On This Day: WA bid beats Victoria to earn Super 14 licence

[Tazzmania]

On This Day: WA bid beats Victoria to earn Super 14 licence

On this day, 20 years ago in 2004, Rugby WA’s bid for a Perth Super 14 franchise was successful, effectively becoming the birth of the Western Force.

It was December 10 2004 when the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) confirmed Rugby WA had won the race, with the Perth bid beating out Victoria’s submission for a team, despite Melbourne’s larger population and lauded sporting history.

Approximately 150 people had gathered at the Perry Lakes rugby headquarters to learn the ARU’s verdict that day, set to select either bids from WA or Victoria to enter the competition which was booming following the popular 2003 World Cup hosted by Australia where Jonny Wilkinson’s right boot denied the Wallabies the ultimate glory.

READ MORE

[Tazzmania]

Brings back a flood of memories, I cannot believe twenty years has passed since we stood on the oval at Subiaco. Been a Force member since day one. What a journey it has been, and so grateful it still continues...

Here is to another twenty good ones

[andrewM]

I saw a bloke in Bunnings on Sunday with one of the original t-shirts, wish I'd taken a pic