SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Rugby - Billionaire's offer 'too late' to save Force - ARU chief

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Billionaire Andrew Forrest's offer of a significant investment in Australian rugby came too late to save the Western Force Super Rugby team, Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver said on Tuesday.

Rugby - Billionaire's offer 'too late' to save Force - ARU chief
(Reuters)

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Skip to article content

The Western Australian mining magnate made the offer to ARU officials last week in a bid to prevent the cull of the Perth-based Force as part of the contraction of the mainly southern hemisphere competition to 15 sides for next season.

Pulver said Forrest had tabled a donation of up to A$50 million (30.73 million pounds) to the Australian Rugby Foundation but it had come too late in the day.

"I wish he'd been involved in the process perhaps a little earlier, that would have been helpful," Pulver told reporters in Sydney.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"We are way down the track having made commitments ... to go to four teams, and having had an EGM where our members voted to go to four teams.

"It's a little late in the process to be making that sort of change."

Rugby Western Australia have appealed the decision to axe the Force at the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which Pulver expected to hand down a ruling next week.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world