Western Force awards night set to be their last as ARU confidence grows

THE battle to axe a Super Rugby team starts on Monday, and the Western Force are firmly on the chopping block.

BELEAGUERED ARU chief Bill Pulver must front SANZAAR members on August 7 with an answer: which Australian Super Rugby team is getting axed.

It will be the Western Force if the ARU wins its arbitration case with WA Rugby, which starts next Monday.

The Force will have their annual presentation awards night in Perth on Friday, potentially the last in their history.

The future of the Force will rely on the outcome of the court hearing, and Pulver is confident.

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“Australia doesn’t have either the financial capability or the player depth to justify staying at five teams,” Pulver said.

“I’m not going to speculate on the arbitration, I’m not even going to talk about the arbitration other than to say it starts on Monday.

ARU CEO Bill Pulver must tell SANZAAR on August 7 which Australian Super Rugby team will be cut.

“We’ll talk about it when it’s complete.”

This comes amid growing confidence in Melbourne that Rebels private owner Andrew Cox will sell the licence to Victorian Rugby Union, thereby securing the future of that franchise.

If WA Rugby were somehow to win the arbitration case, the ARU will be cornered.

At a rugby function last week, ARU chairman Cameron Clyne suggested if the organisation failed to cut a team he would walk.

When Pulver was asked if he’d follow that line, he said: “That was a pretty academic comment on the part of Cameron. I’m confident we’re going to get to four teams.”

WA Rugby will argue at arbitration that they’re guaranteed participation in Super Rugby until the end of 2020 as part of the current broadcasting deal.

The ARU will counter by saying the SANZAAR agreement at the start of the year that Super Rugby would be cut from 18 teams to 15 in 2018 negates this contract, and a new 15-team broadcasting deal signed off by the multiple rights holders is grounds to axe the Force.

The Western Force are firmly in the firing line.

South Africa has already announced it has culled two teams as part of the SANZAAR decision in February, axing the Cheetahs and Southern Kings, both who will join the northern hemisphere’s Pro12 competition.

Pulver expressed disappointment at the performance of Australia’s Super teams this year, with no semi-finalists and a 0-26 win-loss record against Kiwi rivals.

“It was a really disappointing season and I don’t think anybody would hide from that,” Pulver said at the launch of the ARU’s new university-based women’s sevens competition.

Pulver said there was still reason to hope the Wallabies could beat the All Blacks in the first Bledisloe Cup Test on August 19.

“There is always hope, rugby is a game of 80 minutes, two by 40 minutes, and anything can happen,” Pulver said.

“So we’re quite capable of beating New Zealand, clearly New Zealand are going to be the favourites.”