6,066 readsThe ARU have confirmed that they will discontinue the license of the Western Force.
This is the worst possible outcome for Australian rugby.
Western Australia is great for rugby – they are producing great Super Rugby players and Wallabies, their own ones.
They’ve got terrific support from Twiggy Forrest, and they have a very passionate crowd.
This decision will only play into the fears of Western Australians that the eastern seaboard doesn’t care about them, and alienate them from the game.
It will kill the prospect of exciting growth for the sport in Western Australia.
Instead, the ARU should have made the decision to put an end to the Melbourne Rebels.
The Rebels, in a city and state obsessed with Australian rules football, have nothing going for them.
Look at the Melbourne Storm – despite being one of the most successful NRL teams with the best players going around, they have never been the dominant sporting team in Melbourne.
What hope, then, do the Melbourne Rebels have? They are not really creating players – they have produced only a handful of Wallabies, and haven’t made a genuine star. They’re not going to get a run in the media.
It seems like the ARU made the easiest decision on offer.
The long term ramifications for the growth of rugby are that Perth had the opportunity to become a great rugby city, but now that is not going to happen.
It is never going to happen in Melbourne either.
August 11th 2017 @ 4:55pm
ajg said | August 11th 2017 @ 4:55pm | ! Report
Should just rename the ARU the EARU
August 11th 2017 @ 5:02pm
EGC said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:02pm | ! Report
I would remove Australia out of it entirely and just call it the East Coast Rugby Union.
August 11th 2017 @ 5:03pm
piru said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:03pm | ! Report
Might as well take the Rugby out of it too, they know nothing about that
August 12th 2017 @ 11:39am
Jibba Jabba said | August 12th 2017 @ 11:39am | ! Report
And its not rugby union, its rugby disunion.. with the f..wits that run the game in sydney…
August 14th 2017 @ 6:05pm
Qwas said | August 14th 2017 @ 6:05pm | ! Report
So putting this together we now have the East Coast Disunion run by f…wits. Are we all happy with that?
August 11th 2017 @ 5:03pm
Fred said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:03pm | ! Report
The Rebels can never hope to get the community support that the Force had. What will the ARU do if the Rebels go belly up in a few years?
August 11th 2017 @ 5:05pm
EGC said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:05pm | ! Report
They would count their bonuses, that’s what they would do.
August 11th 2017 @ 6:31pm
Ben said | August 11th 2017 @ 6:31pm | ! Report
“When”, not “if”
August 11th 2017 @ 9:53pm
Wallace footrot said | August 11th 2017 @ 9:53pm | ! Report
Completely agree……when not if, by then all of these num nuts would have moved on, they have held the keys of rugby for future genearations for a short tenure and have made an absolute mess of it!
August 11th 2017 @ 10:33pm
Adsa said | August 11th 2017 @ 10:33pm | ! Report
Too true Ben.
August 11th 2017 @ 11:57pm
matt jones said | August 11th 2017 @ 11:57pm | ! Report
* 2006 – 14th (1 win, 2 draws, 10 losses)
* 2007 – 7th (6-1-6)
* 2008 – 8th (7-0-6)
* 2009 – 8th (6-1-6)
* 2010 – 13th (4-0-9)
* 2011 – 12th (5-2-9)
* 2012 – 14th (3-0-13)
* 2013 – 13th (4-1-11)
* 2014 – 8th (9-0-7)
* 2015 – 15th (3-0-13)
* 2016 – 16th (2-0-13)
* 2017 – 12th (6-0-9)
August 11th 2017 @ 4:56pm
Fred said | August 11th 2017 @ 4:56pm | ! Report
Dumb decision. Rugby union has effectively been killed off in Australia by incompetent (but well paid!) management.
August 11th 2017 @ 4:57pm
pformagg said | August 11th 2017 @ 4:57pm | ! Report
I hope all Western Australian rugby fans boycott the international game in Perth.
August 11th 2017 @ 5:16pm
Gavin said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:16pm | ! Report
I know my family, friends and I will be. The force were the only reason I was supporting Aussie rugby. It’s a real shame as I very much enjoyed going to force games.
But if the ARU believe the rebels are the better choice over the force, well, the ARU just can’t be trusted with my money or support.
August 11th 2017 @ 5:18pm
Dave said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:18pm | ! Report
Not that there will be many rugby fans left in Perth after this.
August 11th 2017 @ 5:19pm
piru said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:19pm | ! Report
Plenty of rugby fans, very few Aussie rugby fans
August 11th 2017 @ 6:31pm
Joey Johns said | August 11th 2017 @ 6:31pm | ! Report
I’m in Brisbane, and I’ve been boycotting professional rugby since this decision was announced.
August 11th 2017 @ 7:59pm
wag said | August 11th 2017 @ 7:59pm | ! Report
ME TOO, Joey !
August 11th 2017 @ 8:57pm
Chooks said | August 11th 2017 @ 8:57pm | ! Report
I wouldn’t mind attending the Test in my Force jersey. I will throw my Wallabies jersey onto the field in protest.
August 12th 2017 @ 12:02am
andrewM said | August 12th 2017 @ 12:02am | ! Report
You won’t be alone Chooks!
BE THERE IN BLUE!
August 13th 2017 @ 10:19am
ScottD said | August 13th 2017 @ 10:19am | ! Report
DON’T BOYCOTT THE TEST GAME!!!!!!!
INSTEAD GO ALONG AND WEAR FORCE COLOURS.
If you don’t go then the ARU will claim justification due to “lack of support for rugby in Perth”
Give them nothing to justify their stupidity
August 13th 2017 @ 1:51pm
AndyS said | August 13th 2017 @ 1:51pm | ! Report
If you do go along, you are telling them they are right and it will cost them nothing…
August 11th 2017 @ 4:57pm
Huw Tindall said | August 11th 2017 @ 4:57pm | ! Report
Looking ahead from this debacle what happens to the Perth Spirit now in the NRC? For mine we should have sacked off Super Rugby and gone hard at the NRC in an Aussie only comp. Yeah we’d lose a lot of players to Europe to start with but we’d build on it something truly sustainable for Aussie Rugby. NRC is already a cracking comp with no Wallabies running around in it anyway!
August 11th 2017 @ 4:58pm
Ouch said | August 11th 2017 @ 4:58pm | ! Report
“The ARU swings the axe and gets it wrong”
Honestly, did anyone expect them to get it right?
Does anyone expect the ARU to get anything right? Ever?
#fuaru
August 11th 2017 @ 5:01pm
Damo said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:01pm | ! Report
NRL incoming to Perth in 3…2….1….
August 11th 2017 @ 5:02pm
Fred said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:02pm | ! Report
I think they will. They might even take on the Force brand. Would serve the ARU right.
August 11th 2017 @ 5:04pm
piru said | August 11th 2017 @ 5:04pm | ! Report
West Coast Pirates are all ready to go.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see them there next season – they might even pick up a Curtis Rona or Chance Peni
August 11th 2017 @ 6:48pm
Beni Iniesta said | August 11th 2017 @ 6:48pm | ! Report
http://www.perthpirates.com you mean?
August 12th 2017 @ 8:32am
Craig Joubert said | August 12th 2017 @ 8:32am | ! Report
League has been there done that and also got out. I doubt they’ll go back again.