Western Force legend Matt Hodgson defends the club’s overseas recruitment spree as it launches a new academy
Nick Taylor - The West Australian - Thu, 28 January 2021
Western Force legend Matt Hodgson has defended the club’s recruitment drive into overseas markets, saying they had deliberately avoiding stripping talent from rival Australian sides.
Hodgson, now Force head of rugby, said the announcement of the new Fortescue Force academy proved they were planning for the long term with local talent.
The Force have four Argentinian internationals, Tomas Cubelli, Tomas Lezana, Santiago Medrano and Domingo Miotti, legendary Irish full-back Rob Kearney and two former All Blacks in the squad for the Australian Super Rugby and trans-Tasman tournaments.
Critics say they should have brought in more Australian talent, but the former Force captain and record appearance holder, said:
“What we didn’t want to do was go in and drain every single club. We didn’t want to create an imbalance in the squads. If we go into the player market pretty hard and heavy then we diminish a lot of things.
We had a balanced approach and worked closely with Rugby Australia on returning Wallabies, Wallabies that possibly were leaving to go overseas, but also players that weren’t getting any game time in their current clubs. We’ve brought in a lot of experience, players with international and Super Rugby experience and depth, and players that are raw and passionate.”
Hodgson said having overseas players fill crucial spots was both a playing and commercial decision.
“No other club would have had the opportunity to bring in four internationals from Argentina. I know a few other Super teams are doing the same including bringing in players from New Zealand. Australia does have the talent, it’s the way we should approach it moving forward. You want to give the opportunity to young up and coming Australians.”
Hodgson scoffed at bookies that have the Force finishing bottom of the Super competition.
“If we named 30 Wallabies in our squad we’d still be bottom on the betting market. It’s a surprise because no-one from the outside looks in on us until game one. People will be surprised how many games we will win and the style of game. We’re pretty excited about what we’ve done already in a short period.”
Hodgson said unlike 12 months ago he could not name the likely squad for next month’s opening game against the Brumbies.
“We are able to play a different game plan based on a number of different players we have,” he said.
Launching the new academy backed by billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group, Hodgson said: “It’s a massive step for us, bringing the academy under the Western Force again. We’re growing the game again, building from the ground up, a true pathway and an alignment is inspirational. We need to put the time and effort into these players now to get the rewards down the track.”
