0
My article from the Sunday Times, for those not privileged to receive that worthy tabloid:
"Western Australia’s new representative rugby team, ET Perth Spirit, opens its
Mazda Australian Rugby Championship campaign when it meets the Western Sydney Rams on Friday 10 August in a home game at Members Equity Stadium.
The eight-team national competition is comprised of three teams from New
South Wales, two from Queensland, and teams from the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia. The cream of Australian rugby talent will be represented in the series, with the exception of the Wallabies squad in training for the Rugby World Cup to be held in France in September.
The 27-man Perth Spirit squad is coached by Western Force attack coach John Mulvihill and includes 21 Western Force players, with 6 members of the Firepower Western Force Academy who play club rugby in Perth. The team will be captained by Force half back Matt Henjak.
The Rams, who downed the Canberra Vikings 28-10 in their trial game, include exciting young stars such as flyhalf Kurtley Beale, halfback Josh Holmes and wing Lachie Turner, all tipped to wear Wallaby colours in the near future.
In the traditional gold and black hoops of Western Australia, the Spirit team ranges from hardened Super 14 campaigners such as prop Gareth Hardy, number eight Scott Fava and centre Ryan Cross to outstanding young guns like flanker David Pocock, flyhalf Scott Daruda and wing Haig Sare.
Western Australians should get their first look at new Super 14 signings wing Nick Cummins and flanker Scott Fardy, while club players such as Australian Under 19 flanker Will Brock, half back James Stannard and giant young wing Ratu Siganiyavi have a chance to impress.
Mulvihill expects the Rams to field an impressive pack and is wary Beale and Turner in the back line, while the Spirit aims to play an exciting, open game with an eye firmly on the finals.
“We’ll be disappointed if we don’t figure somewhere,” Mulvihill said.
“We set ourselves pretty high standards but I think it’s time for us to step up and play semis and finals at the end of the season.”
In an exciting first for Western Australians, the ARC series will be played under a set of modified rules being trialled by the International Rugby Board, designed to speed up the game with fewer technicalities, fewer penalties and more emphasis on positive use of the ball.
Perth Spirit has an advantage having played two games under the new rules and Mulvihill sees benefits for his team’s style of play.
“There’s going to be a lot more free kicks, so a lot less lineouts, and the ball’s going to be in play a lot more,” Mulvihill said.
"It’s a very fast game, and it’ll suit us because we’ve got backs and forwards capable of catching, passing and running a good line.”
Perth Spirit has racked up big scores in its two preparation games, 94-5 against the South Australian amateur state team and 81-0 against the WA amateur state team in Perth. Mulvihill sees the games as useful for the players despite the limited opposition.
“They’ve got 150 minutes of rugby under the belts, which is important because some of these guys haven’t played too much rugby since Super 14,” Mulvihill said.
“What it gave us is a chance to set up our attacking and defence structures and get our patterns of play worked out.”
Mulvihill appreciates the chance to play on a rectangular sports field at Members Equity stadium.
“It’s great for the spectators, coaches and players to play in that environment,” Mulvihill said.
“It’s going to be great to have the spectators that close and hopefully they’ll get a good view of the game.”
Mulvihill is enthusiastic about the benefits of the ARC but doesn’t see that level of support being matched in the Eastern States.
“The strength of all the teams will be very good for the health of rugby in Australia,” Mulvihill said.
“It’ll give young guys an opportunity that they wouldn’t otherwise get, and I think the East should embrace it a bit more than they have.”
Mulvihill makes the point that not only will club players benefit from the exposure, but the Super 14 reserve and academy players will have a rare chance to stake their claim on the field.
“We’ve got a number of players in our 33 that didn’t play, and they’ll get exposure at a higher level,” Mulvihill said.
“And we’ve got a couple of players straight from club rugby who are looking for an Academy spot, and some of the Academy boys are looking for upgrade contracts or Super 14 contracts.”
Reply With Quote
Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
