Force fed future in WA Rugby
Currently, in my opinion there is a lot of talent in WA "going to waste" and I think harnessing that will be where the depth of future Force squads will come from.
I'll give my own experience to illustrate my point.
The Scotch College 1st XV was undefeated in the PSA comp in '89 & '90 and then dropped two matches to come third in '91.
This was a strong period in Scotch Rugby history and presented about thirty players with genuine potential to go on with a rugby career of some success. Roughly that number went on to play Colts for various clubs and performed very well at that level. However, after five seasons there was only a hand full left and now there would be I think no more than five still playing at what should be the pinacle of a rugby players career (ie 30-33 years).
On top of that, there were at least ten of the better 1st XV players who never played at club level as they went back to the bush to work on their family farms and stations.
I fall into that category, having been Captain of my year group State teams at U14 and U15 then running out of money to pursue the invites to U16 and Open Trials and eventually heading home at the end of Year 12, never to play again.
I quite possibly would have not had much success but the point is that we'll never know. Had there been a "Force" back then, then the opportunity would have been there to try and make a career in the sport without the huge upheaval of heading East.
The reasons for such a fast drop off of talent are varied but chiefly amongst them is the need to knuckle down at studies or work and the urge to travel at that age because there has been no rugby career path for our better local players to follow.
This is just three of the last fifteen years and one of seven PSA schools so there is little doubt of the multiplication effect on my experience.
Further, with full respect to the subsequent career of John Welborn, I would argue that there was at least three or four players in his two years in the Scotch 1st XV ('86-'87) who had greater potential at the higher level that never played on to realise their full ability.
Another analogy would be, having had first hand experience of Australian Rules in country WA, I know for a fact there are many players out here who are easily as skilled as those running around in the WAFL however, have chosen to remain at home to the detriment of their playing careers.
Despite all the pontificating from Eastern Staters that Western Australia is a rugby desert, there has been a steady flow of players to Eastern clubs over the years.
To some degree they are right in saying Australian Rules is the sport of choice however, it is rare that once chosen as their sport, an elite junior rugby player would go back to Aussie Rules.
They tend to move to places that will provide rugby opportunities or just quit and get on with the rest of their life.
Following the incredible increase of interest and participation in WA following the World Cup and the ever increasing number of expats from Southern Africa (SA & Zim) and NZ/Islanders, the Force will provide the catalyst to greater things for rugby in WA.
No one over here is seriously suggesting huge success in the first couple of seasons, the real excitement comes from realising the potential of finally harnessing our real junior talent with some of Australia’s best rather than just presenting the best of what's left.
Any genuine Australian Rugby supporter would understand that to mean a genuine boost to the national depth from rugby's last great Australian frontier, rather than continually sniping and bitching about having certain players "poached" etc.
As the Force continues to offer a focal point and Rugby WA invests on this, the next few years will see the coming of age for Rugby in Western Australia.
