Sydney - The parent body of Australia's Western Force went
into voluntary administration on Friday over "financial constraints"
after its vain attempt to save the team from being axed from Super Rugby.
Despite strong opposition, the Force were culled in August
as part of the drive to reduce the southern hemisphere competition from 18 to
15 teams.
Parent body RugbyWA sued the Australian Rugby Union in
April, but the case was dismissed by a Sydney court and the Perth-based
franchise was dumped.
KordaMentha, an advisory and investment firm, said it was
appointed as voluntary administrator by RugbyWA "because of concerns of
the future solvency of the business".
"This concern was due to the financial constraints on
RugbyWA from the Western Force's elimination from Super Rugby Competition and
Australian Rugby Union pursuing RugbyWA for its legal costs," KordaMentha
partner Scott Langdon said in a statement.
Langdon said RugbyWA planned to continue managing
competitions in Western Australia, as well as the sport's development in the
state.
The first creditors' meeting will be held in a week, with
the second about a month after.
A parliamentary inquiry released on Wednesday found that the
ARU made the decision to axe the Force - rather than the Melbourne Rebels, who
were also on the chopping block - months before a review process was completed.
Force appears set to join a six-team Indo Pacific Rugby
Championship announced by its billionaire supporter, mining magnate Andrew
Forrest, who was angered by the team's axing.
The new league could be up and running by late next year.