Force and Rebels must wait

Editor

The Western Force and Melbourne Rebels will have to wait longer before they have any clarity regarding their Super Rugby futures.

The confusion surrounding the layout of Super Rugby next season will drag on longer now. The Australian Rugby Union had initially said that a ruling would be made in the next 2-3 days.

But with that timeframe having passed, the ARU have now backed down on their initial promise, saying it will now be decided upon ‘as soon as possible’, giving no due date this time around.

Last week it was confirmed that both sides would be given a fair trial to present their respective cases on why they should not be cut next year, according to Canberra Times.

“The ARU will undertake due process to ensure that both the Melbourne Rebels and Western Force are given adequate opportunity to present their business case before the board makes a final decision on which team to be removed,” ARU chairman Cameron Clyne said in a statement.

“We maintain our commitment to reaching resolution on this matter as soon as possible, however the timeline that we initially anticipated of 48-72 hours will not apply.

“As confirmed on Monday, we have commenced a consultation process with both teams and will provide an update at an appropriate time.”