Last week I waved the Force flag at the Bledisloe game in Sydney. Today, I point a finger at the rugby establishment. No, not the ARU Board, but the Super Rugby club unions in the east.
What is happening to the Force is completely wrong and simply un-Australian.
The ARU is a corporate entity and you are its key members. You appoint the ARU Board and the ARU Board’s decisions are your decisions.
The high ball is up there and you have to take it by supporting rugby in Western Australia.
The financial argument for cutting the Force had some merit at one point, but with Andrew Forrest’s generosity, the “Own the Force” raising and the Victorian rescue package, there has been a fundamental shift in that landscape.
Decisions should be made on current facts only.
The ARU apparently lacks the resources to fix Australian rugby’s financial mess.
Andrew Forrest, however, does not.
A Western Force that will never be a financial burden and funds that can be injected immediately will improve the ARU’s resources instantly. The Force can buy back its licence and thereby inject more cash.
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Twiggy can be looked to for other relief. The Victorian deal funds the Rebels.
So then why is finance still an issue?
RUPA advocates strongly for five teams.
Without five, how do the new players get a gig and their chance to become legends too?
What happens to the lesser players of each state side when the surviving clubs pick over the Western Force’s carcass? Do all our experienced players now take the gap to the north? Where will these elements place our player stocks?
Remember we had:
• 5 clubs when the Reds won their only Super flag in 2011,
• 5 clubs when we drew against the All Blacks in 2012 and 2014 and beat them in 2015,
• 5 clubs when the Tahs won their only flag in 2014,
• 5 clubs when we almost matched the All Blacks at World Cup 2015.
Take note that broadcasters aren’t philanthropists. They pay if the return will be more viewers who in turn bring in more advertising dollars. Rugby crowds and viewers are being sucked into a vortex.
What about next year’s Super Rugby if the Force stays?
While not perfect, the answer is simple:
Three conferences – #1 South Africa/Argentina (five teams) #2 New Zealand (five teams) and #3 Australia/Japan (six teams).
The extra team in the AUSJAP Conference can be balanced by the number of games they play against the other conferences’ teams and the number of games the other conference play between them. It’s a compromise but it can be made to work.
Stand up and be counted NSW, Queensland, ACT and Victoria. We in the West are your rugby brothers and the outcome for all is on your head.
I implore you to ask the ARU Board to take Andrew Forrest’s package so that we may all survive and restore our bond and the good name of rugby union in Australia.
That lofted ball is coming down and all of you in the eastern states are standing flat-footed beneath it.
Sonny Bill Williams is only metres away, Retallick and Reid closely follow him, and all three are steaming in. Williams’ head tilts sideways and his shoulder thrusts forward…
You must think and think quickly. You must act now.
Rhys Bosley
Guest
"As for the tactics of encouraging Perth locals to not support the Wallabies, or threatening to sue the ARU into bankruptcy, both are surely guaranteed to extinguish most of the sympathy and support the Force enjoys outside of WA." The Force don't need the sympathy of everybody on the East Coast. If even 10% or 20% of those of us who have paid to watch professional rugby at matches or on Foxtel over the years decide on principle that we are going to stop over the treatment of the Force, the ARU has a big problem. Do you think that they can afford repeats of the pathetic turnouts that they had in Sydney this year, with 10,000 less bums on seats compared to last year and 20,000 less than 2015? That is over a million and two million dollars respectively when you compare this year with the last two, not small bikkies . If the other home test matches draw equally poor crowds, I don't think the ARU are going to come away with much change out of the supposed $6 million a year that they stand to save from axing the Force. Rugby isn't going to die in this country, the Shute Shield crowds this year proved that too many people are committed to it for that to happen, but the ARU going belly up because they have alienated so many supporters is a distinct possiblity. I reckon there are a fair few supporters who might view that happenning, so that we can start again, might actually be a good thing and wouldn't resent the Force at all for speeding the process along.
Rhys Bosley
Guest
Same here as a Reds fan.
piru
Roar Rookie
I think you need to change your name to Machiavellian!
Super Goose
Guest
Best news all year that the Force have been given the boot Give it a rest and get behind one of the other teams already
Carltonian
Guest
Why can't Australia just leave Super rugby, form its own club competition and ditch NRC? NZ's economy is tiny. We could just buy in their best players and put them into our club teams. It would have the twofold effect of making their better players ineligible for the All Blacks, thus weakening their national team, and making our national competition higher skilled and more attractive to spectators.
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
Have to say, had much more fun at Leeton on weekend, than watching Super Rugby this year. Bumped into acquaintances and saw Deniliquin Drovers take out the Southern Inland Rugby's McMullen Cup. Well done boys! www.denipt.com.au/2017/08/29/6162/drovers-delight If Super Rugby fails, hopefully there's always Club Rugby! Cheers KP
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Stronger as 9! Forget about or scale back SR to 2 sides and Bring back NRC/ARC. Add Tonga and Samoa. No Idea how to fund it but we will develop a lot of elite players. Perhaps hit up Qantas for some free domestic flights.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Your Premise is flawed Most of us Force fans feel we are brothers in arms with the Rebs. Stronger as 5! But if that is not possible and 1 must go, and it can't be the Tahs and you don't want it to be you, that only leaves a Merger or cull the weakest in the herd, the Rebs are in the cross hairs. The Brumbies are looking a bit shaky on financial grounds as well. We know the ARU don't give 2 Hoots about On-field performance, it is all about the money.
Selector
Guest
If we wanted to talk about pathetic support and viewership each one of our super rugby teams would have been culled at some stage. I understand why Force fans have an us against them attitude. What I don't get is why it is also thrown back at them? They have been treated unfairly as a team and supporter group. There is no denying that. I would like to see all teams supporters and clubs, rally behind them. They are not the reason Rugby is doing so poorly in Australia... We should be united in fixing the core of our issues.
Ian
Guest
Me too!!
CJ
Guest
Per a request to a rugby mate from England, this came back about signing up for on line viewing - I watch a lot of uk rugby on sunday mornings rather than live on saturday night. they list the games without scorelines so you can watch them 'as live'. You can also go back and watch much older games. For example you could go back and watch the lions matches or even last years autumn internationals. If you go back far enough you can even find a Wallaby win.
piru
Roar Rookie
Feel free to ignore me as I ignore you Milan
Milan
Guest
Nonsense, absolute nonsense. The force propognada brigade have been desperate to throw the rebels under the car to save their skins and this will not be forgotten. Even if the force are reinstated, what will they actually bring to the table apart from the odd wallaby? A poor team and poor support means you won't be missed by 99%. Rip force
Milan
Guest
Yes you are brother. Too little too late form the force. Pathetic support and no tv viewers = culled. And that my friend is the cold harsh reality of life. Now get over it and move on so the rest of us can actually plan for next years super rugby
BeastieBoy
Guest
By far and away the majority of easterners want 5 teams. The team we all want to go is Team ARU.
Stu B
Guest
The only advantage I can see out of this shambles is the NZ conferance can only flog us 20 to nil which sounds better than 26 to nil.
Onside
Guest
I am unconvinced rugby supporters can emotionally differentiate between, the axing of the Western Force in the main, and the demise of Australian Rugby in general. W F occupy the high moral ground, but that is undermined by soft attendances due to poor SR results , and a feeling that SR rugby is an International beast that has very little to do with the game of rugby union in Australia. I sense supporters have switched off , are sick to death of how the game is going , starting all the way back to when the National comp was dismantled after one year. As deserved as say, # SUPPORT WESTERN FORCE , is, in the main most rugby supporters no longer have the energy to fight for SR ; and have ceased caring.
ajg
Guest
I'm a tahs fan and will boycotting them next year if the Force are not reinstated. I have no interest in supporting the EARA. If that's how they want to do things then I'm off and so are a load of my mates too
hog
Guest
Why not Super 16, I posted this in June http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/05/16/never-mind-super-18-super-15-super-16/
Ex force fan
Guest
It took Clyne more than two weeks to return a call from Forrest and then he said your offer came too late.....unbelievable incompetency. Clyne has to go! How anyone even in NSW can still support him as Chairman is unbelievable.