Forrest’s bluff

The Australian Rugby Union’s rejection of billionaire Andrew Forrest’s A$50 million offer to save the Western Force was a backflip that came weeks after it told him such a figure would save the club, an Australian Senate inquiry has heard. The revelations were made by the mining magnate’s friend, former rugby professional and businessman John Welborn at a Senate hearing into the controversial axing of the Perth-based Force from Super Rugby. If Forrest provided the money, the ARU said its board and CEO would also resign, he said. Welborn said on Wednesday that Forrest had called the ARU’s bluff.