Western Force launch court appeal against ARU bid to cut team from Super Rugby

DANE Haylett-Petty will stay committed to Western Force for as long as it is alive after RugbyWA launched an appeal in the Supreme Court to save them from the axe.

Dane Haylett-Petty is staying true to Western Force cause.

WESTERN Force stars Dane Haylett-Petty and Adam Coleman have declared they will remain committed to the club for as long as it is alive after RugbyWA launched an appeal in the Supreme Court to save them from the axe.

Haylett-Petty and Coleman, in the midst of preparing for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup match against the All Blacks, said they would not be jumping ship to the Rebels until every legal avenue was exhausted to save the Force.

The ARU announced it would axe the Force last Friday, but on Monday RugbyWA announced it was appealing the decision.

Dane Haylett-Petty is staying true to Western Force cause.

While an injunction has not been granted, it’s believed the ARU will not make any moves to shut down the club until the Force head to the NSW Supreme Court next week to determine whether they can appeal the decision.

“Hopefully this is resolved in the next few weeks, from chatting to a lot of the boys, they’re willing to stay tight right to the end,” Haylett-Petty said.

Coleman added: “I personally think the fight is not over yet, Dane believes that too and so does the rest of the RugbyWA community in Western Australia.

“If we keep our mindset like that and really focus on keeping rugby alive for the Western Force, I think it will go a long way.”

RugbyWA have lodged their appeal request to the NSW Supreme Court and they expect to find out by August 21 whether it will be granted.

RugbyWA are being backed by billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest. Last Friday, the ARU won their arbitration case against RugbyWA and they immediately axed the Force.

Dave Wessels said the players took the ARU decision ‘very hard’.

The ARU bought the Force’s licence as part of that ‘alliance’ deal and guaranteed the franchise’s future until the end of the broadcast deal in 2020. But the ARU successfully argued at arbitration that the old broadcast deal no longer exists given a new one was negotiated following the reduction from 18 to 15 Super Rugby teams.

Western Force coach Dave Wessels says some of his players were reduced to tears following the ARU’s decision to axe the franchise.

“Everyone’s pretty devastated. I’ve tried to phone each player,” Wessels said.

“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.”

Adam Coleman is right behind the Force’s action.

If RugbyWA win a right of appeal, it could take between four to six weeks before the Supreme Court rules on the matter.

But the injunction order means the ARU can’t start redistributing Force players to rival franchises just yet.

Haylett-Petty and Coleman spoke of the devastation the removal of the Force would mean for rugby in the west.

“Very disappointed, both of us disagree with the decision, West Australia is a rugby state now,” Haylett-Petty said.

“One of my proudest achievements was being one of the first West Australian guys through the system to play for the Wallabies, and there’s plenty more coming so it’s very disappointing.

“There’s mixed emotions at the moment; angry, disappointed, but as a group we’re really sticking tight.

“The process is not done yet, there’s a lot of people back home still fighting the good fight.

“We believe all the administrators in RugbyWA are doing all they can to overturn this decision, and the support of Twiggy Forrest has been amazing.”

Originally published as Western Force launch court appeal against ARU bid to cut team from Super Rugby