Justice David Hammerschlag dismissed the appeal against an arbitration ruling in favour of the Australian Rugby Union that allowed the governing body to cut the Force from the Super Rugby competition.

The decision was based on a contractual interpretation regarding an alliance agreement that would have kept the Force in Super Rugby until 2020.

"I have retained one of Australia's leading silks, Allan Myers AC, QC, who will review today's decision," Forrest said on Tuesday. "We will announce, in the next few days, whether we will seek leave to appeal to the High Court.

"This is not the decision we wanted. This is clearly not the decision which we consider just. We're not giving up.

"I've just begun to fight, mate. If the court cannot deliver justice for these players, I understand that. I didn't write that agreement which the ARU cunningly exploited. I know the decision was made purely on legal ground."

Forrest said the Force had been "hideously cut down by the chairman of the ARU", Cameron Clyne, who "should have stayed with running a bank".

"I call for the ARU chairman to join the honourable path of his chief executive and resign," Forrest said.

Responding to Forrest's comments, Clyne said he would not be standing down but sympathised with those from the Force who were clearly upset by the news.

"That's up to our members," said Clyne of his position. "The members have endorsed me twice this year. They support the ARU and the position we're taking.

"This a very disappointing day for people in WA and I've got enormous sympathy for what people like Matt Hodgson are going through. This was never going to be an easy situation."

Pressed on what would happen if RugbyWA did take the matter to the High Court, Clyne said: "I can't really comment on what approach they'll take. We've been through a legal process, we've been vindicated on two occasions, so we'll wait and see."

RugbyWA released a statement saying the decision would cause "irreparable damage" and that the ARU were guilty of "prioritising the preferences of the SANZAAR's partners rather than a respect for the domestic game".

"RugbyWA will evaluate its legal options and consider grounds to seek leave to appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal in the coming days," the statement read.

"RugbyWA also welcomes the Senate inquiry proposed by Senator Linda Reynolds into the conduct of the ARU.

"RugbyWA hope that under new leadership, the ARU starts to openly and honestly address the real issues affecting the performance of Australia's professional teams.

"As a proud and passionate rugby state, rugby union will continue in Western Australia but the decision to remove the state's professional franchise and aspirational pathway will do irreparable damage to the code in the west."

The judgment from the NSW Supreme Court read: "The parties do not have identical interests in the longevity of the Alliance Agreement, although hopefully they both had the interests of furthering the game of rugby union in mind. It is to be remembered that ARU owns the Force. If the alliance comes to an end, it owns the Force unconditionally without any potential obligation to sell it back in the future, and can do with it what it likes, even destroy it.

"As the facts of this case demonstrate, they were supposed to be allies, but they were not friends."

Force coach Dave Wessels said: "The players have acted so admirably throughout this whole thing. I can't think of a single incident in all the months that we've been under this pressure that somebody has acted in a way they're going to look back on in a couple of years and regret."

The ARU announced it would cut a team in April after a meeting with SANZAAR officials in London where the broader decision was made to reduce the Super Rugby competition from 18 teams to 15.

In July, the South African Rugby Union excluded the Kings from Port Elizabeth and the Cheetahs from Bloemfontein from Super Rugby with both teams joining an expanded Pro 14 competition in Europe alongside teams from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Italy.

The ARU and RugbyWA entered into an Alliance Agreement in 2016, which guaranteed that the Western Force would remain in Super Rugby until the end of the existing broadcast agreement in 2020.

The ARU successfully argued in arbitration that a new broadcast agreement was entered into when the make-up of the Super Rugby competition was altered in March.