Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says he walked away from a meeting last week with Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest feeling assured the billionaire is hell-bent on doing everything he can to improve Australian rugby nationwide.
Forrest outlined plans on Wednesday for his Indo Pacific Rugby Championship, a 10-round competition that will run between August and October next year concurrently with Australia's National Rugby Championship.
The billionaire has plans to lure Australian players back from overseas, creating a competition where some of the nation's best can earn a quick dollar that won't burn a hole into the pockets of the Australian Rugby Union.
Forrest organised a meeting with Cheika last week when the Wallabies were in Perth and the national coach was impressed by the mining magnate's vision for Australian rugby.
"The one thing I walked away with from that meeting is [seeing] a guy who genuinely wants to try and make rugby better in Australia," Cheika said.
"He's obviously got resources and he feels if he can put those resources to improve rugby in the country then that's a bonus. Anything like that has to be done in collaboration to have that effect.
"I didn't get a lot of details on the other stuff and that's for other people to work out. He's very keen to let me know he's fought a hard fight for the Force and whatever happens from now on he wants to make Australian rugby strong. We want to have those kind of people with us.
"The way, for me, this works best is with collaboration from the Union, all together, and making the game better. More eyeballs on the game, more fan interest, more resources for the game to increase its exposure. That's what we want."
Forrest told Cheika he was also helping out with the intention of ultimately seeing the Wallabies win a Rugby World Cup, something Australia have not achieved since 1999.
"He said it to me … as an Aussie, I wouldn't be surprised by him saying that," Cheika said.
In recent years, over-governance and a lack of unity between state unions and the ARU has plagued Australian rugby.
There has been a growing distrust of the ARU from club rugby land and a feeling of disconnect after the game's governing body decided last year it would stop funding club sides. In turn, club rugby fans have turned their back on competitions such as the NRC.
At a time when rugby has faced its fair share of off-field dramas in the wake of the ARU making the tough decision to cut the Western Force from Super Rugby, Cheika said now was the time for everyone to get on the same page.
And if it happens by way of a billionaire throwing money and support rugby's way, so be it.
"One of the things we've got to do more of in rugby is unifying the game completely," Cheika said.
"It's going to be one of the priorities for the immediate future as we go into the next chapter.
"There has been a fall there I suppose, but it can also be a great opportunity to start from here and look at reunifying the game and building it to be stronger."
The ARU is yet to endorse Forrest's IPRC, meaning players might not be able to feature for the Wallabies should they play in that competition.
Cheika is unclear about details for next year and said he was solely focused on blocking out the off-field noise from his players.
"I don't know where that's going to find itself in the future," Cheika said.
"Realistically, it wouldn't be at the top of my mind. It's important that we're focusing on our games. There's a lot going on at the moment.
"[It is about] keeping a real clear directive and focus on just what is happening next for us because it is in the news … so we've just got to make sure we're focused on football and I've got to start that."
Photo by: WILL RUSSELL/GETTY IMAGES (Caption: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has met with billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest)