The waste of talent that is the Western Force
Roar Guru By Greg Russell, 2 May 2009 Greg Russell is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Drew Mitchell, John Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Western Force
Drew Mitchell of the Western Force moves into attack during the Rugby match against The Blues in Perth, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009. AAP Image/Tony McDonough
First Matt Giteau, now Drew Mitchell. Both are leaving leaving the Western Force at the end of this season. According to Mitchell his recently announced move to New South Wales is not about money. Rather, it’s about being nearer his family in Queensland and it’s about the opportunity to win a Super 14 title.
Come again?
The Western Force have won all three encounters against Australian opposition this year, an achievement made all the more meritorious by two of these wins being achieved away from home in Sydney and Canberra.
Indeed, the Force are the highest placed of the Australian teams in this year’s Super 14, and but for a Normanesque choke against the Hurricanes, they would be in the top 4, and therefore would have a decent shot at what is a very open title this year.
Unquestionably their (full-strength) backline is the best in Australian rugby.
We already knew they had two amazing young talents in the form of David Pocock and James O’Connor.
Then in the recent 55-14 thrashing of the Lions young Sam Wykes was fully revealed to the rugby world. I had heard this (massive) kid had talent, but who honestly knew he was that good? Has there ever been a better game of running rugby from an Australian second-rower?
For that matter, one would have to go back to the Brumbies in their heyday – which is quite a few years ago now – to find an Australian team putting on a performance of running rugby like the Force’s against the Lions.
Even in its dreams, NSW has never played as spectacularly as this.
And yet Drew Mitchell says that he is going to NSW in order to have a shot at a Super 14 title?
Don’t get me wrong, NSW has a very solid side. But Blind Freddie can see that they lack the magic dust that is additionally needed in order to win the Super 14.
OK, OK, NSW has contested two of the last 4 finals. But the point is that they lost those finals, they never really looked like winning them, and that was even with the services of Mat Rogers, Dan Vickerman and Rocky Elsom, who do have a bit of magic about them. Now these three are gone, and the volumes of angst from NSW supporters on this website suggests that fans are far from convinced that there is any magic on the way.
If there is any Australian team that presently looks like it might have the magic to win a Super 14 title, it surely is the Force. Indeed, throw in a high quality prop and they might already be there.
But with the departures of Giteau, Mitchell and possibly other quality players, it unfortunately looks as though this golden opportunity will be lost.
Undoubtedly this is the chickens coming home to roost, what with snake-oil peddlers offering players Monopoly money, with a succession of troubled CEOs, with fisticuffs and other discipline problems off the field, and with a coach rumoured to be highly unpopular with his charges.
However, I still find it a tremendous pity that a beautiful and great team in the making looks like it will disintegrate before it has amounted to anything.
Recommend this story.
- Explore:
- Drew Mitchell, John Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Western Force
May 2nd 2009 @ 1:09pm
Knives Out said | May 2nd 2009 @ 1:09pm | Report comment
Harry, what players ply their trade in the Top 14 that would otherwise be playing for the Force? European rugby doesn’t really care for Australian players.
May 2nd 2009 @ 4:36pm
sheek said | May 2nd 2009 @ 4:36pm | Report comment
As someone who passionately believes in the nationalisation of rugby throughout Australia, any suggestions that the Force’s days are numbered, is distressing reading.
I hope any “death riding” by other Roar contributors proves to be ultimately unfounded. True, the WA Force have their problems as do all the Aussie provinces, & Australian rugby in general.
There has been recent instability with revolving CEOs; disquiet with the coach; massive sponsorship betrayals; Subiaco oval being a poor rugby ground for viewing & fan satisfaction, etc. Perhaps the player pool hasn’t gelled either, unlike the ACT Brumbies in their formative years.
Nevertheless, it’s been a worthwhile venture, & one I fervently hope will continue. Next will be Victoria, & hopefully after that, SA. Finally, what wallythefly said!
KO,
You write some good stuff. But your last post…..’last post’…..is rubbish! If true, then I expect the 100 plus Aussie rugby union & league players currently overseas, back in Oz next year to shore up the domestic comp.
May 2nd 2009 @ 5:08pm
Jerry said | May 2nd 2009 @ 5:08pm | Report comment
Craig – he said “Australian” 2nd rower?
May 2nd 2009 @ 7:53pm
onside said | May 2nd 2009 @ 7:53pm | Report comment
Greg ,
Just say everything you say is correct. Given your scenario of unfulfilled excellence it could be worse.
The Force could have won the Super 14 title and then collapsed.Best they implode before that happens.
The Force experiment under its current structure was doomed from day one.Doomed in as much as it
was built entirely on hired guns.It doesnt work.For all the problems surrounding NSW,QLD and the ACT
at least those states have a rugby base.An emotional history.There is a big difference between a hired
gun playing for the Reds and a rugby mercenary playing for The Force .The Reds have some players
that are Queenslanders and want to play for the State.Rocky Elsom will ‘come home ‘ next season and
play for the Reds. Players cannot ‘come home’ to Western Australia.Its a cheque book culture .Its flawed.
After a while Force players and families want to return home.they want to be with friends and families
on the Eastern Seaboard. Its human nature.Unfortunately this mania about a national competion has all
but destroyed the foundations of rugby in Australia,the clubs. Rugby people cannot see it, thinking the
benchmark of success is a national competition.And strike me pink , the city of Adelaide pops up again.
One of the immutables of any business is to push a companys strengths. Rugby does the complete
opposite and not only spreads itself too thin but at the same time drains established clubs.Its commercial
suicide.Rugby does not need a national competition right now. What it desperately needs is a modest
cash injection into established state competitons.Why is there the need to fly 1000 ks every week to play
a game .Make sure the state competetions are as strong as possible so clubs can offer players more
money. The rugby public will come to the games. If Randwick play brothers at seasons end for a cup,
fine,but in the interim dont do any more damage to the games foundations.At what point in time do you
say enough is enough. At what point in time does Mr Murdoch stop pumping millions of dollars a year into
Melbourne Storm.Or if the ARU has to pump millions of dollars a year into the Western Force to keep the
club afloat, how much stronger would rugby in Auatralia be if that money was instead distributed to
existing clubs that are decades old.Rugby in Auatralia ghas never recovered from the very successfull
RWC in Sydney.It inflated egos at the same rate it discarded commom sense. Rugby is still paying the price.
May 2nd 2009 @ 8:34pm
Knives Out said | May 2nd 2009 @ 8:34pm | Report comment
Sheek,
I can’t vouch for the league players but the amount of union players plying their trade in Europe is vastly over estimated by the average Australian. My comment was badly worded but the point remains. What players would make a difference to the Force? Blakezilla? Shaun Berne? Peter Hewat? There are only a handful of Australians playing in some of the better Europen teams, and only Gasnier and Elsom playing for a top tier team. New Zealanders are the flavour of the month.
May 2nd 2009 @ 8:59pm
Guy Smiley said | May 2nd 2009 @ 8:59pm | Report comment
Onside it seems you would be happier retaining the NSW/QLD hegemony. I would wonder how many competitive teams in the ACT could compete for the Shute Shield. The Brumbies are a transplanted team just like the Force, you can’t tell me the ACT domestic league was crying out for national representation??
The Force are indeed a contrivance but the more important point is that they are a successful one. When they joined the S14 they shared that honour with the debutants from SA, the Cheetahs. In the four seasons since the results speak for the themselves, the Force have a far superior record than the Cheetahs and also the Lions from Joburg. Both teams have long and distinguished records of provincial success behind them in the world’s no 1 rugby market.
The also have a passionate and knowledgeable fan base who’s numbers are dwindling only because of the appalling venue that is Subiaco Oval. Tickets aren’t cheap and very poor value for money. When they change venues next year they will be playing in front of sell-out crowds.
I will agree that the club has been a bit of a soap opera since it’s inception and hopefully some lessons have been learned but for it to disappear would be tragic. They have offered more quality rugby than any other Australian team and been far better to watch than the headless chooks in Brisbane, the decoy runners in Canberra and the mindless kicking machines in Sydney.
KO do you have any loyalties to any area/team/province anywhere?? You are always on the offensive.
May 2nd 2009 @ 10:26pm
Gerry said | May 2nd 2009 @ 10:26pm | Report comment
Doom gloom….grumble grumble….foil hats….we’ll all be ruined.
Oh…the Force just signed on Tim Fairbrother.
May 2nd 2009 @ 10:48pm
onside said | May 2nd 2009 @ 10:48pm | Report comment
Guy Smiley
Thankyou for a balanced response to what was a deliberate abrasive post.Well more frustrating than abrasive.
My frustration is that so much energy is directed away from the foundations ,and that is where the game suffers
the most. I am not so much concerned with maintaining an exclusive hegemony as I am building on a sound base.
The ARU focus on Super 14 is unbalanced and weighted against old clubs.Who they are is less important to me
than what they represent.The discussions on this site about a National Competiton sound fine on paper but ignore
the fact Perth is six hours away in the air from Sydney.By the time you leave home it takes all day to get there.
Now this is in no way the fault of The Western Force or the thousands of legitamate supporters,but establishing
a franchise in Perth considering its isolation came at a price.Dont worry about the soap operas,rugby internationally
is nothing if not an ongoing soap opera. If time reveals The Western Forces Achilles heel , it is not of its own doing ,
but rather the ARU decision to hastily establish the franchise in boom economic conditions.Time and the merchant
bankers will tell.Super 14 is so far removed from domestic rugby in Australia it should be thought of as another
code.As in ,I follow Union,League and Super 14. There is a massive disconnect.The fact Western Force supporters
can go to six games a year to watch Super 14 does not distract from that disconnect ,regardless of the teams
quaility. But six games a year (anywhere) doesn’t cut the mustard. I do not wish Western Force an embarrising
financial demise , but from where I sit the club will need underpinning in order to attract and hold onto quality
players.Perhaps the answer to Western Force is to become a defacto South African side. There is a massive
South African population in Perth. Perhaps the club should openly recruit talented South African teenagers who
want to play rugby and if thy are good enough earn a Wallaby guernsey after they live here for a while.Please do
not be offended by the suggestion because both the Eastern Seaboard and New Zealand franchises do exactly
the same thing in the Pacific Islands.
May 2nd 2009 @ 11:10pm
Working Class Rugger said | May 2nd 2009 @ 11:10pm | Report comment
- RugbyWA turned a $850,000 profit last year and expect to turn another profit this year.
- The Force troubles have been exaggerated by the loss of Giteau and the pre-season turmoil. This happens in other codes nearly every year. But no one declares thoses teams as dead and buried.
- The Force’s average home crowd this season is about 18,800. the second best in Aus. And better than the Highlanders,Chiefs,Reds,Brumbies,Lions and Cheetahs. Not bad for a tettering club. Yes, just in case anyone throws up that their first season they averaged around 25,000 I already know.
- The move to ME is a financial necessity as Force fans are frustrated with Subiaco Oval and its Rugby unfriendly orientation. This moved was to actually occur this season. The WA Govt. promised to redevelop the stadium for a cost of 25 million dollars.
- Finally not bad for a struggling club and union to have a positive growth in player number especially at the junior levels.
May 2nd 2009 @ 11:12pm
Brodie said | May 2nd 2009 @ 11:12pm | Report comment
Like most Eastern states posters it seems you have never been to Perth onside. The so called massive South African population that was supposedly supposed to turn last years Tri nations into a Saffa home game proved the lack of Aussie right?
The Force is fine, the foundations are being built up, didnt NSWRU go bust a few times to be bailed out by the ARU? I don’t see why it is only a massive problem when the Force has the possibility of losing a bit of money in one year, which is rectified by moving stadiums to improve the viewing experience which has kept people away plus it gets rid of WAFC’s $300k per game rental fee for Subi.
The fans in Perth love their rugby and it is genuinely growing, I assure you the lack of numbers at games (still not terrible in comparison to the rest of the franchises) has nothing to do with lack of interest, but mostly with Subiaco, which I assure you is a terrible stadium, even for Aussie Rules.
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