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Peter O’Meara, a major player in turning the Emirates Western Force from a concept into an extremely successful Investec Super 14 team, has resigned as RugbyWA Chief Executive.
O’Meara became CEO in March 2005 and, before the end of the year, a competitive professional team had been assembled and the biggest sponsorship portfolio and membership base of any Australian Super 14 team had been secured.
The Emirates Western Force went on to become a serious semi-finals contender in only its second season, while RugbyWA posted the biggest full year profit of its Australian competitors.
O’Meara said he had been looking to extend his existing contract beyond March – when it is due to expire – but only for another year.
However, the Board of RugbyWA wanted a commitment of three years, a commitment O’Meara was not prepared to make.
“There were some things that I wanted to see through to their completion but beyond that I had my eye on trying my hand at something else,” he said.
“The Board wanted the same person in the role for another three years and my horizon was a bit shorter than that.”
O’Meara said it had been a privilege to be part of RugbyWA’s early years of professional rugby, and he would look back on his tenure with great pride.
“In a very short space of time we were able to recruit and then relocate a playing group that was competitive,” O’Meara said.
“We were also able to tap into some wonderful corporate support, bringing new sports sponsorship to WA including the leading international airline, Emirates,” he said.
“And then there’s that awesome Sea of Blue, the members and fans of the Emirates Western Force, who made our home games such memorable occasions.”
“All these achievements tend to roll off the tongue after a while but a lot of fine people at RugbyWA and the Emirates Western Force put in a lot of hard work to get us there, and I want to thank them for their contribution.”
O’Meara said he would leave with just two disappointments; that WA rugby did not have a proper, dedicated rectangular stadium in which to stage its games, and was unlikely to have one for many years to come; and that Australia was without a third tier, national development tournament now that the Australian Rugby Championship had been axed.
“I worry about the future of Australian rugby in the absence of a pathway for aspiring footballers around the country,” he said.
“If the game is to become truly national, and if the Wallabies are to become as consistent as the All Blacks, then a third tier of competition is vital.”
RugbyWA Chairman Geoff Stooke said that O’Meara had made a significant contribution to Western Australian rugby and had worked tirelessly to help make the Emirates Western Force the success it had become.
“It was a huge logistical exercise locking in the players, coaching and administrative staff as well as the biggest sponsorship portfolio and the largest membership base, all in a relatively short space of time,” Stooke said.
“Peter has been part of taking RugbyWA from an $800,000 per annum operation to a $22 million per annum business, and he leaves when RugbyWA is in a very sound position both on and off the field.”
“Peter’s reasons for leaving are understood and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his significant contribution.”
O’Meara will leave RugbyWA on Friday 18 January.
Stooke said the General Manager Community Rugby and Junior Development Mitch Hardy would take on the role of acting CEO until a replacement is appointed.
He said the search for a replacement would begin over the next few weeks, with a decision more than likely some months away.
Dear Lord, if you give us back Johnny Cash, we'll give you Justin Bieber.
So it was all about time!
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
Whatever the reasons, Peter thank you for your massive part in making tens of thousands of Western Australians' dreams a reality in bringing a competitive and professional rugby team and community to our State.
Your passion for the Force, which was obvious to most, will not be forgotten by me anyway.
Best wishes for the future![]()
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
Cheers for your hard work Peter and good luck![]()
Real shame that Peter and RugbyWA couldn't come to terms but Mitch Hardy is a good egg, and really loves the grassroots, so we should be in good hands in the interim.
Thanks for your work and extremely competitive, and innovative methods in the job Peter!
C'mon the![]()
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Thank U Peter - you have created some magic for us Rugby Tragic's here in Perth - I wish you well in all your future efforts and going on your current achievements they will be successful too - Thanks Again
61 years between Grand SlamsWas the wait worth it - Ya betta baby
thanks for all the hard work over the last few years peter it couldn't of been easy.....
And now for a completely different take on the news
O'Meara resigns as CEO
January 7, 2008 - 6:42PM
The chief executive of embattled Super 14 club Western Force, Peter O'Meara, has resigned.
Following a year in which Rugby WA copped a $150,000 fine for illegal player payments and had to defend its players over mistreatment of quokkas on Rottnest Island, O'Meara announced he was leaving on January 18.
In a statement from the club, O'Meara said he and the Force could not reach agreement over the length of his new contract - with a current deal due to run out later this year.
"There were some things that I wanted to see through to their completion but beyond that I had my eye on trying my hand at something else," O'Meara said.
"The board wanted the same person in the role for another three years and my horizon was a bit shorter than that."
Former Wallaby winger Mitch Hardy, currently RugbyWA's general manager of community rugby, will take over the position in the short term.
A former Commonwealth Bank executive with previous experience on the boards on the NSW and Queensland rugby unions, O'Meara was recruited by RugbyWA in 2005 ahead of the Western Force's inaugural year.
Despite big memberships and improvements on field, the Force's off-field dealings - particularly in recruiting high profile players such as Matt Giteau - put O'Meara at odds with the Australian Rugby Union, eastern states clubs and the media.
Following whispers surrounding O'Meara's relationship with the boss of major sponsor Firepower Tim Johnston, the first major blow came when RugbyWA were hammered with a $150,000 fine by the ARU last year for breaching player contracting protocols.
After consistent denials by O'Meara, the Force were forced to admit to involvement in several breaches of contracting protocols.
These included underwriting third party benefits to players, paying player wages in excess of the maximum permitted by state unions, inappropriate disclosure of player remunerations and offering third party benefits to induce a player to sign.
Then allegations surfaced over secret payments made to a South African national in return for his dropping assault allegations against Force scrum half Matt Henjak.
Those stories also led to revelations Rugby WA was suing its former chief financial officer over confidentiality breaches.
Then last November, former Wallaby Scott Fava and Richard Brown were found guilty of mistreating quokkas and fined $11,000 and $5000 respectively, despite initial denials
RugbyWA Chairman Geoff Stooke said O'Meara had made a significant contribution.
"It was a huge logistical exercise locking in the players, coaching and administrative staff as well as the biggest sponsorship portfolio and the largest membership base, all in a relatively short space of time," Stooke said.
"Peter's reasons for leaving are understood and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours and thank him for his significant contribution."
AAP
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
A bit of a surprise but he seems to have done a bloody good job while he's been here. Good luck to him - he was a major "player" in the formative years.
And Mitch is a top bloke - he was at the TWF Player of the Year thing for Spanner & Gits - so I wish him well too.
I was wondering whether this was SMH for the first half of the article. Certainly not a rosy painting of the picture!
C'mon the![]()
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"embattled"??? Well, we know by whom, don't we.
Anyway. Bugger.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
Thanks for the memories, Peter (and the beer in Sydney....I'm sure it was just an excuse to get out of any more shopping with the missus!!). Good luck Mitch for your fill-in tenure.
CHEERLEADERS ROCK!!!
Yup, that really impressed me, it certainly suggests he's a top bloke who loves rugby. It's one thing being a chief exec and dealing with the board and all the financial stuff, I'm sure it's all too easy in that position to be aloof and just hang with the movers & shakers. So popping in to a bar in Sydney cos he spotted some supporters having their breakfast beer, just to say thanks for making the trip - that was cool!
Good luck to him for whatever comes next - and I hope he has a season ticket to watch the guys go all the way this year! Go!
Keeping the Faith ... right here in Perth!
It was bound to happen, at least the folks down at SMH will be happy...I wonder who they will lock thier sights on now...