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April 21, 2017 2:22pm|
by Justin Chadwick, AAP|
Source: FOX SPORTS
WESTERN Force coach Dave Wessels has revealed a number of his players have already been approached to join rival sides but he hopes they will resist the temptation to jump ship despite the uncertain future of the Super Rugby franchise.
The Force and Rebels are in a two-way battle for survival after the Australian Rugby Union confirmed it would axe one of the sides in a reduced 15-team competition.
With both franchises now threatening legal action against the ARU, the saga doesn’t appear likely to end any time soon.
The Force and Rebels are unable to re-sign any of their non-Wallabies players until a decision on their future is made, leaving them vulnerable to raids from rival sides both domestically and abroad.
Force winger Luke Morahan has already signed on with English side Bristol for next season, while a host of other Force players are also being targeted.
Wessels hopes they will hold off on signing elsewhere.
“All the players I’ve spoken to want to stay,” Wessels said ahead of Saturday night’s clash with the Chiefs in Perth.
“But I also understand they have families and different things that need to be taken care of.
“So what we’ve said is let’s just be honest with each other about those things.
“And some of the players have come and sat with me and said they’ve been approached by other teams and they’re talking to them; but with a view that they want to stay with us.
“We just keep playing the ball that’s delivered to us. I’m not really sure how it’s going to pan out.
“But certainly the sooner things get resolved, the better from that perspective.”
Wessels admits the ongoing saga has been a distraction for his group although he and his players have been blown away by the support shown by the WA public.
“I’ve seen some photos overnight of fans making big banners. It’s pretty special,” Wessels said.
“Their response has really galvanised the players.”
The Force kept their slim finals hopes alive with a win over the Kings before last week’s bye.
And they’ll be aiming to cause a major boilover when they take on the powerful Chiefs at nib Stadium.
They’ll have to do it without a host of big names, however, with star winger Chance Peni and skipper Ben McCalman the latest to join the Force’s bulging injury list.
Peni is set to miss the rest of the season after rupturing his groin, while McCalman will miss at least one game after suffering suspected nerve damage in his shoulder.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/fo...68b6641a3c40c7
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I thought that the request from the ARU not to re-sign Non Wallabies players was on all the Australian teams not just the ones that were potentially be axed.
Not surprised by it, but the Eastern teams look like they are trying to underplay us by trying to poach our best players....
Link to the news of the freeze on re-signing below:
http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/4...teams/?cs=2453
Bummer but no surprise! Just hope who ever gets a "get out clause " if the Force is saved.
May the FORCE be with you!
I hope to God the force are talking to Reece Hodge, Mitch Inman and marieka koroibete in return.
Of course, we would be fined and threatened with deregistration if we were caught
C'mon the![]()
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I assume that "rival clubs" means the 3 (or 4) protected Australian Super Rugby franchises.
It would be a pretty low thing for the other Australian franchises to do, to act like a pack of circling jackals, while the Force (and the Rebels) are under threat from the ARU. And of course, it would be an unequivocal spit in the faces of the Force (and Rebel) fans by the other clubs.
Is the ARU behind this?
Is the ARU encouraging the other franchises to poach Force players, in spite of the instruction to the Australian franchises not to re-sign Non Wallabies players, so that by the end of this year the Force playing list could be depleted to such an extent that it is no longer competitive.
Is the ARU clever enough to come up with a strategy like this?
So far, they have demonstrated that they are disingenuous enough to do such a thing.
Based on everything that has come to pass so far I can only assume that the powers that be at the ARU/ESRU/FUARU are either up there with most maniacally devious of Bond villains, or show the extreme level of incompetence of Dr Evil.
However, when choosing between massive conspiracy vs massive stupidity, human nature really seems to lend itself more to the latter than the former...
So did the ARU/ESRU/FUARU come up with the strategy? Very doubtful
But will the ARU/ESRU/FUARU turn a blind eye to the situation because it benefits their position a la the NSW ground hire scandal? You can bet your every last f*cking cent on it!
If the ARU was smart...
Never mind.
What blows my mind is how many alternative plans have been touted since this debacle started and most have a better economic outcome and are less disruptive to Fans and employees and their families... How hard could it have been to have a community forum/round table/brainstorming session etc to come up with these ideas before they shot from the hip?
really am at a loss..
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the other teams were allowed to sign players after the announcement of which teams were in the firing line. The brumbies were quick to resign a few players.
These Eastern States clubs think that they can get away with behaving like ... like ... I don't know ... Cottesloe or Nedlands.
Doesnt seem to help them though does it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂