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Perth, Optus Stadium to host Bledisloe Cup game in 2019
Nick TaylorThe West Australian
Monday, 30 July 2018 2:00AM
The Bledisloe Cup blockbuster between the Wallabies and All Blacks next year will be played at Optus Stadium on Saturday August 10.
An announcement will be made today confirming the historic date of the heavyweight match.
More here
https://thewest.com.au/sport/rugby-u...-ng-b88911095z
I will be wearing blue
Hmmm!
Politicians' collective memory can be short, it seems.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/rugby-u...-ng-b88911095z
"Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the game was a coup for the State.
'We expect thousands of people to travel to Perth for the game.
It will provide a great platform to show off the new face of Perth to the millions of rugby fans who will be tuning in to the game,' he said." (30 July 2018)
"Deputy Premier Roger Cook, who is a foundation member of the Western Force, said he would 'boycott' rugby.
'I’ll never go to another Wallabies game for the rest of my life as a result of this decision.
I’ve decided I’m going back to rugby league now in WA because the NRL is clearly supporting WA much more than the ARU is,' he said." (August 2017)
"PREMIER Mark McGowan has exacted swift revenge on the Australian Rugby Union for its decision to axe the Western Force by scrapping a deal to bring forward a $4 million payment to stage the Bledisloe Cup at Perth Stadium." (13 August 2017)
"Mr McGowan also revealed the Government was re-visiting commitments made to WA several years ago by the ARU when the State agreed to pour millions into rugby in WA, including a $95 million upgrade to nib Stadium.
'Over the years the State had invested a significant amount of money towards the Force,' Mr McGowan said.
'What we’ll do is get to the bottom of any undertakings the ARU gave the State Government that underpinned the decisions to pour millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money into rugby.'
Apart from a $95 million upgrade to nib Stadium, that investment included $17 million into the Western Force headquarters and $25 million towards the Super Rugby licence." (13 August 2017)
"The Western Australian government is looking at suing the Australian Rugby Union for more than $100 million over the decision to axe the Western Force.
Premier Mark McGowan says the state government is getting legal advice and the options include suing for restitution, which would bankrupt the ARU, or suing for reinstatement.
'I think the ARU doesn’t understand exactly what they’ve done to Western Australia and the amount of money and the amount of support that’s been invested in this team,' he told ABC radio on Monday." (21 August 2017)
"Speaking at a pre-game function before the Test match between Australia and South Africa at nib Stadium on Saturday, we hear ARU chief executive Bill Pulver neglected to welcome WA Sports Minister Mick Murray or RugbyWA president Hans Sauer.
We imagine Murray wasn’t all that impressed, and rightly so, but a spy tells us he got his own back when he found himself sitting next to ARU chairman Cameron Clyne during the game.
Our spy said the two men spoke about the Force from the get-go and it degenerated into a very tense discussion about the future of Australian rugby.
Clyne attempted to pin the Force’s demise on RugbyWA, something Murray refused to accept, before claiming he knew nothing about the deal that led to the Melbourne Rebels being sold to the Victorian Rugby Union for $1.
'It might be raining here tonight, but I didn’t come down in the last shower' Murray was overheard saying." (13 September 2017)
"WA Sports minister Mick Murray has slammed the Australian Rugby Union's process for axing the Western Force from Super Rugby.
Mr Murray told the senate inquiry into the future of rugby in Australia that the 'bloody minded' ARU had not been open, transparent or objective.
'WA is not and has not been fairly represented or fairly treated. Decisions have been made on the east coast, for the east coast,' he said when the [Senate] inquiry re-opened today in Perth.
'The ARU has not been open, transparent or objective throughout the entire process on what criteria teams would be evaluated and how a decision to reduce the number of teams would be made.
'They made a decision (to cut the Force) and worked backwards to justify it. Whichever way we turned a decision had already been made." (11 October 2017)
Or could it be the lure of free hospitality and complimentary premium seats at the Bledisoe Test in Perth in 2019?
Last edited by FingerTips; 30-07-18 at 12:29.
To be fair, those words didn't come from the same minister(s). I'm 100% with Minister Cook and that won't change no matter what - unless & until the Force returns to whatever top class provincial competition emerges from the train wreck at Moore Park.
Been to Bledisloes before - including a last minute trip to see the last Test Match of the bullshit artist formerly known as Nobody - a good few thousand smackers and 4 days of my life I'll not get back.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
No he hasn't; and neither have I. The two situations were very different.
The NRL didn't even exist when the Reds were packed up, moved Melbourne and called The Storm. The causes were Rupert Murdoch's ruthless drive for pay TV content, facilitated by John Ribot's ambition, the constant whining of the Brisbane Broncos (some of which was within reason) and the people in charge of the Reds original bid overstating their financials.
The then ARL had the disaster that was the Superleague War forced on them, not that they were totally blamless in letting the whole shit fight progress beyond the point of no return. Rugby League has still not recovered from that and it is the major reason they are still gun-shy of expansion. HTH.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
I won’t be going to a Wallabies game until we are on an equal footing with the East coast. Said FUARU back then and saying FURA now!
May the FORCE be with you!
Cant we just scrap this test and rearrange a Force Bledisloe series vs The All Blacks this year and next year in lieu of this absolute balls up of a schedule, fancy organising a Bledisloe match just after literally scraping the states pro team, these fu$%ers are deluded. Truely.
We could call this Bledisloe "The real Bledisloe cup" where half the country is truely represented. Under this proposal the NT, SA and even TAS form part of the Force catchment area for international games.
Then we can have the other Bledisloe cup renamed to the East Coast only Bledisloe series, this could be abbreviated to the ECO Bledisloe! This comp is designed for all the mentally challenged misfits who can't make a world series rugby team to play their Tasman neighbours
I should just turn up in Black and buy heaps of black merchandise and then sell it back to gumtree for what I paid and help the All Black empires wealth grow just a little bit more whilst the RA suffers in an inferno of Lava and fire!
Out of curiosity, always thought a fixture between any of the three of England, South Africa and New Zealand would be a full house at the new ground, and good way to début rugby at the ground.
Just remembering when the first test happened in Perth in 1998 vs the Boks, the game sold out instantly; could've done with this stadium then!![]()
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
Of course they didn’t!! Am sure they’ll be there for the game itself though - first class flights, six star accommodation, free super premium box with unlimited champagne, caviar and oysters, and a bottomless expense account to smooze whomever they please. Isn’t that what being on the ARU board is all about? It certainly doesn’t have anything to do with looking after the game of rugby from what I’ve seen.
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Probably invest in some security as well as protection from us vicious Force fans 🙄
Well shit. The kiwi and I have got ourselves an open box - just need to find another 6 people to join us
Just need to work out if I am going to be wearing blue or black...
Regardless of what I think about RA, this is definitely a historic event for Perth and I'm not going to miss it because I have my knickers in a twist.
"Believe in the best, think your best, study your best, have a goal for your best, never be satisfied with less than your best, try your best, and in the long run things will turn out for the best."