Where to for Super Rugby?

[ChargerWA]

it was an e-mail

Yeah, it was a joke. Obviously not a good one.

 

[Slim 293]

Furthermore, if you ever needed convincing the Sydney media have it in for the Force then Mr Pandarams article all but confirms it. I can only hope Mr Pandaram is exposed as a liar and is removed from his job.

How is that convincing?

 

[Rebels3]

Things might get worse in the coming months, but things will get better again.

 

[Twoilms]

Things might get worse in the coming months, but things will get better again.

But how long will it take?

 

[Rebels3]

But how long will it take?

Who knows, but clearly the news about the Force has shown there is a lot of passion for the game around. Maybe it'd take something like this to get everyone to finally band together and say "this isn't working for us, we don't want to be involved with something that ostracizes a part of our community". I honestly think this could (not saying it will be) the time where we can finally scrap all that is wrong with Aus rugby and build something that can see us being looked at as a legitimate sport on these shore again. What better time to restructure and realign our direction than a period where just about every partner involved in this has gone 'F this, this is utter shit'. Grassroots is unhappy, 3 of our pro clubs are unhappy, the other 2 are in the midst of their lowest performance on and off the field in a long time. The school system is being overrun by other sports. Broadcasters are unhappy with figures and most importantly fans are tired of agenda filled games and inaction of those in power. All this while the majority of the rest of the world is heading in the opposite direction.

 

[NTT]

How is that convincing?

Own the Force is about to be launched. NSW media runs a story that the Force will be axed to dissuade people from investing in an attempt to derail the iniative. Ms Robinson runs a piece insinuating that the money used to restructure the Force was taken from the Australian U/20s even though the alliance agreement funding is over 4 years and will not be needed if Own the Force is successful.

Do your research and join the dots. If you need pictures i can't help you there.

 

[RedsHappy]

In the years to come the debacle that is the ARU will be a text book case of how not to run a sporting body from a PR perspective .

1. Treatment of a national coach over the disgraceful , mysoginistic behaviour of a golden child .
2. Accusing one of its key stakeholder groups of "pissing it up against the wall " Nice
3.Bringing in a fee for kids to play the game with no consultation
4. And now the destruction of Super Rugby in this country with the most insane lack of communication with stakeholders I've ever seen .
5.Allowing damning information on participation numbers to go public with no contradictory or clarifying statement .
That's pretty much the full deck of ruining the credibility of the game at every level .
You just couldn't make up this stuff if you tried with all your imagination to consider how to f. up a sport

br, of course the bitter irony foisted upon us fans in all this is that, when Pulver's appointment as CEO was announced in late 2012 by his multi-buddy ARU (then) Chairman Hawker, Hawker stated 'one of the big things we needed in a new CEO was excellent communication skills and we have found that in Bill Pulver'.

The newly exciting news from the proven communication whiz Pulver is that rugby media have been leaked to (no doubt by him) that he wants to serve another 3 years or so in his current position after his contract expires later this year.

 

[brokendown]

the questions needed to be answered by the ARU are;"if SA agrees to drop 2 teams,will the ARU drop 1,and if that is the case has the ARU decided on which team it will be"


oops,sorry moono didn't see your post asking the same question

 

[RedsHappy]

The ARU are very much talking in half truths. They say no decision has been made to cut a team, however what they should be answering is have they already got a preferred team in mind to cut if SANZAAR decides to move back to a 15 team comp.

The decision is like having the ace up your sleave ready to play it only if you need to. They won't play it unless SANZAAR forces a new position on the structure of Super Rugby. Allows the ARU to have plausible denial.

M74 top work, I think that is entirely what is occuring here.

And remember, the NZRU has stated that 'tough decisions have been taken' which obviously do not directly concern or affect the NZRU. No way would a man like Tew say that publicly if the essence of it, around a new SANZAAR policy, was not true and did not reflect directional agreements reached already within SAZAAR.

But, to their discredit, the almighty hash the ARU has made of their 'non-communication communication and then some communication but not much communication' strategy will only make them look, worse case, utterly dishonest, and, best case, dissembling and disingenuous, when some final 'decisions' are announced by SANZAAR.

Either way, the ARU's standing in this rugby community will be further stripped of legitimacy and respect.

 

[The torpedo]

Either way, the ARU's standing in this rugby community will be further stripped of legitimacy and respect.

This is incorrect as it would require the rugby community to actually have legitimacy and respect for them

 

[Melchior]

This is a bit like budget time when the decision to steal lollipops from babies is leaked to soften the impact of crying tots when said lollipop is actually whisked away. Have to say there is an element of truth to this IMHO.

Obviously not privy to any of the reports/figures but would find it hard to believe that our super rugby teams could be any poorly represented than this administration. Bunch of Plonkers.

ARU media release will only add not hose down speculation - just states decision not yet made not that the force are safe. Nor have the ARU ever said they they are committed to 5 AUS teams in super rugby. If they had a media release with this single sentence all this flagellation in the middle of a season would not have happened.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

In the years to come the debacle that is the ARU will be a text book case of how not to run a sporting body.

Fixed

 

[Inside Shoulder]

The ARU are very much talking in half truths. They say no decision has been made to cut a team, however what they should be answering is have they already got a preferred team in mind to cut if SANZAAR decides to move back to a 15 team comp.

The decision is like having the ace up your sleave ready to play it only if you need to. They won't play it unless SANZAAR forces a new position on the structure of Super Rugby. Allows the ARU to have plausible denial.

Given this power of veto that everyone is talking about SANZAR (as in the other 2 unions, in effect) cannot force the ARU to drop a team: the ARU could just veto any suggestion of that.
The reality is that the ARU are hoping that SA ditch their quota so that they can get rid of the force: that is getting rid of the Force is their preferred option. But they know if they just came out and said it there would be a huge backlash - better to say it was forced on us, 'cept it wasn't and never could be, as I understand it.

 

[Quick Hands]

If a person, or an organisation, was an avowed enemy of all things rugby, this remarkably calamitous 'SANZAAR S18 format review process' (which btw commenced a mere 8 months ago in August 2016) would be, is, the Gift that Just Keeps on Giving.

You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried; it's like an horrendous bad dream from which there is no awakening.

In addition to being breathtakingly incompetant, the ARU have also revealed themselves as spineless. It is not only open to them, but incumbent upon them to say - "we aren't dropping a side, you guys brought in an extra SA team and two other teams, if that's the problem, then that's where any change should be"

Instead we have reported in the News press today that they'll agree to dropping a team, but they really hope that the Saffers vote against it under pressure from the SA govt and then we'll vote against it too.

Just pathetic.

 

[Quick Hands]

Really, Pulver agreed and supported this current Broadcast deal which has been in effect for less then 18months and failing miserably. I think in many areas Pulver had to make tough calls because of the dire state of the game financially..But this current broadcast deal was agreed to under his stewardship, someone in Australian Rugby needs to be held accountable to agreeing to the deal which has cause irreparable damage to Australia Rugby, if not Pulver, then who?

In fact TOCC, the broadcast deal and the benefits of it were hailed as evidence of Pulver's genius. IIRC he had a grin like a Cheshire cat on his face at the presser.

 

[Quick Hands]

I agree but I imagine the entire ARU board thought this was in the best interests of the game. The story about the consultant advising the ARU that the Super Rugby expansion plans were a bad idea in 2009 and 2013 (Pulver became CEO in 2013) suggests that the board was already intent on pushing in that direction without Pulver's influence.

Do you think the likely position was Pulver coming in and convincing the board to ignore that advice and push for expansion or Pulver coming in and the board getting him to pursue the expansion on the ARU's behalf despite the negative reports they'd received from the consultant?

I agree accountability is important but perhaps more of that needs to be at board level. Would there be much point of the board throwing Pulver to the wolves because of their poor direction if they're going to repeat the dose with whoever the next person is?

Without knowing the intricacies of the ARU board's operation, there has been a lot of changes in recent years but the longest standing board member is John Eales who has been there since 2010. With that length of tenure I certainly hold him responsible for a reasonable portion of the direction the ARU has taken. If, as the longest serving board member he hasn't been strongly influencing the direction then he is also responsible (but in the opposite way, for not doing anything).

Brett Robinson, Geoffrey Stooke and Ann Sherry are the next longest serving board members having been appointed in 2012. These are the people who are guiding the direction of the ARU and questions need to be asked as to whether they are doing the right thing by it.

I think that you'll find tht Pulver was trumpeted as the master negotiator as a result of what he achieved with the deal.

That the board are such an insipid bunch doesn't affect Pulver's performance.

 

[Quick Hands]

Does the NZRU face any tough decisions on any analysis of this running sore?

I wouldn't have thought so.

 

[Slim 293]

Own the Force is about to be launched. NSW media runs a story that the Force will be axed to dissuade people from investing in an attempt to derail the iniative. Ms Robinson runs a piece insinuating that the money used to restructure the Force was taken from the Australian U/20s even though the alliance agreement funding is over 4 years and will not be needed if Own the Force is successful.

Do your research and join the dots. If you need pictures i can't help you there.

But seriously, that's pretty tin foil hat stuff...........

 

[Quick Hands]

When thinking of the ARU, the words of Oliver Cromwell in dismissing the Rump Parliament in 1653 come to mind:

It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice.
Ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government.
Ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.
Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you?
Go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.

In the name of God, go!

 

[drewprint]

So if this is true, cutting the Force is dependant on SA agreeing to cut two teams. Just how likely are SA to agree to that? And they don't, what then?

My great hope from this massive clusterfuck is SA refuse to cut two teams, AUS and NZ refuse to continue the current shitshow, SA are left to their own devices and a trans-Tasman comp is created.

Unlikely? Probably. 'Yeah what about the SA TV money blah blah blah'. I dunno. That's why I'm not the CEO. All I want is a tight, fun, watchable comp that showcases the game I love.