Page 15 of 23 FirstFirst ... 5 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ... LastLast
Results 211 to 225 of 345

Thread: IPRC TEAM & COACH

  1. #211
    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Rockingham
    Posts
    20,508
    vCash
    1296000
    30 professional players in the squad, looks like we'll be defending the makeup of our nrc team again this year.

    Expect the usual bullshit refs making one eyed decisions because the outcast can't win

    1 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    C'mon the

  2. #212
    Legend
    Apprentice Bookie
    Contributor .X.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    6,697
    vCash
    -14799739
    Quote Originally Posted by volvo View Post
    Matt Hodgson, Andrew Forrest and keeping rugby relevant in WA

    Bitterness. Betrayal. Disgust.

    They're emotions you wouldn't dare begrudge Western Force great Matt Hodgson after he and the rest of the now defunct Super Rugby franchise were taken to hell and back in 2017.

    After governing body SANZAAR announced the competition would be stripped back to 15 teams, Rugby Australia, then known as the Australian Rugby Union, revealed it would cut either the Force or Melbourne Rebels to meet their requirements for the revised format.

    Hodgson quickly became the face of the Force's fight for survival, the veteran flanker delivering countless emotional pleas to the ARU to not only keep the WA franchise but also keep Australian rugby at its full Super Rugby complement.

    The battle eventually went to the courts before a senate hearing also laid bare what had transpired behind closed doors at Rugby Australia HQ. In the end, the Rebels were given the green light to keep their place in Super Rugby while the Force, and more than 35 contracted players, were banished to professional obscurity.

    The decision was particularly brutal for Hodgson, given he was the only remaining foundation player from the Force, one of the few who'd headed over from the east coast, and had begun to raise a family as he committed his life to Western Australia. He had every reason to walk away from rugby, after the game had hurt him so badly.

    It is not the case.

    Does he feel a lighter load now 2017 is behind him?

    "No, I don't, it's probably a bigger load," Hodgson tells ESPN when asked whether he's a different man, his two boys playing nearby in a Perth park. "There's so much expectation of trying to deliver something for the people of WA. I think as we come closer to the start of the Super Rugby season we're going to feel a big void, and it's going to be a bit of an empty space.

    "So it's sort of my job and a team of us together to try and get something up and running to be able to watch rugby and watch rugby in WA. I know the 'Sea of Blue' [the Force supporters] are starting to get a bit itchy now as we come closer to the beginning of what would have been another season for the Force, and when that first game comes it's going to be an empty feeling."

    Hodgson hung up the boots when the Force signed off their final Super Rugby season with a crushing 41-10 over NSW Waratahs, a win that saw them finish second in the Australian conference, but his work was really only just beginning. For the man who at that same game had described the Force as the "best thing Western Australia had going", mining magnate Andrew Forrest, was already working to ensure Australia's fourth Super Rugby franchise would not be wiped from the map completely.

    With the Force removed from Super Rugby, Forrest has set about creating his own Indo-Pacific Rugby competition with Hodgson quickly becoming his right-hand man. Gone are the boots and mouthguard, on are the suit and tie as the 11-Test Wallabies back-rower rides shotgun to Forrest and the goal of ensuring rugby's survival in the west.

    "It's great, it's definitely different," Hodgson says of life on the road with Forrest. "I thought when I retired from football I'd stop the travelling because it does take it out of you and it is hard on your family. Now having two kids to be away for so long; the special thing now is you're actually delivering for them and giving them an opportunity of doing what I did. I was lucky enough to [have] 17 years in professional sport and playing rugby, the joy, the places I got [to travel] and the people I got to meet were pretty special.

    "So going away now and seeing it from the other side is definitely different; meeting different people and talking about different things. But the more people I see around sport and rugby, a lot of people have the same goal and they just want rugby to be successful again; it's not only WA that's hurting, it's the whole of Australia hurting, that's the story I'm hearing."

    Hodgson says he and Forrest are closing in on some major announcements for their Indo-Pacific competition as they strive to deliver some rugby content for West Australians.

    There are those who question the billionaire's planning, pointing to a lack of space in the rugby calendar and asking who exactly will contest the competition and how it will generate interest in an already saturated Australian sports market.

    But Hodgson is adamant the competition can and will be a success, such is the drive and commitment of Forrest -- the same man who offered the ARU $Aus50 million to retain the Force's Super Rugby licence.

    "Nearly every second email I get from Andrew has M.I.H. at the bottom of it, and I kept asking what it meant and then, after a while, he actually told me it just says 'make it happen'," Hodgson tells ESPN. "So everything he says, he wants it to happen; he puts some pretty hefty goals on us and, as you see, it's been a tough battle.

    "But I think we're actually making progress now and moving forward. Anything I ask or I dreamed of as a kid, he says 'let's make it happen'. The best thing about Andrew is he's hands-on and he really wants this to happen but he gives you enough rope to actually [shape] the way you think rugby should look in Western Australia."

    Hodgson also likes what he sees in new Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle, whom he met in Perth recently.

    "I see positive things for Australian rugby under her leadership, which is quite exciting," he says. "She brings something different that Australian rugby hasn't seen for a while, and that's pretty exciting.

    "She's going to take a few weeks or a month or so to actually just absorb everything of what's on, not only in Western Australia but in rugby in general, and then I think she'll start making some decisions for the betterment of the game."

    While Hodgson has moved on from the challenges of 2017, it's evident there is a spot deep within him that still can't completely reconcile the fashion in which his club was dismissed.

    And what of Super Rugby? Can he bring himself to watch the action when the Australian conference gets underway on Friday -- sans Force?

    "I probably won't be as excited by it," Hodgson says. "I'm saying if it's on I'll probably watch it, but I won't have that same excitement or that same feeling of watching as I would have [if it] had been the Western Force playing in it; that's probably what's going to hurt the most.

    "It would have been a time now I could have sat back and reflected on it, actually sat in the ground or watched it on TV and saying that I was part of that. That's a big void that's going to be hard to fulfil."

    And it's that "void" he will continue to look to fill in the coming months -- not just for the people of WA or an Australian rugby community he says is hurting across the country, but particularly for those two boys still running riot around the park.

    "It was pretty funny, they [Hodgson's boys] started asking what I do for a job now that I'm not going to training," he says. "I think my wife, Jo, summed it up, she said: 'Daddy used to play for the Force, now he's trying to save the Force'. So just listening to that and going down to training for Under-6s at our local club, seeing how much enjoyment there is for the game there, and I reckon that's emulated in every club in WA, is the reason why I do it.

    "So personally and probably selfishly, it's for my two young boys. But in saying that, every step or path I will listen to what people want and probably try to make it so I can see my kids, or someone of their age, in 10-20 years actually pulling on the Western Force jersey in a professional outfit and playing professional rugby. And if that is taking over soccer, taking over other sports and becoming the No.1 sport in WA, that's exciting."

    http://www.espn.com.au/rugby/story/_...tern-australia


    I cant believe how obviously out of touch Matt Hodgson is with the Sea of Blue fan base.

    Not once did he refer to Rugby Australia as FURA.

    Nor did he have a obnoxious nickname for the Rugby Australia CEO.

    It would appear that he did not try and change the subject of the interview in the hope to blame Rugby Australia for something they didnt do.

    What hope does the IPRC have of being successful with this guy in charge?

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

    Exile
    Sydney


    "Pain heels. Chicks dig scars and Glory lasts forever." Shane Falco

  3. #213
    Immortal Contributor shasta's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Mandurah
    Posts
    15,726
    vCash
    5470000
    Quote Originally Posted by Exile View Post
    I cant believe how obviously out of touch Matt Hodgson is with the Sea of Blue fan base.

    Not once did he refer to Rugby Australia as FURA.

    Nor did he have a obnoxious nickname for the Rugby Australia CEO.

    It would appear that he did not try and change the subject of the interview in the hope to blame Rugby Australia for something they didnt do.

    What hope does the IPRC have of being successful with this guy in charge?
    No. And neither would I if I were in the same position as Matt. He has to deal with the treacherous scumbags (Ms Castle excluded) to try and find a way forward for Rugby in this state. No way is he out of touch and you well know that X. I think you may get a better idea of how the bloke actually feels by re-reading some of Jody's posts around the web. HTH.

    2 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    "The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David


  4. #214
    Champion andrewg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    1,620
    vCash
    5460000
    Quote Originally Posted by shasta View Post
    No. And neither would I if I were in the same position as Matt. He has to deal with the treacherous scumbags (Ms Castle excluded) to try and find a way forward for Rugby in this state. No way is he out of touch and you well know that X. I think you may get a better idea of how the bloke actually feels by re-reading some of Jody's posts around the web. HTH.
    I reckon Exile left everything out of his post except the (sarc).

    2 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  5. #215
    Legend Contributor
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    5,259
    vCash
    5100000
    Quote Originally Posted by Exile View Post
    I cant believe how obviously out of touch Matt Hodgson is with the Sea of Blue fan base.

    Not once did he refer to Rugby Australia as FURA.

    Nor did he have a obnoxious nickname for the Rugby Australia CEO.

    It would appear that he did not try and change the subject of the interview in the hope to blame Rugby Australia for something they didnt do.

    What hope does the IPRC have of being successful with this guy in charge?

    1 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  6. #216
    Apprentice
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Rockingham
    Posts
    14
    vCash
    5000000
    Quote Originally Posted by Bakkies View Post
    I wouldn't trust that incompetent and lying prick Anthony French as far as you could throw him.
    Do you know Anthony french personally?

    Do you have any idea of his qualifications or standing in corporate life?

    Who are you ?

    Why should any of these emotional bloggers trust you over him? What have you done to support rugby that has made a significant difference?

    Let’s here it mate!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  7. #217
    Champion Tonkar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    west Kulin / East Wickepin
    Posts
    1,370
    vCash
    5000000
    Looks like we have been lied to again ,, I have been asking questions and finally got an answer and I am not happy.. I asked who owns the IP for the western Force and this is the answer ....
    John Edwards Tony Irving The Western Force IP belongs to Rugby Australia and we have a long term lease in place with an option to purchase . The Western Force would certainly play in the IPRC.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  8. #218
    Apprentice
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Rockingham
    Posts
    14
    vCash
    5000000
    Quote Originally Posted by shasta View Post
    No. And neither would I if I were in the same position as Matt. He has to deal with the treacherous scumbags (Ms Castle excluded) to try and find a way forward for Rugby in this state. No way is he out of touch and you well know that X. I think you may get a better idea of how the bloke actually feels by re-reading some of Jody's posts around the web. HTH.
    I get the impression from reading Jodi’s posts she enjoys feeding on the Emotion of the msasses and trying to use her husbands profile as a means of building / sustaining their standing in perth social pages. Do they really care about community rugby. ? Really do they? Really really do they?

    Maybe I am wrong. I am am humble lady from the suburbs that has seen rugby players in the West at all levels come and go.

    But I look to other WAGS from Perth’s sporting social pages and they seem to be far more humble than the dribble Jodi seems to peddle

    But social media is social media. So do as u please!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  9. #219
    Veteran Bakkies's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    3,728
    vCash
    5000000
    Quote Originally Posted by peter rabbit View Post
    Do you know Anthony french personally?

    Do you have any idea of his qualifications or standing in corporate life?

    Who are you ?

    Why should any of these emotional bloggers trust you over him? What have you done to support rugby that has made a significant difference?

    Let’s here it mate!
    First of all I am not your mate and who are you?

    Couldn't give a rats about Anthony French's qualifications.

    I suggest you go and read the lies and bs in Anthony French's review in the minutes up on the Senate Inquiry website and judge for yourself then come back to me TWAS.

    Face it the board used the rubbish in his report to vote and justify cutting a side months before Pulver and de Clyne stated that the board decided to cut a side. French is just as responsible for this mess as the other parasites who stitched up the Force and cut the wrong side.

    3 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    'I may be a Senator but I am not stupid'


    https://omny.fm/shows/the-alan-jones-breakfast-show/cameron-clyne

    Link to Senate Report http://www.aph.gov.au/senate_ca

    https://www.change.org/p/rugby-australia-petition-for-cameron-clyne-to-resign-as-chairman-of-the-rugby-australia-board

  10. #220
    (Previously WFDS) WFDom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Secret Harbour
    Posts
    2,011
    vCash
    5524000
    Quote Originally Posted by Bakkies View Post
    First of all I am not your mate and who are you?

    Couldn't give a rats about Anthony French's qualifications.

    I suggest you go and read the lies and bs in Anthony French's review in the minutes up on the Senate Inquiry website and judge for yourself then come back to me TWAS.

    Face it the board used the rubbish in his report to vote and justify cutting a side months before Pulver and de Clyne stated that the board decided to cut a side. French is just as responsible for this mess as the other parasites who stitched up the Force and cut the wrong side.
    OMG! TWAS is from Rocko???

    Fancy a beer down the Pig??? Or Larkhill maybe???

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Great game, Fucken battled right through to the 80!

  11. #221
    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Rockingham
    Posts
    20,508
    vCash
    1296000
    Quote Originally Posted by peter rabbit View Post
    I get the impression from reading Jodi’s posts she enjoys feeding on the Emotion of the msasses and trying to use her husbands profile as a means of building / sustaining their standing in perth social pages. Do they really care about community rugby. ? Really do they? Really really do they? Maybe I am wrong. I am am humble lady from the suburbs that has seen rugby players in the West at all levels come and go. But I look to other WAGS from Perth’s sporting social pages and they seem to be far more humble than the dribble Jodi seems to peddle But social media is social media. So do as u please!
    I guess you haven't spoken to jodi personally. If you had, you wouldn't say that. Unless of course you're a sock Puppet with an agenda

    2 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    C'mon the

  12. #222
    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Rockingham
    Posts
    20,508
    vCash
    1296000
    Quote Originally Posted by WFDom View Post
    OMG! TWAS is from Rocko??? Fancy a beer down the Pig??? Or Larkhill maybe???
    Shit like HE spouts, I'd suggest the leisure inn sports bar, he'd be sure to get stitches

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    C'mon the

  13. #223
    Veteran beige's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    4,515
    vCash
    5000000
    Quote Originally Posted by Tonkar View Post
    The Western Force would certainly play in the IPRC.
    Huzzah!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  14. #224
    Veteran Bakkies's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    3,728
    vCash
    5000000
    Quote Originally Posted by WFDom View Post
    OMG! TWAS is from Rocko???

    Fancy a beer down the Pig??? Or Larkhill maybe???
    TWAS or TWAS' sister Joelene.

    1 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    'I may be a Senator but I am not stupid'


    https://omny.fm/shows/the-alan-jones-breakfast-show/cameron-clyne

    Link to Senate Report http://www.aph.gov.au/senate_ca

    https://www.change.org/p/rugby-australia-petition-for-cameron-clyne-to-resign-as-chairman-of-the-rugby-australia-board

  15. #225
    Champion Tonkar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    west Kulin / East Wickepin
    Posts
    1,370
    vCash
    5000000
    Quote Originally Posted by beige View Post
    Huzzah!
    Those are the words of John Edwards not mine you should have shown the whole post not just that bit

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

Page 15 of 23 FirstFirst ... 5 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Dan Carter to play for Hong Kong in IPRC..
    By SPaRTAN in forum Rugby
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-02-18, 21:10
  2. (is there a) IPRC Website?
    By palitu in forum Rugby
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 31-01-18, 07:53
  3. Do we need support for IPRC?
    By LMSC in forum Western Australian Metro Rugby
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 20-11-17, 11:36
  4. Reds only team to ban coach Foley
    By travelling_gerry in forum Wallabies
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-04-08, 23:35
  5. Campese, Ella to coach Sevens team
    By AndyS in forum International Rugby
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 14-03-08, 15:13

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •