It’s been a rough year for rugby fans in Western Australia. Having endured the Western Force’s position in the crosshairs all season, their team’s status for 2018 remains up in the air, and now there are suggestions the process to cut a team may not have been as fair and consultative as was made out.
There’s a lot of anger in the west, and though I’m not going to pretend to know what you’re all going through, or how you’re feeling over there, you have my sympathy in what must be an incredibly anxious time.
As soon as the news broke four weeks ago that the Force had been “discontinued” as far as Super Rugby goes, many a disgruntled fan aired their intention to boycott the Wallabies’ Rugby Championship Test against South Africa in Perth this Saturday.
Their message was clear: if the ARU has no room for the Force, then they wouldn’t be supporting the ARU. Wouldn’t be wasting their money on tickets, not going to spend a cent that could possibly find its way into ARU revenue.
It’s a strong sentiment, and I understand completely where it’s coming from. But it’s also misguided.
Boycotting the Test could, in fact, have the opposite effect to the intended message.
And now-retired Western Force skipper Matt Hodgson knows this too.
“I’m telling everyone definitely go to the game,” Hodgson told Fairfax Media’s Tom Decent this week.
“My message is it’s not the Western Force that’s only suffering, it’s rugby in general. I’m hopeful everyone will come. Some of those players are Western Force guys and we should go and support them.”
That last line, in particular, is the one I’ve found most commonly forgotten by disgruntled Force fans. Their anger tends to dissipate when asked why Force players no longer deserve their support once they pull on the Wallabies jersey.
These same players have, for most of their lives, probably, wanted nothing more in rugby than to play for their country. A cherry on top of that dream would be to play for their country in their home city, on their home ground, in front of their home crowd, and in front of friends and family.
But in their rush to give the verbal bird to the ARU, some fans kind of overlooked this when making broad statements like ‘The ARU will never get another dollar from me.’
This kind of tone sounds forceful when uttered or written, but it’s not that practical in the grand scheme of things.
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For starters, RugbyWA will still be relying on ARU funding to continue developing the game in Western Australia in the future, regardless of whether the Force still exist on the professional stage.
Happily, it feels like a little bit of rationality is returning to the debate, and the feeling is growing that rather than boycotting the Test, fans are now looking to attend the match in numbers, and decked out in their Western Force gear.
Indeed, this is RugbyWA’s preferred method of protest. Have the Sea of Blue fill out nib Stadium in all their glory – Force jerseys and Wallabies scarves is the recommended dress code – and send the message that Western Australian fans aren’t going anywhere.
The McGillivray Oval hill was chockablock on Sunday for Perth Spirit’s first home game of the NRC, with estimates in the order of 5000 people, meaning it’s immediately among the top handful of crowds since the competition began in 2014.
There were Force jerseys and colours everywhere, and it was wonderful to see.
Some clear thinking saw a gentleman with his banner positioned perfectly behind the posts in the second half, and though the video stream I was watching wasn’t quite good enough to make out his message, it was pretty obvious the words surrounding the bright blue ‘ARU’ letters on the banner weren’t overly complimentary.
This is far more effective than a boycott. Turning out in numbers with your flags and your banners and getting your message out clearly will be a lot harder to ignore than if you simply aren’t there. If three-quarters of the Perth crowd turn up to the Test in Force gear, that’s quantifiable and hard to ignore.
The total number of people actively boycotting will never truly be known and thus is much easier to overlook.
And besides, why give anyone the opportunity to use a poor turnout to a Test match against the rugby-loving public of Western Australia?
Beyond that, it’s worth remembering that the players themselves maintained the need for the five teams, with RUPA pushing the ‘Stronger as Five’ barrow the whole way through. Wallabies players from the other states don’t deserve a boycott, just as Force players in the Wallabies squad don’t.
Again, I’m not going to claim to know what angry rugby fans in the west are feeling. With the judgement into the Force’s appeal to the NSW Supreme Court to be handed down at 10am (AEST) today, there’s no doubt these are nervous times for all.
But I would urge Force fans to think about the most effective way of being heard.
And be assured, no-one can hear you if you stay away.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Well right now none of them even exist.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Bold statement that nobody cares about them. Can you back this with your stats or is it just an opinion? Sunwolves are pretty popular with their fans. The game is contracting. The loss of 3 teams for financial reasons is not a symptom of good health.
Toanuiunno
Guest
For both ways to work the force supporters would need to all gather at one location to watch the game on the big screen. This way their numbers all decked out in Blue could be ascertained and they could rest assured the ARU would listen because the money wasn't there for the test attendances
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
How do a bunch of plastic teams with no history that nobody cares about (excluding the Force), without the best players from anywhere have the potential to take over Super Rugby?
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
It's a pretty good Idea I hope it takes off, it has the potential to overrun SR. The remain 4 SA teams can go Pro 14
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Absolutely. If Forrest offers a lot of money to compete with the 10M GBP Salary Caps of Europe absolutely players will go there. But that's gonna cost a lot of money to do.
Ex force fan
Guest
There is an assumption that every player wants to play for the Wallabies. We saw with players playing in Europe that money can talk much loader than international rugby. Especially players that is not "in" with the coach (not playing for the Tahs) will be willing to play for money. The bulk of Superugby players are not paid the $800ks that Genia and Pocock is getting.
Ex force fan
Guest
If there is enough money in the IndoPacific comp and star players are used to improve the quality of teams and raise interest as in the IPL, the ARU may loose several of their stars. It could get interesting.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Careful! The ARU own the IP and branding with profits going back to them.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
If only there was some way to find a public space with a big screen where Force fans can pay a nominal fee to go and watch the game together, out of the rain.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Don't kid your self, the Wallabies are the 6th (now 5th) SR franchise. All Wallabies (Ginea too!) are SR players (by EARU Mandate) The team is underrepresented by Force players. Do the players deserve our support? Don't know - They are paid professional athletes. One could argue that some players are selected for their media and marketing draw and not their on field performances It is a very different environment to how our Olympians are selected. They can be competing anywhere in the world to be eligible.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Giteau Law aside, to be eligible to play for the Wallabies you need an Australian SR contact, Bought and sold by Fox Fake Sports. So a player for the Spirit or the Pindan Comp are now ineligible, This must change and fast or we will have the "Australian Forresters" team vieing for a wildcard berth at the next world cup.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
The impact is going to be felt Australia wide. With Louwrens and Ruru kicking down the the door and Ginea Back, there is going to be a glut of quality halfbacks in the Mix. 3 Locks and a full back row will push a lot of players down the pecking order. Many have already jumped ship (Brumbies) The Rebs Backs have all but left making a void for the Force Players to Fill. Might all be speculation. If Twiggy can get a Comp up and running next year, the talent drain will be from the SR Teams, not the other way around as the EARU postulated in their public misdirection earlier this year.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
How about a gold armband/scarf on a blue shirt or vice versa.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
I understand their thinking, it is logical, and I for one saw the intent a mile off. Why would the ARU want to own the Licence? Ah - I see it now. The problem is that they did nothing to maintain the national footprint. A Merger or Restoration of the ARC were potential solutions. Looks like Twiggy is going to solve that for them using an NRL marketing template. SR to die a slow, painful, lonely death on Foxtel The Indian Pacific comp on free to air to eclipse it. Top players Jumping ship. NZ coming on board within 5 years. The Blues maybe in the first or second year
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Found it difficult to get out of the carpark too. Maybe they should relocate to a stadium next to public transport. Does anyone know of one that is no longer in use and could use some revenue?
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Money talks BS walks. Foxtel told SANZAAR to reduce the number of teams, so the did. it is 100% owned by Murdoch's Mirror, In Fairness, it is in response to viewer numbers.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
I have been watching FTA for a while now. I prefer the unbiased commentary.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
We are going to find out in the next phase of the legal battle aren't we. Using Logic, (A new concept, I know) A stadium sponsor has a reasonable expectation that the teams contracted to the stadium will play at the stadium. If they don't, they are well within their legal rights to break their contract, withdrawing their advertising dollar. The loss of income suffered by the WA Government has a causal link to the decision and actions taken by the ARU Since the ARU own the Force and the Force are in breach of contract, they are the ones carrying the can.
Ex force fan
Guest
Not sure if it will be on Channel 10 in WA but will have a look.