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Just over half a year ago now, the ARU made a decision that would impact upon the game of rugby union in Australia for decades to come.
Let’s just say the outcome left a lot of people pretty angry. Half a year on, what’s been happening with the Force, and is the future of Australian rugby any brighter than it was in August last year?
The recap
As a whole, the Aussie teams vastly underperformed in 2017, but have had a significantly stronger start to the 2018 season. As Force legend Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins put it a while back, “Last year was a bit, uh, how you goin’, but um nah we’re good now.”
Early on in 2017, SANZAAR resolved to dump three teams from Super Rugby’s bloated roster – two from South Africa and one from Australia. As the ARU refused to commit to a decision, it looked like a straight shootout between the Perth-based Force and Melbourne Rebels – the two youngest Australian franchises.
Despite finishing second in the conference, with a groundswell of home support, the Western Force were shown the door. Cutting the Force raised eyebrows at the time, not least because their six wins were the joint-best in the conference alongside the finals-bound Brumbies. The Rebels, meanwhile, managed just one win on their way to the overall wooden spoon.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The Rebels’ campaign was an unmitigated disaster. A shaky start set the tone for their season, as the Blues put 56 points on them in the opening round, only to plumb new depths with a 71-6 thrashing by the Hurricanes the following week.
By delaying and failing to lay out transparent criteria, the ARU invited widespread criticism. It was no surprise when thousands of frustrated Force fans rallied outside Rugby WA headquarters following the decision.
Forrest, alongside captain Matt Hodgson, addressed supporters during the aftermath. Hodgson stated the decision was “bigger than the Western Force… It’s about who is going to play rugby in this state.”
The protest was a public display of the loyalty of the Force fan-base, who, not unlike their beloved club, wouldn’t go down without a fight.
A series of unfortunate events
In April last year SANZAAR announced they would be returning to a simpler, 15-team format, with only four Aussie teams.
The announcement came as ticket sales and overall revenues for the Aussie clubs began plummeting following sub-par seasons where clubs failed time and again to get bums in seats, with record breaking low attendance.
On the surface, kicking out the team that came second in the conference instead of the one that came dead last doesn’t add up. Unfortunately for the Force, it was the ARU’s only option.
The ARU’s reluctance to make a decision left both the Force and Rebels unsure of their club’s future heading into the 2017 offseason. This invited widespread criticism and forced Bill Pulver, the ARU’s CEO to step down.
The decision to finally cut the Force came after Melbourne Rebels owner Andrew Cox sold his share of the franchise to Victorian Rugby Union for $1, a cheeky move that prevented the ARU from buying the club and shutting it down instead.
(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Bitter-sweet aftertaste
Even now I firmly believe cutting the club was a bad decision made by a desperate ARU.
Force fans you still have a right to be mad.
The move – which ARU chairman Cameron Clyne said was “guided primarily by financial outcomes” – could have undoubtedly stunted the development of the game in the state of Western Australia and across the country.
Although some argued this resolution would increase the quality of the remaining Aussie teams – and, I’ll grudgingly admit that it has – myself and most rugby fans (or at least enraged Western Australians) were left asking “at what cost?”
It’s up to the ARU to develop rugby in Australia and as fans of the sport we should have never been put in this position. Let’s just hope it never happens again.
CEO of the Rugby Union Players Association, Ross Xenos, put it simply at the time, saying, “The future of professional rugby in Western Australia will now be the collateral damage of the decision making of the ARU and SANZAAR.”
A western revival
Good news folks.
The Western Force will return to action on May 4 for the first time since their controversial axing at the end of the 2017 Super Rugby season.
Billionaire backer Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest recently announced the Force will play a series of invitational matches against international and Super Rugby sides.
Matchups against Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hong Kong, as well as the Crusaders and Rebels, have all been confirmed. These fixtures are part of what has been titled the World Rugby Series (WSR) and will all be played at Perth’s NIB Stadium.
This is great news for the franchise that Forrest promised would survive its Super Rugby departure. With these fixtures, Twiggy has made good on his promise. The games are bound to be exciting spectacles for fans of rugby worldwide, and crucial for a new look Force side that lost a large portion of last year’s squad to the remaining Super Rugby teams.
(Photo by Daniel Carson/Getty Images)
The future
The removal of the Force cost rugby union the opportunity to take control of Western Australia.
Victoria and South Australia both have AFL, New South Wales and Queensland have both league and union, and look yes, I understand that WA has both the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles, but I’d argue that the AFL hardly has Western Australia in a vice.
Point is, Western Australia is ripe for the taking, and to create a threshold for rugby over there would be massive for the game moving forward. Just because rugby isn’t everybody’s first choice right now doesn’t mean it can’t be in the future.
Even rugby league is beginning to acknowledge the need for expansion westwards. The double header in early March (Warriors vs Rabbitohs and Storm vs Bulldogs) was proof of this. The loss of the Force only magnifies the opportunity for an NRL team to step in and take WA for the first time since the Western Reds left for the Super League in ’97.
Investing in union in Western Australia made more sense than completely dismantling the professional game. The ARU and SANZAAR had the opportunity to grow the game out west but failed to take advantage of that opportunity and instead forced their exit out of the professional game.
This is why the announcement of the WSR is so crucial in terms of developing rugby union in Australia. It will be the first time anyone has donned a Force jersey (aside from the new woman’s comp the Super W) since a convincing win over the Tahs in the final regular season game in mid-July last year.
The Forces exit left the Perth Spirit acting as the only side in WA. This meant the competition would be tough with more players vying for spots in the NRC side, and more NRC players vying for spots in the four remaining Super Rugby teams.
Thankfully, with the inception of a brand-new competition and the involvement of several international teams alongside the Force’s former Super Rugby counterparts, this problem has essentially been solved.
Disaster averted?
With the announcement of the WSR is Australian Rugby back on even footing?
Honestly, I have no clue.
Gone are the glory days of Australian footy, where Campese could carve up anyone in his path, or where an inside ball from Gregan would guarantee any oncoming ball runner a try.
If anything, it’s just disappointing that we’ve had to come to this point. At least the future of the WA side is in much better shape now than it was a few months ago.
However, the whole process of removing the Force has raised several questions about the future of rugby union in Australia.
With a declining interest in the game nationwide, and waning grassroots pathways, diehard rugby fans are left questioning whether the sport will endure the hard slog, and fight right through to the 80th minute, or blow out, and walk back to the sheds head bowed in defeat.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.