Australians are a sports-mad lot. So it’s fitting that one of the country’s most hotly contested deals involving overseas private equity firms is for Rugby Australia. CVC Capital Partners and Silver Lake are just two of the seven players, reports the Australian Financial Review, trying out to join the ownership team of the game’s national governing body. It’s an unusually competitive battle in a slow year for financial sponsors. It’s also a teaser for the deal fest buyout shops are gearing up for Down Under.