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Wayne Smith, Rugby union editor | May 16, 2009
Article from: The Australian
TONIGHT the Western Force has its last go-round on its oval ground at Subiaco as an era ends in Perth.
Actually "era" might be a trifle overblown because, whether it's written or not, "era" tends to be harnessed to "golden" and there has not been anything especially glittering about the Force's first four years.
On the field, the club is in the red, with only 19 wins and four draws to show for its 51 outings. Had it not been for its controversial loss to the Stormers in Cape Town last weekend, the Force amazingly would have had a better away record than it does at Subiaco. Even so, it's a moot point, depending on how much weight you attach to draws. At Subiaco, the Force has recorded 10 wins, one draw and 15 losses. On the road, the stats are 9-3-13.
They're not shameful figures by any means. Certainly the Reds - 12 wins and a draw from 51 matches in the corresponding period - would swap them in a flash. But at a time when Australia is manoeuvring to claim the expansion team in the planned Super 15, the bottom-line numbers of those two franchises do serve as a cautionary tale about the perils of overreaching.
Certainly if Melbourne does win the new franchise, there can be no repeat of the mad stampede for players that marked the Force's earliest days. The prevailing mythology about the formation of the Force is that coach John Mitchell and founding chief executive Peter O'Meara targeted the Reds early in 2005 because they were the most vulnerable, by far the worst-performed Australian team at the time.
In fact, over the preceeding three seasons, the Waratahs had won only two more matches than the Reds, the Brumbies four. No, what put the Reds at the greatest risk was that they were the first Australian team to have the bye in 2005. The Force, by gentleman's agreement, had promised not to distract players by approaching them when they had matches to prepare for, so they scheduled their east coast raids to coincide with each team's bye - starting with the Reds.
At that point, Mitchell and O'Meara had no idea whether the idea of moving across the continent to join a team in an AFL-dominated state was going to have any appeal at all, so basically they grabbed as many Reds players as were prepared to come. Some, like Richard Brown, who made his Super rugby debut in the Force's opening match in 2006, turned out to be fantastic acquisitions but others, frankly, were duds.
But when the first season yielded a solitary win over the Cheetahs - the television match official cruelly having disallowed the legitimate Haig Sare try that should have sealed an awesome debut victory over eventual champions, the Crusaders - something had to be done. Enter Tim Johnston and the dodgy Firepower deal.
Even before he got into bed with his old schoolmate, O'Meara had been playing fast and loose with the ARU's protocols relating to third-party deals - and frankly, who could blame him.
By refusing to grant the Force any concessions to recruit players, the ARU left O'Meara with two alternatives - follow the rules and end up with the dregs and the disgruntled, or break them and build a respectable team. Not surprisingly, he chose the latter.
He and the Force probably would have got away with it had the third party they turned to not been playing fast and loose itself. It was Firepower sponsorships that enabled the Force to lure Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and Ryan Cross to Perth but what none of them realised was the cheques were being paid with Monopoly money.
No surprise really, given all the angst the Firepower sponsorship put him through, that Giteau has chosen to go back to Canberra - dragging Josh Valentine and quite possibly James O'Connor with him - but the Force still should thank its lucky stars that it enjoyed three full seasons of Giteau in the ocean blue jersey.
While he was in Perth, the Force went from bust to break even. His record, going into his farewell clash tonight against the Highlanders, reads 18 wins, two draws and 18 losses. And you can bet that when Giteau, the ultimate competitor, sees these numbers he will be doubly determined to win tonight to edge those stats ever-so-marginally into the black.
But the worrying question now is this: If the Force could only manage a 50-50 record with Giteau calling the shots, how will it fare next season without him? And not just without him but also Valentine, Mitchell (Waratahs), Scott Staniforth, Tai McIsaac and Junior Pelesasa (Japan), Tamati Horua (Ireland) and Ben Castle (Wales)?
O'Meara's successor, Greg Harris, is doing his best to plug the holes before he himself leaves, securing one Wallabies halfback in Brett Sheehan to replace another, Valentine. And he is still pressing hard for Matt Dunning and Stormers five-eighth Peter Grant - no doubt crossing his fingers that Grant isn't named in the Springboks squad to play the British and
Irish Lions.
By far his most important task before he goes, however, is to re-sign teenage sensation O'Connor, a task not made any easier by Giteau's press conference advice to the youngster to base his choice on what's best for his rugby development - read "Brumbies" - or else he could just end up as just another good young player who never quite realised his potential.
As good a coach as is the Brumbies' Andy Friend, John Mitchell is every bit his equal. Indeed, given that he has an 82 per cent winning record over his three seasons in the Test arena - where Friend has never coached - it could be argued O'Connor's rugby development would be best served by remaining in Perth.
It was, after all, under Mitchell's guidance that he became a Wallaby. And arguably the best thing Mitchell did for him was to hold him back until he was physically ready. Even then, he alternated him with Staniforth in defence to ensure he did not get worn down from tackling opponents far bigger than himself.
The theory is that the more leading players who leave the Force, the more sense it makes for others to leave as well. But hat didn't wash with Brown, who re-signed out of loyalty as much as anything else. It will be interesting to see if O'Connor feels the same way.
As hard as it has been for the Force on the field, it has been even harder off. The Firepower scandal, the "quokka shocker", the Matt Henjak sacking and the controversy over Mitchell's man-management style - subsequently rectified - all have added to the club's wild, wild west reputation.
And add to that the fact Subiaco has been a disaster as a home ground, not just because the Force can't seem to win there but also because disgruntled spectators are voting with their feet and are staying away, figuring the view will be better on television until the Force moves next year to a rectangular ground at Members Equity.
On reflection, it really is an era ending tonight with eight players, assistant coach John Mulvihill, chief executive Harris and the ground itself all severing ties with the club.
If so, then maybe the best thing for the Force is to take a deep breath, let it all go, and then start afresh next year.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-32102,00.html
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