RUGBY Australia money helped clear the debt that saved the Melbourne Rebels and effectively signed the Western Force’s Super Rugby death warrant.

The revelation comes after this week’s RA announcement of a $3.8m loss for 2017, citing the messy axing of the Force as one of the factors.

Confidential documents obtained by Seven West Media show the Australian Rugby Union — now RA — agreed to pay former Rebels owner, New Zealand businessman Andrew Cox, $300,000 and then-director Peter Sidwell $200,000.

The money was then paid to the Rebels.

The payments, contained in a Deed of Settlement Release, relate to “disputes” with the Rebels over RA’s threats to axe the Rebels and directs the money to the Melbourne-based club.

The documents also state two other directors Lyndsey Cattermole and Bob Dalziel “gift” the Rebels $250,000 each. The combined amounts effectively cleared the Rebels debt of $789,811 that allowed Cox to sell the club to the Victorian Rugby Union for $1 under a Put Option agreement, effectively spelling the end of the Force as the Rebels could then not be closed.

The document says, among others, Cox and Sidwell “had suffered loss and damage as a result of statements alleged to have been made by or on behalf of the ARU on and from 10 April 2017”.

Camera Icon The end of the Force’s Super Rugby life hit the WA rugby community hard. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper

On April 10, RA chairman Cameron Clyne said a decision on which team would be cut would be made after consultation with the Force and rebels.

Four days later the Rebels issued a statement saying they “unequivocally” rejected that RA could “chop or cut” the club and had notified it of its intention to seek compensation.

The deed of settlement says Cox and Sidwell: “ ... respectively direct that the respective payments to them be paid to MRRUPL for the purposes of MRRUPL satisfying the Debt Free Requirement and MRRUPL agrees that these payments will be used solely for this purpose”.

It also says Cattermole and Dalziel promise to the ARU “... they have each gifted $250,000 to MRRUPL for the purpose of MRRUPL satisfying the Debt Free requirement and MRRUPL agrees that these gifted amounts will be solely for this purpose”.

Cox used the put option and sold 11,625,000 Rebels shares to the VRU on August 4 for $1.

RA and the Rebels did not respond to questions.