A devastated Western Force fan has accused rugby's governing body of "reckless" behaviour in a submission to a Senate inquiry into the axing of the WA club from Super Rugby.

When the club was scrapped in August, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said it would face insolvency if it continued to fund all five teams through to 2020.

But in her submission to the inquiry, Alison Foskett said the actions of the ARU alone were responsible for the national body's "parlous" financial position.

"It is my contention that the ARU has failed ... to meet fundamental objectives of its Constitution, and has been reckless in its governance," her submission said.

"This has been to the severe detriment of the innocent players, coaches, staff and families of the Western Force, and of the game in general."

'Why was it us?'

Alison Foskett has been following the money trail ( ABC News: Claire Moodie )

Ms Foskett is one of hundreds of fans who invested both emotionally and financially in the Force.

A supporter since the club first joined the competition in 2006, she even contributed a $1,000 to a legal challenge to the team being axed from the competition.

She's also been following the money trail, poreing over financial statements, trying to uncover why the Force were dumped, instead of the other franchise being considered for the chop, the Melbourne Rebels.

"What we received was a drop in the ocean compared to what they received and they received financial help in every single year that they were in the competition from the ARU and private backers as well," Ms Foskett told 7.30.

"[The Melbourne Rebels] were a financial basket-case I would say.

"I have to ask the question: Why was it us? We had cost them the least. We had incrementally improved the game in WA.

"We finished second in the conference last year."

Melbourne Rebels cost ARU $30 million

The Senate inquiry has already established the scale of the support for the Melbourne side.

It has stated that over the past three years, the Rebels have received about $30 million in funding and loan write-offs, about double the amount given to the Force.

The ARU even wrote off a $13 million loan when the club was sold to a private owners in 2015.

Melbourne Rebel's Nic Stirzaker scores a try against the Auckland Blues. ( AAP: Tracey Nearmy )

Documents obtained by 7.30 have confirmed that as part of that deal, additional payments were to be paid to the new owners of nearly $6 million until 2020.

Neither the ARU nor the Melbourne Rebels would be interviewed.

But the ARU released a statement saying that it stood by the integrity of its process.

"It is a regrettable situation and we have deep sympathy for all people affected by this decision, including Western Force players, staff, members and supporters," the statement said.

Signing alliance agreement a 'death sentence'

As the Second senate hearing gets underway tomorrow, RugbyWA claim to have knowledge that the ARU considered cutting the number of Australian teams from five to four before it finalised an alliance agreement with the Force in August 2016.

The agreement effectively meant that the Force were the easiest team to cut from the Super Rugby competition.

The ARU would not comment on the claim.

But RugbyWA's vice-chairman, John Edwards, said the timing was significant.

"Had we known their intentions, we never would have entered into the agreement because we had other options," Mr Edwards told 7.30.

"We entered into the agreement in good faith, thinking we were entering into an agreement with a partner, not signing a document that was basically sentencing us to death."

Mr Edwards says the SANZAAR agreement to downsize the competition from 2018 should have been more transparent.

Former RugbyWA chairman Geoff Stooke, who quit the ARU board over the Western Force decision, told 7.30 he did not believe that there was a plan to cut the Force as early as August last year.

Geoff Stooke quit the ARU board over the axing of the Western Force ( ABC News: Marcus Alborn )

"The alliance agreement was not established to give them leverage to remove a team," he said.

"I wouldn't agree with that. That's not my understanding."

However, Mr Stooke cast doubt on the future viability of the Melbourne Rebels under a deal with the Victorian Government.

"They've got these wonderful forecasts that say everything is going to be fine," he said.

"I'd like to see it and I'm not convinced and I'll say that privately and publicly, I'm not convinced."

'They destroyed a community'

Thousands of Western Force supporters attended a rally to oppose a decision to axe the club from Super Rugby. ( ABC News: Garrett Mundy )

Fans, including Ms Foskett, hope the Senate inquiry will uncover the truth.

"What I want is for some accountability," she said.

"It irks me so much. What we know now is that the Rebels have been given so much financial assistance by the ARU and are continuing to receive from the ARU.

"I just want somebody to be held account for that — for that unfairness, for the incredibly uneven playing field.

"They destroyed a community. They destroyed pathways that were starting to bear fruit. They destroyed a lot of the kid's dreams."