Aus. Rugby’s $100m experiment
This Saturday the Force host the Hurricanes, a team they have beaten just once since 2009. The Western Force were created in 2005 and joined the Super Rugby comp in 2006. In that period, the Western Force have achieved a win ratio of just 30% (albeit 40% in 2023) According to ESPN, the worst win ratios in US Professional Sport are as follows:
NFL – Atlanta Falcons 43.8%
MLB – Philadelphia Phillies 46.9%
NBA – Memphis Grizzlies 41.8%
NHL – Arizona Coyotes 45.2%
In Super Rugby win ratios vary widely:
Blues 75%,
Crusaders 71%
Brumbies 58%
Hurricanes 57%
Chiefs 55%
Waratahs 50%
Highlanders 48%
Reds 45%
Rebels 32%
Force 30%
The highest Western Force crowd was in 2011 (22 000 Force V Crusaders) in 2023, The Force achieved their smallest ever Super Rugby crowd (6497) One of the key reasons for Australian Rugby’s investment & backing 18 years ago was to help develop talent in Western Australia, by any measure, this has not worked – the Force may well have encouraged young kids to play Rugby in WA but it has developed next to zero talent. For example, in the 36-man Squad named by the Force in 2024, just 2 players, Carl Tizzano and Marley Pearce are from WA ( & Force Academy participants) – both outstanding talents, but a pretty modest number after 18 years of toil. With no home grown talent you are basically fielding the Barbarians every week. The Western Force Super Rugby team is made up of 90% Eastern States players (should it be renamed the Eastern Force?) it’s crowds are the lowest in the league and it’s win ratio is well below an acceptable standard for any professional sports team -they are the facts.
In today’s dollars, conservatively, $100m has been diverted to the Western Force since it’s inception. The discussion we all should be having is – has this been the best use of Rugby’s money to grow the sport in WA? Every Rugby fan on the East Coast wants to see Rugby thrive and succeed in WA, the question is – has the Western Force been the best way to go about achieving that goal? Is 2024 simply repeating the Force’s years of failed strategies? What other avenues do we have? The Force repeating the current formula is unsustainable (just ask the Rebels) – we need some new thinking - 18 years is long enough to persist with an experiment that is clearly not working. No doubt there will be many aggrieved Western Australian Rugby fans reading this – every East Coast Rugby fan wants Rugby to succeed in WA. In my opinion, The Force are symptomatic of the problems with the game, in that Rugby Australia currently has it’s hands well and truly full (& I think Phil Waugh is off to a great start in very trying circumstances) Rather than RA busying themselves growing the game, supporting the Wallaroos, the Wallabies, assisting Club or Community Rugby, RA is being forced to divert precious time, money and talent to a competition that has – to quote Pete Murray “seen better days”
