It is business as usual for the ARU, if you can call it that, after the emergency general meeting in Sydney on Tuesday turned into something of a non-event, but there is still a mood for change.
Bill Pulver is still ARU chief executive and the national governing body remains committed to axing one of Australia’s five Super Rugby teams, most likely the Western Force.
But there is every chance that by the beginning of next year’s Super Rugby season Pulver will be gone and there will still be five Australian teams.
The extraordinary meeting was called by the Victorian Rugby Union and the players union, RUPA, who opposed the culling of an Australian Super Rugby team.
A joint VRU/RUPA resolution to maintain five Super Rugby teams was defeated primarily because the other major states and franchises wanted the number of teams to be reduced to four – as long as it is not them of course.
The likes of the NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds and the Brumbies were not in favour of maintaining the status quo, which meant the resolution had no hope of succeeding.
The major Super Rugby franchises agree with the ARU that there is not enough playing talent to sustain five teams and that the economics of an expanded Australian conference do not add up.
So the ARU and the Force remain where they were before yesterday’s meeting, which is heading to arbitration in the first week of August. If arbitration fails to resolve the issue, there could be a protracted legal battle.
The other way for the ARU to cut a team is to buy back the Melbourne Rebels’ licence, but owner Andrew Cox has indicated he is not selling.
ARU chairman Cameron Clyne has already conceded all five Australian teams could play in Super Rugby next year, which would place the ARU in a very awkward position.
The ARU has committed to their Sanzaar partners in New Zealand and South Africa to cut a team and ARU officials have stated publicly that expanding to five teams was a mistake.
The failure to cut a team would be a major embarrassment for the ARU’s leadership. How could they promote a competition structure they do not believe in?
Pulver stated before yesterday’s meeting that he would resign immediately if all the members wanted him to quit, but he would have had a fair idea the VRU/RUPA resolution did not have the numbers to get up.
As a result, there was no challenge to Pulver yesterday, but it is unlikely he will seek or be offered an extension of his contract when it expires next February.
Pulver was appointed in 2013 with no experience in sports administration, but he did have good intentions. He described it as his dream job, but at times it must seem nightmarish.
Apart from the financial pressures which have plagued the game, the standard of Australia’s Super Rugby teams has dropped alarmingly and the Wallabies have won only seven of 17 Tests since reaching the final of the 2015 World Cup.
There has also been an open revolt against the ARU at the grassroots level about funding and other issues.
If Pulver goes, the appointment of the next ARU CEO will be extremely important. The general perception of Australian rugby is that it is a game in crisis.
Clyne claimed last week that sacking Pulver would not magically solve Australian rugby’s problems. Maybe not, but there is a history of celebrated CEOs who have had a profound influence on sports such as David Stern in the NBA, Andrew Demetriou in the AFL and even John O’Neill in his first term at the ARU.
Then again, perhaps Clyne is right and it will take more than just one person to turn things around.
A resolution was passed on Tuesday to establish a Super Rugby Commission to allow the franchises to have more say in their own affairs, but it could be that Australian rugby needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom to take the game forward, shaking out the cobwebs of amateurism and becoming a truly professional sport.
