ARU boss Bill Pulver has leapt to the defence of the ACT Brumbies, describing the club as an "iconic rugby brand" as part of a Senate inquiry grilling in Perth on Wednesday.
But Pulver says the Brumbies face significant challenges because they are based in a politically dominated market as questions were raised about why the Canberra club survived the Super Rugby axe.
Pulver faced the opening day of the inquiry into the future of rugby union in Australia as the fallout continues from the ARU's decision to cut the Western Force from Super Rugby.
Force chairman Tony Howarth and chief executive Mark Sinderbury also gave submissions and answered questions at the hearing.
Super Rugby officials are preparing to finalise the 2018 draw as early as Thursday, but the ugly off-field issues that have plagued Australian rugby continue to hover overhead.
The Brumbies were drawn back into the debate as Senators examined why the Force was exiled instead of the Brumbies and the Melbourne Rebels.
But Pulver was quick to back the ARU's decision to quarantine the Brumbies, saying they were the only Australian franchise to never ask for financial assistance.
"Determining which team to go was one of the hardest decisions Australian rugby has ever had to make," Pulver said.
"We undertook extensive due diligence exercise to assist with the decision making process and we have absolutely no concerns about the integrity of that process.
"We developed a Super Rugby scorecard with criteria that were reviewed externally ... across the Brumbies, Rebels and Force across a range of financial, commercial, high-performance, economic and general market criteria.
"From the first round assessment undertaken by the ARU board, it was agreed the Brumbies should be removed from the review process.
"The Brumbies scored highest across a number of on and off-field criteria and clearly have a very, very strong rugby brand."
When asked about the margin of scores between the Brumbies, Rebels and Force, Pulver said: "In relation to the Brumbies, if that is your question, the big challenge for the Brumbies is they reside in a market called Canberra.
"Fifty per cent of that market is largely driven by politicians, who are not supportive of their local team ... That's why they were on the list.
"The thing that held the Brumbies in very good stead is that it's an iconic rugby brand."
The Rebels received up to double the funding of the Force in the years leading up to the latter's axing from the Super Rugby competition.
In the last three years the Force received the least amount of funding of Australia's five teams and the Rebels the most, WA Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds told the hearing citing ARU statements.
That included $8.3 million to the Rebels and just over $4 million to the Force last year, she said. The Rebels also had a $13 million loan written off by the ARU.
"Anyway you look at this the Force got the least amount of these Super Rugby grants than any other team, in some cases they get almost half of what the Rebels got," Sen Reynolds told the hearing.
Pulver denied that the Rebels were propped up to the Force's demise but repeatedly cited confidentiality agreements when refusing to answer questions about the ARU's support for the Melbourne team.
He said the decision was made to free up cash to stop the sport's decline in Australia and denied the view held in the West that the ARU always wanted to save the Melbourne team rather than the Perth club.
The hearing is being held in Perth where disgruntled Force fans spoke to Pulver before he faced questioning by a committee consisting of three West Australian senators.
Pulver refused to say how Australia's $285 million share of Super Rugby's broadcast deal compared with other countries, following repeated questioning by Sen Reynolds who said that was surprising given he was citing financial issues for the Force's axing.
