WA rugby could be driven to extinction by the Australian Rugby Union as it chases costs for the legal actions launched to save the Western Force being axed from Super Rugby.

The costs, understood to be around $1 million, could force RugbyWA into voluntary administration but ARU chief executive Bill Pulver has made it quite clear that the sports governing body, itself cash strapped, will pursue the money.

In a letter to RugbyWA chairman Tony Howarth, the ARU boss says: “I want to make it clear at the outset that ARU intends to pursue RugbyWA for its costs entitlements in both the arbitration and NSW Supreme Court”.

“No doubt you are aware from RugbyWA’s lawyers that ARU’s costs in defending the proceedings commenced by RugbyWA, not once but twice, are significant,” Mr Pulver said.

“ARU is entitled to, and will do what is necessary, to recover these costs.”

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Mr Pulver said the ARU felt strongly about recovering costs for several reasons including:

That the ARU definitively won both the arbitration and the appeal proceedings.

RugbyWA pursued both proceedings aggressively in correspondence through its lawyers and the media and a large proportion of the costs were incurred preparing for claims in the arbitration which were eventually abandoned by RugbyWA.

The ARU’s costs were driven up by letters sometimes sent three or four times a day by RugbyWA lawyers.

RugbyWA unreasonably rejected reasonable offers of compromise to narrow the issues in dispute and contribute towards the development of grassroots rugby in WA if the appeal was abandoned.

The legal processes prolonged the uncertainty suffered by players and staff of both teams (Force and Melbourne Rebels) and subjected the ARU to intense public and media criticism.

RugbyWA (and its prominent supporters) was highly critical of ARU, management and board and questioned the integrity of ARU’s management processes, values and honesty.

RugbyWA publicly sought to put a “retrospective lens” on the circumstances leading up to the entry into the Alliance Agreement in 2016, including allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct by ARU which contributed to further reputational damage suffered by ARU.

Mr Pulver says “we tried to tell you” that allegations that ARU was in breach of trust or that the alliance agreement contained implied terms had no merit.

“We were assured that several prominent Western Australians had undertaken to fund RugbyWA’s payment of any adverse costs order, including but not limited to: Mr John Edwards, Mr Charles Fear, Mr Adrian Fini, Mr Andrew Forrest, Mr Bob McKinnon, Mr Bob Reinecke and Mr David Vaux,” he said.

“You were personally named as having given the same undertaking. ARU accepted these undertakings and did not make any applications for security of costs.

“We would like to know whether RugbyWA has contacted each of the individuals named to request them to pay for, or contribute to, the costs orders which have been made in favour of ARU.”

RugbyWA did not want to comment. The ARU declined to add any further comment.