenue, I will insist that each franchise's business model is sustainable and backed by that area's rugby community (e.g. Force fan based model), I will stop underwriting each franchise and allow some to fail if they cannot get financial backing elsewhere e.g. state governments, I will have a good Plan B for the SANZAAR partnership and develop a range of tournaments that can diversify my revenue base. I will maintain a national footprint that include a development pathway in each of the major cities to elite level to ensure that Australian rugby is less dependent on a few individuals and overpay for a few individual players.

John/Geoff, That's just dandy. Everyone here on The Roar is trying to be logical all in their own way. Sorry, it's gone beyond that. Australian rugby has entered quicksand, & the faster the various combatants move, the quicker they will sink into the mire. What a joke. What a sad, sad, sad, sad joke. I have nothing but utter contempt for ARU & SANZAAR.

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