Super Rugby Axes 3 !!

[Ross. S]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40122015

Cheaters offered a spot in the Pro12!

(You'd think there'd be enough cheaters in the Pro12, what with 4 Irish teams )

[rowan]

Good move. Take the Kings & Sunwolves with them.

[rowan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40122015

Cheaters offered a spot in the Pro12!

(You'd think there'd be enough cheaters in the Pro12, what with 4 Irish teams )

Cheetahs would probably win it too

[rowan]

"The Western Force legal battle for Super Rugby survival has taken a new twist with the club agreeing to arbitration."

Indeed, it's the Force who will have to go, the Rebels having more of a legal standing as a privately-owned franchise - thus they basically supplant the Western Australians, who were a better side overall.

[rowan]

Full story here:

THE Super Rugby downsizing saga could finally have an end-date with Rugby WA and the Australian Rugby Union agreeing to proceed to arbitration in August over their dispute.

Rugby WA announced the development after a damaging 58 days since the ARU announced it would cut one Australian Super Rugby franchise, and the two clubs in the firing line were the Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels.

Both clubs rejected the ARU’s capacity to shut them down and the Force immediately took legal action against the governing body at the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Rugby WA served the ARU with a writ injuncting them from cutting the Force, based on an alliance agreement between the ARU and Rugby WA signed last year during the ARU’s takeover of the Force.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/super ... b9b3d3813c

[rowan]

So the big date has been set. Why couldn't all of this have waited until after the final? I wonder. Was SANZAAR simply bowing to public pressure by making so many decisions while the competition was in full swing? This article also suggests the Cheetahs and Kings could both play in Europe


Cape Town - SA Rugby has called a special general meeting for next month to confirm the four South African entrants into a revised Super Rugby competition from 2018.The meeting will take place in Cape Town on July 7, 2017.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, SA Rugby said the general meeting has the constitutional responsibility for “determining the SA teams to participate in Super Rugby”.

Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, said the special general meeting would decide on a proposal from the executive council which, in turn, would have received a recommendation on the participants from the franchise committee, whose membership is representatives of the Super Rugby teams.

The proposal will also be debated by the non-franchise committee - comprising the CEOs of the 14 provincial rugby unions - before reaching the special general meeting.

A FUTURE IN EUROPE?

While nothing has been made official, the general consensus is that the two South African teams excluded from the competition will be the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings.

There is a strong possibility for those two franchises to the PRO12 competition, Sport24 understands.

The PRO12 is a European competition that currently includes club teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

It looks set to be rebranded PRO14.


http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/SuperRug ... s-20170614

[rowan]

So it's official then:

The Cheetahs and Kings have agreed with SA Rugby to end their Super Rugby Participation Agreement from 2018, it has been announced.

The Force are almost certain to join them, due to legal complications involved with removing the Rebels.

[rowan]

Seems a shame now, with the improved performance of the latter this year. Obviously they just needed a bit more time. I personally think the expansion to 18 was fine in principle but that they just screwed the whole thing up by including two South African conferences with Japan playing in one of them. 3 conferences of 6 teams with the Jaguares playing in NZ and Fiji in Australia would have been a much more viable proposition. So what's going to happen now? Back to 3 groups of 5, and the continuing farce of the Sunwolves' involvement. I suspect the problems are not over yet.

[rowan]

Meanwhile Force beat the Rebels, adding to the fiasco . . .

[rowan]

The plot thickens...

SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux has confirmed the Cheetahs and the Kings could play in more than one European competition next season.

SA Rugby announced on Friday that both teams are out of Super Rugby after reaching a settlement agreement to explore other international competition opportunities.

All indications are that they will join the Pro12, raising questions whether the Cheetahs and Kings will then be eligible to compete in the Champions Cup or Challenge Cup.

Roux said on Friday that he cannot confirm which league competition the two franchises will join.

'Negotiations are far down the line and to be fair, we're never going to steal the thunder of any other competition in terms of announcing its future. I can confirm the Kings and Cheetahs could play in the same competition and they could also play in more than one competition.'

Roux said the Kings and Cheetahs were not forced into the settlement to exit Super Rugby in favour of a move to the northern hemisphere, and admitted that they were legally within their rights to contest their axing, but opted not to.


http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/detail ... -two-comps

[rowan]

A couple of interesting stories I came across this arvo:

IF the Australian Rugby Union want to kill the Western Force, they are going to have to defeat the riches of mining magnate Andrew Forrest first.

The Force’s bid for survival received a massive boost on Saturday when Forrest pledged to do everything within his powers to help the Perth-based franchise avoid the chop.

Forrest, the chairman of Fortescue Metals, is valued at $4.5 billion according to Forbes.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/mini ... acfce3ea09

Live speech here: https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/rugb ... ker!633286

Meanwhile . . .

SA Rugby is also in talks with Premiership Rugby about including four South African teams, including Griquas and the Pumas, in the Anglo-Welsh Cup. http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/detail ... y-overseas

[rowan]

A deal to expand the Pro12 to 14 teams from next season has been agreed, BBC Scotland understands.

The South African sides Cheetahs and Southern Kings will join the league after losing their Super Rugby status.

The six-year deal is likely to benefit the league to the tune of an extra £6m per season from the South African Rugby Union and additional television income.

All elements of the deal have been agreed and, once legally ratified, could be formally announced next week.

The new Pro14 league will kick-off in the first week of September and will comprise two conferences of seven teams. Each conference will have one Scottish side, one South African side, one Italian side and two each from Wales and Ireland.

The winners of each conference will qualify automatically for the semi-finals, while the teams placed in second and third in each conference will be drawn together in play-offs for the remaining two semi-final places.

The Pro12 currently raises around £12m in television revenues, meaning the addition of the two South African sides represents a significant uplift as the Scottish, Irish and Welsh rugby unions try to bridge the financial gap to the English Premiership and French Top 14 teams.

The increase equates to around £500,000 in additional income per season for the existing Scottish, Irish, Welsh and Italian sides in the Pro12.

The Cheetahs and the Southern Kings are the weakest of South Africa's Super Rugby teams, and they were cut from next season's competition, opening the way for the move to join the Pro12.

One of the anticipated clauses for the deal is that the two franchises will commit to strengthening their squads, to ensure the competitive nature of the competition is protected.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/40649652

[rowan]

Jaguares have done well enough in their first two seasons to justify their inclusion... but he makes a good point...

[rowan]

& so it begins . . .

Australia’s Super Rugby culling saga has entered a potentially decisive phase as the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and the Western Force go into arbitration.

Sad day for rugby on the West Coast of Australia, and for the game in general. The hapless Rebels have effectively replaced the Force. This whole thing has become a complete shambles.

[rowan]

[rowan]

I'll be surprised if the Kings & Cheetahs don't run riot . . . & then Super Rugby will beg them to return

[rowan]

Fighting talk from the Force. This could get ugly...

BILLIONAIRE mining magnate Andrew Forrest has issued a blunt warning to the ARU: if you want to cut the Force, you are going to have to defeat me first.

The findings from last week’s arbitration hearing between RugbyWA and the ARU is set to be handed down within days.

If the Force win, they will survive the axe until at least 2020.

But if they lose, the ARU is set to cull them from the Super Rugby competition.

Under that scenario, the Force are almost certain to appeal to the Supreme Court if they win a right of appeal.

Forrest has pledged to do whatever it takes to save the Force, and he let the ARU know he means business.

“I want to be very clear to the ARU. You try to cut the Western Force, you have to go through me first, and then all of our players, and then our supporters, and then all of the parents of young players and, indeed, all proud Western Australians,” Forrest said.

Continues here: https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/bill ... 2420b541d9

[rowan]

Perth officially out. Can't believe the Rebels and Sunwolves are still in there and the Force are being axed. I guess Perth is a little too far away for the Pro 14, so that'll be the end of professional rugby on the West Coast, which I believe has the third largest player community in Australia after Sydney and Brisbane.

[rowan]

Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver says he will step down from his position as soon as the governing body has a replacement, after announcing the ARU's decision to cut the Western Force.

& not a moment too soon. Was he not the weirdest looking guy you ever laid eyes upon? His fringe was practically on the crown of his head, his eyes were too close together, his nose too short, his mouth too small and his chin just a baggy mound of flesh with no discernible jaw-line. Sloppy work by the Maker, that one . . .

[rowan]

Sharpe is not a happy camper, obviously:

ANGRY former skipper Nathan Sharpe has condemned the decision to shut down his beloved Western Force as “the biggest mistake the Australian Rugby Union could have made.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/foun ... 03a2d9bdf7

More here: https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/rugb ... nse!637165

[rowan]

Wow

Rugby Western Australia (RugbyWA) have gained an injunction order against the Australian Rugby Union’s decision to axe the Western Force from Super Rugby.

The Perth-based franchise lodged an appeal of their axing to the New South Wales Supreme Court and the injunction order means the ARU will not be able to get rid or relocate the Force’s players until the issue has been resolved.

The Force have received suypport from billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest.

It is understood RugbyWA lodged their appeal on Monday and they expect to know by August 21 whether the matter will come before the Supreme Court.

The ARU announced on Friday that they decided to axe the Force from next year’s Super Rugby tournament and RugbyWA said soon afterwards that they intended to fight the governing body’s decision.

Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry is hopeful that their appeal will be successful.

“We’ve been given every encouragement by our legal team that it’s certainly possible,” he told ABC Radio.

“We have a commitment to the game here in Western Australia to exhaust every possibility.

“We’ve got real concerns that there hasn’t been a process and that there hasn’t been any alternatives offered. The Australian Rugby Union as an organisation has a responsibility to the game. They’ve also got a responsibility to the people of Western Australia.”

The central issue that was debated in arbitration was whether the Force’s axing by the ARU was correct under the terms of the ‘alliance’ deal the two organisations formed last year.

The ARU bought the Force’s licence as part of that ‘alliance’ deal and guaranteed the team’s future until the broadcast deal ended in 2020.

However, the ARU argued successfully that that deal no longer existed as a new one was negotiated after Super Rugby’s teams were reduced from 18 to 15.

Western Force head coach Dave Wessels said the ARU’s decision to axe the franchise has been an emotional experience for his players.

“Everyone’s pretty devastated. I’ve tried to phone each player,” he told AAP.

“I’ve had guys in tears and all sorts of stuff. People at this stage are pretty emotional.

“We’re just trying to stick together as a group.

“We feel like we’ve been building something special here over the last few months. Some of the players who have re-signed have actually taken pay cuts. That’s how much they care about the club and the group

“It would be sad to see the group just dissolved all of a sudden.”

[rowan]

Shades of 1985. That also came out of nowhere! The injunction against the All Blacks' scheduled tour to South Africa that year related to a clause in the NZRFU's constitution stating it was obliged to act within the best interests of the game, I believe.

[Puja]

I'll be surprised if the Kings & Cheetahs don't run riot . . . & then Super Rugby will beg them to return

You'll be surprised then.

Puja

[rowan]

Super Rugby is a lot stronger than European club rugby. I think it's the Europeans who are going to be in for a surprise.

Remember this https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rug ... 80240.html

[Puja]

Super Rugby is a lot stronger than European club rugby. I think it's the Europeans who are going to be in for a surprise.

Remember this https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rug ... 80240.html

You have just referenced a game from 1997 to argue a point from 2017. How are you not embarrassed by this? If you wanted a more relevant example, how about 2014, where Saracens (who were semi-finalists in the AP) beat the Sharks (who went on to be semi finalists in Super Rugby). Even then, that's not exactly cutting edge, or a game that was taken especially seriously.

The Kiwi teams are better than the European club rugby teams, for definite, and any team in Super Rugby would crush Treviso, Dragons and Zebre (hardly a challenge). Cheetahs and Kings vs the likes of Munster, Leinster, Scarlets and Glasgow however? I think they might get into the playoffs, but they'll be a long way short of "running riot".

Puja