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Nick Taylor
The West Australian
October 14, 2016, 3:22 pm
Western Force foundation chief executive Peter O’Meara has demanded the Australian Rugby Union make a stand to ensure the future of the Super Rugby club.
The ARU took control of the struggling club this year amid speculation that a SANZAAR review of the tournament format could see sides cut in Australia and South Africa.
But O’Meara said talk of a Force closure was being driven by self-interested Eastern States parties and the financial viability of the Melbourne Rebels and ACT Brumbies should be investigated.
“It is an outrage that there should even be talk of shutting the Force down. It is being driven by people on the east coast who have no idea of what goes on in WA,” O’Meara said.
“The ARU has to stand up and assure the WA rugby community that they are not going to collapse this team.
“I don’t want to be attending the funeral for the Force.
“There are a myriad of reasons why the Force has to stay. It does not make commercial sense to lose the club.
“The broadcasting time slot for back-to-back matches in New Zealand and the east and west coasts of Australia is ideal.
“There is a much stronger demographic market to grow a rugby franchise in Perth than in Melbourne or Canberra and significantly higher numbers of rugby followers in Perth than Melbourne or Canberra.”
The introduction of the Rebels in 2011 has proved costly to the ARU who have poured millions into the now privately owned franchise while other clubs like the Waratahs and Reds have also been bailed out.
“The Force had never held their hand out until now,” O’Meara said.
“When the Force was set up it was in the face of a one-sided salary system that weighed heavily in favour of the (then) three east coast franchises.
“Their salary budgets were cross-subsidised by the ARU and exceeded the Force budget by millions. The imbalance has never been rectified.
“There is a huge disparity in what has gone to other franchises that have been financially propped up by the ARU over the last 10 years.”
O’Meara, who was on the board of both the NSW and Queensland rugby unions before taking charge of the Force for three years, said the club had been more productive than the Rebels in improving the depth of Australian talent.
“The Force have more than paid their way for the ARU, launching the Wallaby careers of 15 players who all made their debut while for the club,” he said.
“It is about time we saw innovation from the ARU to create a fairer distribution of player talent.”
He said it was “shameful” that other clubs with strong player rosters were allowed to lure young WA grown talent.
“It’s unfair that home grown talent like Kyle Godwin and Nick Jooste (both now at the Brumbies) are able to be poached from WA at such a vulnerable time,” he said.
“The system continues to discriminate against players moving west.
“There should be an incentive to keep these players in the west to ensure the Force is competitive. Talent equalisation or player drafts must be a part of the solution.”
O’Meara urged the WA rugby community to launch a campaign aimed at the ARU and SANZAAR as it did in the lead up to the original bid when more than 25,500 signed a petition and 7000 people turned up at a rally at Subiaco Oval.
“The community played a massive part in getting Super Rugby to WA. They have to raise their collective voices again and demand a fair go for the Force,” he said.
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