Brumbies in danger of being embroiled in civil war as extinction rumours surface

AUSTRALIAN Rugby boss Bill Pulver has denied sensational claims the Brumbies could collapse after the club’s CEO launched an extraordinary tirade on rumour-mongerers.

Matt Toomua of the Brumbies (right) reacts after a scuffle during the Round 2 Super Rugby match between the Brumbies and the Waratahs at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Friday, March 4, 2016. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

AUSTRALIAN Rugby boss Bill Pulver has denied sensational claims the Brumbies could collapse and the ARU default on a SANZAAR agreement to field five teams after the club’s CEO launched an extraordinary attack on rumour-mongerers trying to bring him down.

Brumbies boss Michael Jones has come under pressure in Canberra in recent weeks with rumours flying he is on the outer with Brumbies power brokers and other stakeholders, and that he could be facing the sack.

The friction between Jones and his detractors stems from the Brumbies CEO having called in the Australian Federal Police last year to investigate the sale of the club’s headquarters in Griffith in 2013. The AFP probe into irregularities in the club’s financial paperwork between 2009 and 2014 is ongoing.

Matt Toomua sports a bloodied nose.

The vice-chancellor of University of Canberra, where the Brumbies’ new HQ resides, is also considering a defamation claim against Jones.

In an interview with ABC radio on Saturday, Jones said people who are “nervous and uncomfortable” about the AFP investigation had responded by “throwing mud” and spreading “lies, myths and fairytales” - but he has been restrained from fighting back due to legal considerations.

But in an amazing interview, Jones said he may soon snap under the pressure and indicated his retaliation would have the potential to bring the Brumbies crashing down.

“If it persists, it’s not a veiled threat it’s a very real threat, I only know how to act and that is you can’t fight half a war,” Jones told ABC Grandstand.

“So if I go to war, it’s going to be ugly and there are going to be a lot of people who get burned by it. I desperately don’t want to do that, so all I’m asking is for the people out there who are having a hack at me, they know who they are, back off.

“I think this cancer that’s currently affecting us is only bad for the Brumbies and unless it’s turned around, is ultimately going to be terminal for the Brumbies. You just can’t withstand this stuff perpetually, it will eat away at the organisation.”

“It will have a major impact on Australian rugby, because if the Brumbies cease to be an entity, which is one of the very foreseeable outcomes – and has been a stated outcome of some of the people having a hack at us – if that is allowed to happen, the ARU will be in default of the SANZAAR agreement, because they are required to field five teams every week.

“And if this organisation folds and goes into administration the ARU is in default. They are big stakes games that a lot of these guys are playing, and it’s fairly irresponsible of most of them to do it. They are looking at self-interest rather than the interest of the organisation. I’m trying to avoid the fight – I’ve been taking hits since December, I weathered the storm, and it’s the same guys again.”

Pulver responded swiftly and shot down Jones’ suggestions the Brumbies could fold.

“All I will say is the Brumbies are not going to default and we are not going to be bringing our SANZAAR agreement into jeopardy at all. I have zero concern about that,” Pulver said.

“The enterprise will be fine and although they had a loss last night, the good news is the team are going really well.

“I am obviously eager to help our franchise in Canberra in any way I can. But I don’t have any question about them fielding a team or putting us into jeopardy in relation to our SANZAAR agreements.”

Michael Jones has slammed rumour-mongerers trying to bring him down.

Asked if felt the war being waged around the Brumbies at the moment was damaging to rugby, Pulver said: ”I have a great deal of confidence in the people of Canberra to sort this situation out. I know them all pretty well, they’re are a lot of good people whose hearts are totally in rugby. I am sure it will resolve itself.”

Jones’ aggressive response to captain Stephen Moore signing with Queensland was criticised, and he has also been threatened with defamation action by the University of Canberra vice-chancellor Stephen Parker.

In a lengthy defence of his commercial successes at the Brumbies, however, Jones said he had no worries about the defamation claim, declaring: “If the other side want to keep pursuing it, they need to stump up or shut up.”

“Given that we’re commercially in a much better space, the team is firing, we have the absolute support of all the employees and the playing staff, the players, everyone is 1000 per cent behind me,” Jones said.

“I feel absolutely comfortable that we’re doing a good job and everyone has to ask their own questions as to why and what is the motivation from outside the organisation having a hack at us.”

Originally published as Brumbies in danger of being embroiled in civil war as extinction rumours surface