Exclusive: ARU Snubs Twiggy’s $50 Million Offer

Well readers, there was never any logic previously in the Australian Super Rugby saga. And there is certainly none now.

Your correspondent understands the ARU has just knocked back a funding offer from billionaire Andrew Forrest which some close to the action estimate totalled as much as $50 million. If that is true, then it’s just mind boggling stuff, in anyone’s language.

Twiggy flew to Adelaide this morning with Geoff Stooke and John Welborn to table his offer to ARU chairman Cameron Clyne and his fellow ARU board members John Eales and Brett Robinson. Their meeting has just finished.

Of course Clyne himself would have been the first casualty of any deal with Twiggy, given his previous pledge to resign if the ARU was unable to cull an Australian Super Rugby team.

So unless sanity prevails with the ARU overnight, hostilities will resume in the NSW Supreme Court tomorrow as RugbyWA’s legal team seeks to overturn the arbitration ruling which triggered the ARU’s move to axe the Force last Friday week. Stay tuned…