The Australian Rugby Union's (ARU) messy and protracted process of axing one of its five Super Rugby teams has entered a potentially decisive phase as the governing body and the Western Force go into arbitration.
The ARU said in mid‑April the Perth‑based Force or Melbourne Rebels would be cut along with two teams from South Africa to allow the largely southern hemisphere competition contract from 18 back to 15 sides for the 2018 season.
Their initial hopes of an announcement within "48 to 72 hours" were quickly dashed when the Force, overwhelming favourites for the chop, launched legal action to defend their position.
