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Part of the reason we got a team was the success of Test matches against the springboks.
At the moment WA rugby has a huge swelling of support across the country, but an empty stadium will put that at jeopardy. Remember how Victoria\Rebels were treated in the media and social media after the poor Fiji test showing this year? It doesn't take much for the tide to turn.
To prove they ARU wrong we need a full stadium in blue.
Imagine in media the next day;
Empty stadium greets national rugby team as fans boycott game.
Or
Blue Fans fill stadium for Wallabies match in show of support for Rugby in WA.
P.s. Headline writing isn't my forte but I think the second sends a more powerful and positive message that will keep the groundswell of support towards WA.
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Most of the ARU's actions and statements in relation to the expulsion of the Western Force include symbolism and messaging, and therein lie problems.
The Wallaby team is a child of the ARU.
The team's parent has delivered a calculated insult to a group of people, namely the sport-following public of Western Australia. It has said to those people (a category which includes us) that we are not as important to the ARU as other people in Australia, e.g. the sports-following public of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. We, our support for rugby and our money are of lesser value to the ARU than say our equivalents in Victoria; we can be safely "lost to the game" (see below).
Cameron Clyne and the ARU board are fully aware of the calamitous collateral damage which the closure of the Western Force will cause to the game of rugby union in Western Australia and to its support base.
In Clyne's own words: '“This is a sad day for rugby, especially for Western Force fans,” said Cameron Clyne chairman of the ARU. “We accept that there will be anger and resentment over this decision and we sympathise with those fans. We sincerely hope that they are not lost to the game forever.”'
He (Clyne) knows that this action will result in the exclusion of the Force support base from the rest of the rugby community in Australia (i.e. we will be immediately "lost to the game"). We might be allowed to come back one day (i.e. the exclusion may not be "forever").
The quandary is that if we support the Wallabies, then we are by inference supporting and endorsing an organisation which has explicitly and knowingly discriminated against us.
At least the SARU had the decency to find an alternative competition for their expelled teams.
I like the idea of chanting FORCE.
I would like the Wallabies players to do something. Not just the Force boys but their team mates showing support. I dunno Force socks, blue arm bands... put the blame on the corrupt white collars. Nows the time for Hooper to show hes the captain of the Wallabies and not the ARUs errand boy.
Hans Is there any way Rugby WA can chat to the government. and get the gates opened up for free .. I have mentioned this before.. I see this would hurt the ARU.. They have treated our government with contempt.. Or we try and twist the arms of the gate people to let us in for free and the ARU have shat on them to.. This would get the seats full Kids and Mums and dads .. If its s a full stadium the viewing publice won't know how we got here.. I am sure Roger Cook , Mark mc.gowen and Rugby WA can come up with a plan..
Don't the ARU own the stadium for that evening, I'm pretty sure nothing official could bbve done.
The union that handles gate staff and security might be a better bet. It sounds more likely as industrial action.
C'mon the![]()
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Tonkar, I sincerely doubt Stadium operators would open gates for free. Security is one issue, the stadium has also been purchased by the ARU to host the match.
Is there a box of Blue Crew T-Shirts or similar sitting around at HQ that could be distributed on match day near the gates for anyone wanting to join the visual protest?
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Based on the ARU actions so far I can't see how anything other than depriving them of revenue will affect don't give a shit if we wear blue ...as long as the money is green they'll whisk it back to the eastern states. How about we not use their rugby link money grabbing system and pay their ARU fees on every child and adult player. Next year the ARU have stopped all payments at club level, discounts for battlers etc. and everyone must register online and pay upfront with a credit card and then they will send the balance back to our western Australian clubs.
I think they are having the last laugh and anything other than financial protests is playing into their hands. They have literally got us by the short hairs at grassroots level as well as super 18 level. just keep that money going east boys ... we need it to ensure can pay for the Waratah levies in the future
Anything less than financial boycotts we are simply kidding ourselves and I am sure that our WA FORCE/Wallabies boys would totally understand and support the sentiment
Get me inside a boardroom and I'll get any decision I want
Coleman might be the only Force boy left in the team if the Ringmaster brings in his favourite clowns....after all Adam in his mind is a Tahrd remember![]()
The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor