Sea of Blue out in Force at test
Nick Taylor – Sunday Times – 11 August 2019
If Rugby Australia thought the Western Force would slip away quietly and drop out of sight, they got it completely wrong.
Firstly, they encountered mining magnate Andrew Forrest who, angered by RA’s rejection of his $70 million to keep the Force alive in Super Rugby, launched his own Global Rapid Rugby competition.
Secondly, they misread the passion and depth of anger of the Sea of Blue, the biggest supporter group in Australian rugby.
The pain of axing will never completely subside – even the old saying “time heals old wounds” does not hold water in WA. And last night thousands of fans swapped Wallabies gold for Force blue while other openly boycotted the game.
The stadium rang with the famous “Force, Force” chant during the game to let RA chief executive Raelene Castle who was at the game know that they had not gone away.
(Get to hear the “Force” chant from the 59 minutes mark of the Test. Let’s you know how many Force supporters were at the game.)
The first Bledisloe Cup match played in Perth sold out within a week of going on sale, showing there remains strong support for the code in WA.
Optus brought in 3,500 drop-in seats, which pushed the crowd to 61,241, beating the stadium record for a sporting event.
But a one-off nod to WA, even one as big as the Bledisloe, is not going to end the tension for what fans, including Mr Forrest, see as a gross injustice.
Ms Castle said she sympathises with the plight of Fans. “We understand the hurt that has been caused by not having the Western Force,” she said.
Sea of Blue fan club and Force foundation member Geoff Kelly said: “It hurts not having the Force very much. This protest is not against the players. It is against the people involved in the decision who have no real idea what they have done.”
Another active Sea of Blue member and one of the most vocal campaigners in the “Save the Force” campaign, Alison Foskett said: “It really hurts still. We want to show how much rugby means to us in the west and how much having our Force means. We want to show the rest of Australia we are still here, still strong and want to enjoy professional rugby.”