Mining billionaire plans to shovel his gold into Force
Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest will pour millions of dollars into the “Own the Force” campaign if the Perth-based Super Rugby franchise survives.
RugbyWA and the ARU began arbitration in Sydney yesterday with the fate of the Western Force hanging in the balance.
If the ARU win the hearing, they will axe the Force from Super Rugby. If the Force win, the ARU will have no choice but to try to axe the Melbourne Rebels, or seek a merger between two Australian franchises.
The Force will argue the “alignment” deal they signed with the ARU last year guarantees their future until the end of the current broadcast deal in 2020. But the ARU will say the broadcast landscape has now changed, given Super Rugby will drop from 18 to 15 teams next season.
Forrest, valued at $A4.8 billion ($NZ5.1 billion), has pledged to do whatever it takes to save the Force. The 55-year-old West Australian has renewed calls for the ARU to help facilitate a Brumbies takeover of the Rebels. He is also open to the idea of the Force merging with the Rebels.
Forrest is prepared to put his money where his mouth.
The Force are owned by the ARU under the bailout “alignment” deal. But once their future became threatened, the franchise launched an ‘Own the Force’ campaign in a bid to become Australia’s premier publicly owned sporting club.
They have been selling shares at $A1000 a pop in a bid to raise enough revenue to buy back the licence.
Forrest has no interest in owning the club but plans to give the campaign a massive financial boost. He is offering people interest-free loans to buy Force shares. And the money lent will be paid back to RugbyWA — not him. It effectively means the Force will now receive $A2000 for each share sold. now is really good. I’m loving it here and it’s been awesome.”
Family issues are pulling him in both directions. Taylor is keen for his young family to move back to New Zealand, although his 1-year-old daughter’s delicate health situation may require him to remain in Sydney.
Taylor endured a frightening ordeal in April, when she was admitted to intensive care after suffering a seizure, before being diagnosed with encephalitis — an inflammation of the brain that can be life-threatening.
“She’s getting a lot better now,” he said. “The doctors don’t want us flying. They’ve advised us to stay in Sydney because all of her records are here in Australia. So that’s another aspect I have to weigh up.”
Warriors fans would no doubt welcome the prospect of the tireless back-rower returning to Mt Smart, after he left at the end of 2013 to join Cleary at the Penrith Panthers.
Taylor left Penrith in the early stages of last season and moved to the Tigers, before he was reunited with Cleary once more when he was appointed as head coach in April.
The Warriors have already signed forwards Tohu Harris and Leivaha Pulu for 2018, but there could be a vacancy in the back row with Bodene Thompson currently unsigned beyond this season.
The Warriors will need to drastically improve their offer if they are to lure Taylor home but the ongoing uncertainty around next year’s salary cap is not helping matters.
“I’ve got a really high opinion of Elijah’s ability and so has Ivan obviously,” said Warriors recruitment manager Tony Iro.
“We explored the chance for him to come back, but at that stage I imagine he was torn about which way he was going to go. There’s been no real conversations in the last six weeks.”