Western Force (Superxv Rugby)
Western Force website: http://www.westernforce.com.au |
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It won’t kill you to wait. Don’t text and drive.
RUGBYWA MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday, 5 September 2017
RUGBYWA STATEMENT
Mr Clyne mentions that on August 2nd the ARU invited RugbyWA to make final offer to the ARU and said that RWA did not come back with anything substantive. This is not the fact.
On 4th August RWA sent a long letter to the ARU which along with much else made the following points:
Mr Clyne also indicates that the ARU was and continued to be in dialogue with RugbyWA. This misrepresents the position in that themajority of dialogue was initiated by the ARU's lawyers. If fact, we understand that Andrew Forrest sought to meet with the ARU on numerous occasions both before and after August 4th.
These meetings were declined by the ARU Chairman with the only meeting occurring in Adelaide 22nd August where, despite promisingtwo days earlier that the ARU were prepared to negotiate a reinstatement of the Western Force, the ARU Chairman again rebuffed Andrew Forrest's generous offer of both underwriting the Western Force and support Australian Rugby to the tune of $50 million.
Our view remains that since receiving legal advice in February the ARU Chairman had formed the view that the Western Force were the only team that could legally be removed from the competition. For the ARU to suggest that there was an objective and transparent process, evaluating the merits of both the Force and the Rebels, was misleading and disrespectful to the Western Australian and Victorian Rugby Unions.
It is now time for all the Australian member unions to hold the ARU Board accountable for the misinformation and lost opportunity to Australian rugby.
Should the Australian member unions not be prepared to hold the ARU Board accountable for the misleading process, the loss of an Australian Super Rugby side and $50million then we are confident the proposed Senate enquiry will. |
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It won’t kill you to wait. Don’t text and drive.
ROAD SAFETY WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Saturday, 12 August 2017
GEOFFREY STOOKE ARU BOARD RESIGNATION STATEMENT
At approximately 3.30pm (WST) yesterday afternoon I resigned from the Australian Rugby Union Board.
I did this as a consequence of the Australian Rugby Union Board’s decision to remove the Western Force from the Super Rugby competition. I did not participate in this decision, as over the past two months I had been recused from all Board meetings, teleconferences & discussions on the Super Rugby ‘culling’ process. Yesterday I advised that I would no longer recuse myself but the Chairman believed I couldn’t do that & agreed to provide me legal advice supporting his opinion. It was never forthcoming.
I joined the Board in 2012 as the Director nominated by the ‘Other Member Unions’ & I was subsequently reappointed as an Independent Director when the major governance reform occurred. I would like to sincerely the ‘Other Member Unions’ for their early support & all Members of the Australian Rugby Union for their ongoing support.
Whilst I always acted in the best interests of all Australian rugby, my background has enabled me to also offer contributions with a perspective that included the needs & issues relating to the community game, Super Rugby & non-heartland Member Unions.
Over the five & a half years I have been on the Board, there have been times when I have had very different views on issues to those of some of my fellow Board members & those of management. However, I always believed it was better that I be ‘inside the tent’ rather than offering commentary from ‘outside the tent’. Importantly, whilst I expressed my views within the Board, once decisions were taken I then supported them privately & publicly. As was my fiduciary responsibility!
Recent events have been difficult for me & I have fought strongly to retain five Super teams, to honour various commitments to players, fans, governments, sponsors & others, to maintain a national footprint for our game & to avoid possible expensive & brand damaging legal actions. It was not simply me trying to save the Western Force because of my previous association with that team. I strongly believe it is not strategically sound to remove a team, particularly given recent positive financial initiatives with the two ‘at risk’ teams.
Sadly, I lost the battle & I was the only dissenting vote on the Board earlier in the year when the Board resolved to remove a team. This resolution was subsequently supported by an extraordinary meeting of the Australian Rugby Union. Today’s decision means that over sixty players & staff will lose their jobs, have their families disrupted, a Member Union will lose its elite rugby team & the pathway to elite rugby for Western Australian players will be lost. I believe they all deserved better. We can talk about investing in this & that but just remember, we are not talking about a corporate overhead but a team that is made up of hardworking & committed people!
This decision is not about the financial viability of teams but an opportunity to reallocate financial resources in what I believe is in response to pressure & demands from various vocal rugby interest groups in relation to community rugby funding. Unfortunately, the demands were not fact base but the damage is now done. Of course, we would like to invest more in grassroots & other areas but removing a Super team to do this is not the answer.
I was opposed to the inclusion of an Argentinian team & a Japanese team in Super Rugby. Without doubt, the failure of such an unwieldy, unattractive & more expensive competition has contributed to the demise of an Australian Super Rugby team & the future demise of rugby in Western Australia. They did not deserve this!
Opportunistically, concerns regarding the competition structure provided the leverage to negotiate the removal of an Australian team! Removing a Super team & retaining the same level of broadcasting revenue was attractive to some. When the Rebels were experiencing significant financial issues prior to private ownership, the need for a national footprint for our game & the avoidance of reputational damage were high priorities. Significant financial assistance was provided. This has certainly changed now, with the loss of our national footprint & the players, fans & supporters in Western Australia being denied the opportunity to watch live or play elite rugby in Perth.
I never wanted to throw any team under the ‘bus’ but to create a situation that considers retaining a team that has lost almost $30million (including nearly $17.5million additional cost to the ARU) since 2011 at the expense of a team that has incurred additional cost to the ARU of only $5.5million since 2005 is outrageous! We should be rewarding success not failure. To introduce financial criteria that have nothing to do with the financial viability of each term is less than appropriate.
An appropriate consultation process was never in place & in my view the Western Force was always being targeted for removal. This was simply because they were seen to be the easiest to remove contractually but they were not the team that deserved to be removed. The process lacked due diligence & contained significant levels of bias.
My passion & love for the game goes back over sixty years & has never diminished- & will not diminish! It has been a long journey with over 50 years playing, over 40 years coaching & over 30 years as an administrator. However, without a doubt today is my all-time low point in the game.
However, my thoughts are with the people who will be impacted by this decision today. I wish them all the best in what I know is a difficult time. They may only be a ‘desk top study’ at St Leonards but they are real people, they are many & they deserved so much better.
The Australian Rugby Union is the custodian of the game of rugby in Australia, not simply the custodian of the business of rugby.
In conclusion, all the best to RugbyWA in their future efforts to address the very difficult events of today. Kind regards,
Geoffrey Stooke OAM |
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It won’t kill you to wait. Don’t text and drive.
ROAD SAFETY WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Saturday, 12 August 2017
GEOFFREY STOOKE ARU BOARD RESIGNATION STATEMENT
At approximately 3.30pm (WST) yesterday afternoon I resigned from the Australian Rugby Union Board.
I did this as a consequence of the Australian Rugby Union Board’s decision to remove the Western Force from the Super Rugby competition. I did not participate in this decision, as over the past two months I had been recused from all Board meetings, teleconferences & discussions on the Super Rugby ‘culling’ process. Yesterday I advised that I would no longer recuse myself but the Chairman believed I couldn’t do that & agreed to provide me legal advice supporting his opinion. It was never forthcoming.
I joined the Board in 2012 as the Director nominated by the ‘Other Member Unions’ & I was subsequently reappointed as an Independent Director when the major governance reform occurred. I would like to sincerely the ‘Other Member Unions’ for their early support & all Members of the Australian Rugby Union for their ongoing support.
Whilst I always acted in the best interests of all Australian rugby, my background has enabled me to also offer contributions with a perspective that included the needs & issues relating to the community game, Super Rugby & non-heartland Member Unions.
Over the five & a half years I have been on the Board, there have been times when I have had very different views on issues to those of some of my fellow Board members & those of management. However, I always believed it was better that I be ‘inside the tent’ rather than offering commentary from ‘outside the tent’. Importantly, whilst I expressed my views within the Board, once decisions were taken I then supported them privately & publicly. As was my fiduciary responsibility!
Recent events have been difficult for me & I have fought strongly to retain five Super teams, to honour various commitments to players, fans, governments, sponsors & others, to maintain a national footprint for our game & to avoid possible expensive & brand damaging legal actions. It was not simply me trying to save the Western Force because of my previous association with that team. I strongly believe it is not strategically sound to remove a team, particularly given recent positive financial initiatives with the two ‘at risk’ teams.
Sadly, I lost the battle & I was the only dissenting vote on the Board earlier in the year when the Board resolved to remove a team. This resolution was subsequently supported by an extraordinary meeting of the Australian Rugby Union. Today’s decision means that over sixty players & staff will lose their jobs, have their families disrupted, a Member Union will lose its elite rugby team & the pathway to elite rugby for Western Australian players will be lost. I believe they all deserved better. We can talk about investing in this & that but just remember, we are not talking about a corporate overhead but a team that is made up of hardworking & committed people!
This decision is not about the financial viability of teams but an opportunity to reallocate financial resources in what I believe is in response to pressure & demands from various vocal rugby interest groups in relation to community rugby funding. Unfortunately, the demands were not fact base but the damage is now done. Of course, we would like to invest more in grassroots & other areas but removing a Super team to do this is not the answer.
I was opposed to the inclusion of an Argentinian team & a Japanese team in Super Rugby. Without doubt, the failure of such an unwieldy, unattractive & more expensive competition has contributed to the demise of an Australian Super Rugby team & the future demise of rugby in Western Australia. They did not deserve this!
Opportunistically, concerns regarding the competition structure provided the leverage to negotiate the removal of an Australian team! Removing a Super team & retaining the same level of broadcasting revenue was attractive to some. When the Rebels were experiencing significant financial issues prior to private ownership, the need for a national footprint for our game & the avoidance of reputational damage were high priorities. Significant financial assistance was provided. This has certainly changed now, with the loss of our national footprint & the players, fans & supporters in Western Australia being denied the opportunity to watch live or play elite rugby in Perth.
I never wanted to throw any team under the ‘bus’ but to create a situation that considers retaining a team that has lost almost $30million (including nearly $17.5million additional cost to the ARU) since 2011 at the expense of a team that has incurred additional cost to the ARU of only $5.5million since 2005 is outrageous! We should be rewarding success not failure. To introduce financial criteria that have nothing to do with the financial viability of each term is less than appropriate.
An appropriate consultation process was never in place & in my view the Western Force was always being targeted for removal. This was simply because they were seen to be the easiest to remove contractually but they were not the team that deserved to be removed. The process lacked due diligence & contained significant levels of bias.
My passion & love for the game goes back over sixty years & has never diminished- & will not diminish! It has been a long journey with over 50 years playing, over 40 years coaching & over 30 years as an administrator. However, without a doubt today is my all-time low point in the game.
However, my thoughts are with the people who will be impacted by this decision today. I wish them all the best in what I know is a difficult time. They may only be a ‘desk top study’ at St Leonards but they are real people, they are many & they deserved so much better.
The Australian Rugby Union is the custodian of the game of rugby in Australia, not simply the custodian of the business of rugby.
In conclusion, all the best to RugbyWA in their future efforts to address the very difficult events of today. Kind regards,
Geoffrey Stooke OAM |
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It won’t kill you to wait. Don’t text and drive.
ROAD SAFETY WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Saturday, 12 August 2017
ANDREW FORREST STATEMENT
Today Western Australian of the Year, Mr Forrest AO said the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) continues to show itself to be totally incapable of explaining the deliberate harm it has done to the reputation of Australian sport – rugby in particular, through its illogical decision to axe the Western Force.
“I, like members of the sporting community all over Australia, demand a complete overhaul of the board,” Mr Forrest said.
“The ARU insists the process used, to choose a team to axe, was critical to the future of Australian rugby,” Mr Forrest said. “However, if such a decision was made through an unfair and, what is emerging slowly to light, a secretive process then the Chair, and the remaining board members, must stand aside immediately.”
The selection process, and board discussion, was made when one director – a Western Australian – was constantly excluded. This was not a fair and open decision and the Western Force have been denied the most basic principles of transparency and natural justice.
Geoff Stooke quit the board in protest of the decision to axe the Western Force – the country’s second most successful team and one that has produced no less than six Wallabies this year.
Mr Forrest said the ARU board has not published its reasons for its decision because it knows that it will be vilified for its lack of even the most basic credibility.
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It won’t kill you to wait. Don’t text and drive.
ROAD SAFETY WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Saturday, 12 August 2017
ANDREW FORREST STATEMENT
Today Western Australian of the Year, Mr Forrest AO said the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) continues to show itself to be totally incapable of explaining the deliberate harm it has done to the reputation of Australian sport – rugby in particular, through its illogical decision to axe the Western Force.
“I, like members of the sporting community all over Australia, demand a complete overhaul of the board,” Mr Forrest said.
“The ARU insists the process used, to choose a team to axe, was critical to the future of Australian rugby,” Mr Forrest said. “However, if such a decision was made through an unfair and, what is emerging slowly to light, a secretive process then the Chair, and the remaining board members, must stand aside immediately.”
The selection process, and board discussion, was made when one director – a Western Australian – was constantly excluded. This was not a fair and open decision and the Western Force have been denied the most basic principles of transparency and natural justice.
Geoff Stooke quit the board in protest of the decision to axe the Western Force – the country’s second most successful team and one that has produced no less than six Wallabies this year.
Mr Forrest said the ARU board has not published its reasons for its decision because it knows that it will be vilified for its lack of even the most basic credibility.
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WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Friday, 23 September 2016
GAFFNEY ADDS EXPERIENCE TO FORCE COACHING RANKS
The Western Force continue to add to their coaching stocks with the announcement that experienced coach Alan Gaffney will work with the club as an Attack Specialist for the 2017 Super Rugby season.
With almost 20 years of professional coaching experience behind him, Gaffney joins Dave Wessels’ coaching team along with current Ulster Assistant Coach Joe Barakat - who recently joined the Force for two seasons.
Currently the National Elite Programmes Coach with the ARU, Gaffney has a decorated CV - including positions as the Wallabies and Waratahs Assistant Coach, Ireland and Leinster Backs Coach, Saracens Director of Rugby, and Munster Head Coach.
Gaffney says he is excited to be working with Wessels and helping the Force move in the right direction.
“I’ll be working with Dave (Wessels) and also with the new attack coach,” he said. “I suppose an old bugger like me has been around the traps, and that’s not to say I’m always right, but it means as a coaching group we will be able to challenge each other.”
“I think adopting a different attitude to the way they play from the last couple of years is going to be pretty exciting for the Force. There are a number of good young players that are really hungry to play and don’t play with fear, so it’s an exciting time.”
Western Force Head Coach Dave Wessels says having Gaffney as part of the coaching team will be invaluable to the club.
“Alan’s CV speaks for himself,” he said. “He's achieved almost everything there is to achieve in rugby and has a fantastic understanding of how to build an effective attack. He's won a Six Nations Grand Slam, a Heineken Cup and been successful with some of the best teams in the world."
The club will also announce a full-time attack coach to work alongside Alan early next week.
“To have a wise, old head around to act as a sounding board for myself and the other coaches is going to be pretty special.”
Alan Gaffney - Professional Coaching Career: National Elite Programmes Coach Australia (2013-present) Senior Assistant Coach NSW Waratahs (2011–2013) Backs Coach Ireland National Rugby Union Team (2008–2011) Backs Coach and Technical Consultant Leinster Rugby Ireland (2008–2010) Director of Rugby at Saracens UK (2006–2008) Assistant Coach Australian National Rugby Union Team (2005) Head Coach Munster Rugby Ireland (2002–2005) Backs Coach Leinster Rugby Ireland (2000–2002) Assistant Coach New South Wales Waratahs (1997–1999)
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WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Friday, 12 August 2016
NRL STAR CURTIS RONA JOINS THE FORCE
The Western Force have secured the signature of Canterbury Bulldogs star Curtis Rona, with the dynamic winger to make a code switch after signing a two year deal with the club.
The 24-year-old try-scoring machine made his National Rugby League debut in 2014 and in three seasons has gone on to become one of the most prolific try scorers in the competition. Blessed with spectacular speed, power and finishing ability Rona was the second highest try scorer in the competition last season and has scored a staggering 39-tries in 53 appearances.
Born in New Zealand, raised in Perth, Rona played for Wanneroo Districts Rugby Club and was a member of the Western Force Academy before making the switch to rugby league in 2009.
Standing at 194cm and weighing in at 102kg Rona has played the majority of his career on the wing but has also been used in the centres for the Bulldogs this season.
Interim Head Coach Dave Wessels said the club is ecstatic to have signed Rona and excited about what he can bring to the club.
“The signing of Curtis is good for us on a number of levels,” he said. “Obviously being a local boy him coming home means a lot as we look to keep growing rugby in the state and the second thing is that he’s a weapon.”
“He has been incredibly successful in the NRL as one of the leading try scorers in the competition and is a really exciting player. At 24 he is still very young so we feel he fits nicely in our plans for our backline.”
“At this stage with his size and speed and what he has done on the wing in the NRL we are looking at him as an outside back.”
Profile Name: Curtis Rona Date of Birth: 26/05/1992 Born: New Plymouth, NZ Position: Winger/Centre Club: Wanneroo Height: 194cm Weight: 102kg NRL Caps: 49 NRL Points: 156 (39 tries)
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WESTERN FORCE MEDIA RELEASE Saturday, 6 August 2016
DANE HAYLETT-PETTY AWARDED 2016 NATHAN SHARPE MEDAL
Western Force fullback Dane Haylett-Petty has claimed the 2016 Nathan Sharpe Medal by a record margin at HBF Stadium at the club’s annual awards night in Perth.
After an outstanding season in the blue jersey the newly capped Wallaby finished with a club record 449 votes – shattering the previous record of 378 votes set by Ben McCalman in the 2015 season. Haylett-Petty polled the most votes in five of the team’s 15 matches including tallying an incredible 64 from a possible 69 votes against the Cheetahs in Round 15.
Topping the competition in carries and run metres the fullback’s incredible year was also recognised by the ‘Sea of Blue’ taking home the Members’ Most Valuable Player.
The Nathan Sharpe Medal is determined by each member of the match day 23 voting for their peers on a 3, 2, 1 basis.
After finishing third in 2015 Haylett-Petty (449) won by a record margin ahead of previous winners Matt Hodgson (168) and Ben McCalman (150) who finished in second and third place respectively.
Flyhalf Jono Lance (140) led the count after four rounds before going down with an injury that kept him on the sidelines until Round 15 before returning for the final three games of the season to finish in fourth place.
Continuing the great night for the Haylett-Petty family, younger brother Ross was awarded the Rising Star Award after a breakout season, while Marcel Brache’s ‘team first’ attitude and leadership was recognised with the Geoffrey Stooke Force Man Award.
2016 Nathan Sharpe Medal Dinner – Award Winners
Nathan Sharpe Medal: Dane Haylett-Petty
Members’ MVP: Dane Haylett-Petty
Rising Star: Ross Haylett-Petty
Geoffrey Stooke Force Man Award: Marcel Brache
2016 Nathan Sharpe Medal – Top Five
Dane Haylett-Petty – 449 votes Matt Hodgson – 168 votes Ben McCalman – 150 votes Jono Lance – 140 votes Luke Morahan – 131 votes
Nathan Sharpe Medal – Honour Roll
2016 – Dane Haylett-Petty 2015 – Ben McCalman 2014 – Matt Hodgson 2013 – Kyle Godwin 2012 – David Pocock 2011 – David Smith 2010 – Matt Hodgson 2009 – Matt Hodgson 2008 – Ryan Cross 2007 – Matt Giteau 2006 – Scott Staniforth |