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Tony Shaw (54)
Powerful article just now published in the AFR by Jennifer Hewatt, a seasoned and senior business journalist.........love the headline
Rugby union crash tackles itself
OPINION Aug 21 2017 at 4:00 PM Updated 1 hr ago
What is it about sports management in this country?
The decision by Australian Rugby Union to crash tackle itself makes any woes at the AFL and the war for control at Football Federation Australia seem mild by comparison.
Yet another humiliating Wallabies loss to the All Blacks is but the backdrop to the real absurdity. That is the Western Force's need to take legal against the ARU this week. The latest round of the fight to stop the ARU ditching Western Australia's super rugby team will be heard in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday.
But the way the whole matter has been handled by a board chaired by former NAB chief executive Cameron Clyne defies common sense – not to mention appropriate corporate governance from a sporting body desperately needing to keep fans on side.
Instead, this is turning into a public relations debacle not only in Western Australia but spreading across the Nullarbor.
It also pits Clyne against one of Australia's most prominent philanthropists and successful and charismatic business leaders. Andrew Forrest may be buoyed by the results from Fortescue Metals Group showing a lift in net profit to $US2.09 billion ($2.63 billion).
But over the last several years, his passions have been more directed towards his vast range of philanthropic interests. Whether it's the attempt to end global slavery or to reform the federal government's approach to indigenous welfare, he demonstrates the same tenacious intensity that allowed him to create FMG as a major force in iron ore.
Offer dismissed
And as well as being a billionaire with a willingness to give a lot of money to worthy causes, he is also a passionately proud Western Australian. Apparently such a coincidence of interests did not appeal to Clyne and his departing chief executive Bill Pulver. But given the management and board's determination to close down one of the five Super Rugby teams on the basis the ARU could not afford all of them, it seems peculiar - and peculiarly arrogant - to abruptly dismiss a potential alternative source of funding .
It's another example of the ARU's abrasive reluctance to open up the game to change and to new approaches that has left rugby union - along with the Wallabies - in such a dismal state.
Forrest had naturally been dismayed by the threats of the ARU to close either the Melbourne Rebels or the Western Force due to financial pressures based on its argument this would save $6 million a year. He had still stayed out of it, believing logic would eventually prevail given the relative success of the WA team in producing Wallabies players, a growing fan base and support for the game – all too rare for rugby union in Australia – as well as the ability to tap the backing of the local business community.
"Everyone in rugby knows you don't cut the only growth spot in the nation," Forrest tells The Australian Financial Review.
When it became clear to him several weeks ago the ARU was so intent on withdrawing the Western Force's licence that he believed the "selection" process of making a choice was a charade, Forrest tried to intervene to offer financial support and a way out of the impasse.
Alternative comp
Despite repeated requests for a meeting to discuss this face to face, Clyne refused until after an arbitration hearing on the issue was decided. But as soon this was settled in the board's favour, the ARU instantly took action to close down the Western Force instead. the Force is now seeking leave to appeal In a legal battle largely funded by, of course, Forrest.
But should the Western Australians lose in court on Wednesday, Forrest is promising his backing to set up an alternative and lively international rugby competition with a range of countries including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa,China, Singapore and Hong Kong. There have been several approaches to Forrest already from interested parties since he made a public promise to have the Western Force thrive no matter what.
Such perverse outcomes are not as surprising as they should be given the whole process has been approached so clumsily and seemingly carelessly from the beginning. The WA ARU director, Geoff Stooke, was effectively blocked from any board discussion of the issue and has resigned in protest. Forrest's angry letter to Clyne on Friday pointed out that he didn't expect to be to "lied to and repeatedly denied an audience with you" as he requested one yet another time.
"As an Australian philanthropist and businessman who is offering my full support to the Western Force, to Rugby WA and to rugby generally in Australia, your approach to hiding behind litigation, instead of leadership, is personally and deeply upsetting to me," he wrote.
"I have made it abundantly clear to the ARU that my support extends nationally but is predicated on the national union conforming to the basic values of the game which seeks to nurture, support and grow rugby on a national footprint."
Clyne's response was once again dismissive, threatening to sue if Forrest went public with his letter. It's no surprise that the letter immediately surfaced. Clyne is now suggesting a video conference but Forrest wants a face to face meeting given past promises of full discussions have been dishonoured. He is suggesting Adelaide as neutral territory - and it's true WA is anything but. Forrest's anger at the ARU's behaviour is shared by much of the state's sport loving population backed up the local Western Australian business community.
The new Labor government is also extremely unhappy and considering legal action itself after the state spent $120 million upgrading a stadium on the understanding it would be used as the Force's home ground for a growing game. Helmets required.
