Pulver hit with hard questions at hearing

AUSTRALIAN Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver yesterday faced hostile questioning at a Senate hearing where it was suggested the Melbourne Rebels had received more than double the funding of the Western Force before the latter’s axing from the Super Rugby competition.

The title of the hearing was the ‘Future of rugby union in Australia’ but was dominated by the issues surrounding the recent decision to dump the Perth-based club.

In the past three years the Force had received the least amount of funding of Australia’s five teams and the Rebels the most, WA Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds told the hearing, citing ARU statements.

That included $33 million to the Rebels and just $15 million to the Force, she said.

The Rebels also had a $13 million loan written off by the ARU when businessman Andrew Cox bought the franchise for $1 in 2015 before handing it over to the Victorian Rugby Union this year.

“Any way you look at this, the Force got the least amount of these Super Rugby grants than any other team, in some cases they get almost half of what the Rebels got,” Sen Reynolds told the hearing.

Pulver said he could not say whether Sen Reynolds’ figures were correct, which she said was surprising as he was CEO.

The questioning became heated when Pulver refused to reveal what support or deals were done with the Rebels and Cox, citing confidentiality agreements.

Pulver, who spoke briefly to disgruntled Force fans that turned up to the hearing, said the senate committee was mocking him over that, but Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said she was incredulous that he would not reveal such important information.

Pulver told the senators that “meaningful change” had to occur, including cutting the number of teams given how poorly Australia was performing on and off the field.

“This is the most competitive winter sports market, no other rugby nation in the world has to compete with three other football codes,” he said.