Wikipedia

Western Force

The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017.[1] Following their axing they played in the National Rugby Championship in 2018 and 2019, replacing the Perth Spirit, and Global Rapid Rugby from 2018 to 2020, an Indo-Pacific competition organised by Andrew Forrest.

Western Force
UnionRugby Australia
(Western Australia)
Founded2005; 19 years ago (2005)
LocationPerth, Western Australia
RegionWestern Australia, Australia
Ground(s)Perth Oval
(Capacity: 20,500)
ChairmanAnthony Flannery
CEONiamh O'Connor
Director of RugbyMatt Hodgson
Coach(es)Simon Cron
Captain(s)Jeremy Williams
Most capsMatt Hodgson (140)
Top scorerCameron Shepherd (370)
League(s)Super Rugby Pacific
202410th overall
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
westernforce.rugby

Following the cancellation of both the 2020 Super Rugby season and 2020 Global Rapid Rugby season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Force were invited to compete in the 2020 Super Rugby AU season, a domestic competition organised by Rugby Australia to replace the cancelled Super Rugby season.[2] The Force competed in the 2021 Super Rugby AU season[3] and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman,[4] before being confirmed that their return to Super Rugby will be permanent in the revamped 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.[5]

History

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The first season

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The Force run out in their first game against the Brumbies in 2006

On 10 February the Western Force made their 2006 season rugby debut against the Brumbies at a near sold out Subiaco Oval in Perth, losing 25–10. After this result, the Force had a difficult debut in Super 14. A one-sided loss to the Hurricanes and an ugly loss at home to the Chiefs in Perth followed. Many fans were unimpressed, with only approximately 23,000 turning up to watch a match against the Bulls. On 31 March, in front of 24,000, the Force came closest to their first win, losing 26–25 to the Stormers at Subiaco Oval. This was after leading 10–0 early on in the match. This was the Force's first competition point ever, and was the longest it had ever taken a side to get a point in Super rugby history (8 rounds/7 matches).

 
Western Force Gold playing Japanese team Yamaha Jubilo in 2006

On 21 April a crowd of 32,231[6] saw the Force nearly pull off the upset of the year, drawing 23-all with the undefeated defending champion Crusaders. Though the Force were leading 7–0 after several minutes the feeling was still that the Crusaders would win, especially after they scored a try seconds later to make it 7–5. Only when the Force had blown the score out to 17–5 did anyone begin to talk of an upset. Leading 20–8 at half time the Force did not hold on for the win after the Crusaders scored two tries and a penalty within the closing half. At 23-all with seconds left the Force crashed over the line but were denied by the television match official.

Two days after the draw with the Crusaders, the Force were able to sign rising star Matt Giteau from the Brumbies, effective with the 2007 season. Giteau, whose contract with the Brumbies ended after the 2006 season, inked a three-year deal reportedly worth A$4.5 million, making him the highest-paid player in the history of any Australian football code.[7]

On Saturday 6 May the Force announced they had managed to sign another player, Reds winger Drew Mitchell. However, during the same week the Force were fined $110,000 after an "independent committee found that Rugby WA had entered a negotiation process with Al Kanaar in a way that was contrary to and in breach of the contracting protocols."[8] The Force notched up their first win by defeating the Cheetahs 16–14 on 6 May.

Super Rugby years

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The Western Force continued to play in Super Rugby until the 2017 season. During this time they struggled to achieve much success, failing to qualify for the playoffs in a single season. Their best season came in 2007, where they finished 7th out of 14 teams. Ahead of the 2018 Super Rugby season, SANZAAR made the decision to reduce the competition from 18 to 15 teams, deciding to cut 2 South African teams and 1 Australian team. On 11 August 2017 it was announced that the Western Force would be the Australian team to be axed from Super Rugby.[9]

Global Rapid Rugby and National Rugby Championship years

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In September 2017, Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest made plans to launch an Indo-Pacific Rugby tournament,[10] consisting of the Western Force and other teams from the Indo-Pacific region.[11] Several countries – such as Hong Kong,[12] Malaysia[13] and Singapore[14] – expressed an interest in joining the new competition.

While organisation of the Indo-Pacific tournament was still underway, Andrew Forrest announced that the Western Force would play a series of matches in 2018 in what would be known as World Series Rugby. The Force played matches against Fiji A, Tonga A, Samoa A, the second tier national sides of those countries, along with the Hong Kong national team, Super Rugby sides Melbourne Rebels and the Crusaders, and Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights.[15]

Andrew Forrest's Indo-Pacific Rugby tournament was officially announced as Global Rapid Rugby and began in 2019.[16] The inaugural 2019 season consisted of a series of showcase matches with the competition adopting a full home and away round-robin format for the 2020 season.[17] The Western Force played in Global Rapid Rugby against teams from Fiji, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Samoa and Singapore.

During this time the Western Force also played in the 2018 and 2019 National Rugby Championship seasons, replacing Perth Spirit, who had previously acted as a feeder team for the Force during their Super Rugby years. The National Rugby Championship was Australia's second-tier competition below Super Rugby, taking place after the Super Rugby season and featuring players who were not selected to play for the Australian national team in the test season, similar to New Zealand's Mitre 10 Cup and South Africa's Currie Cup. The Western Force finished 3rd in the 2018 season, being knocked out in the semi-finals, and won the 2019 season, beating the Canberra Vikings 41–3 in the final.[18]

Return to Super Rugby

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Global Rapid rugby season, which the Western Force were competing in, was cancelled.[19] The pandemic had also caused the cancellation of the 2020 Super Rugby season, and international travel restrictions meant that it was unfeasible for the competition to continue in its current state, as it consisted of teams from 5 countries.[20] Due to this, Rugby Australia launched a domestic competition known as Super Rugby AU, its inaugural 2020 season featuring the Western Force joining the current four Australian Super Rugby sides in a 12-week round robin tournament that ran from 3 July to 19 September.[21]

The Western Force competed in the 2021 Super Rugby AU season,[22] along with Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, a trans-tasman competition that featured the five Super Rugby AU teams taking on the five Super Rugby Aotearoa teams.[23]

Super Rugby's future is uncertain, but a new, 12 team competition started in 2022. This competition includes the full time return of the Western Force, who competed against the four other Australian Super Rugby sides, the five New Zealand sides, a Fijian-based team Fijian Drua, and Moana Pasifika, a team composed of players with Pacific Islander heritage.[24][25] The Force missed out on the Finals Series of the inaugural season by a single point.[26]

Name and colours

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On 19 April, RugbyWA unveiled the franchise team name as well as the logo, at a reception at the Burswood International Resort in Perth. Months of detailed community involvement went into selecting the name for the team. 'Western Force' was chosen as the name, which best reflected the franchise's location (state) and its 'values of strength, energy and community'. The logo was unveiled to be a black swan, which is the state's traditional insignia. The swan is set in a blue background, representing the Western Australia coastline and sky, whilst the gold represented the beaches, mineral wealth and sunshine. Some speculated that the team was going to be called the 'Black Swans'.[citation needed]

In July at function at the same venue as where the logo was unveiled to the public, the Force's jersey and naming rights sponsor was revealed. The home jersey was unveiled on Brendan Cannon, being blue with a black swan. Lachlan MacKay emerged with the side's alternate strip, which was gold with a black swan; black and gold being the State colours of Western Australia. The team's first jersey was auctioned off for $30,000, and the first alternate strip was then also auctioned off for $30,000 as well.[citation needed]

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In March 2018, a new renewed Western Force changed their logo and jersey. The logo was very similar to the previous logo, this came after being axed from their most recent season of Super Rugby.[27]

  •  
    2006–2018
  •  
    2018–2021

Support

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Shortly after RugbyWA won the fourth Australian franchise, an on-line register was set up for members to record their interest. In the space of weeks, 10,000 people had registered. When membership was officially launched in July, more than 13,000 were registered, with around 400 companies expressed interest in hospitality packages. Soon the Force had the largest membership base of any of the Australian Super 14 teams. By the time pre-season had started, the Force had 16,000 members.

Australian Rugby Union CEO Gary Flowers told the media that "people power" was a key factor in Western Australia being awarded the franchise ahead of Victoria. Prior to the announcement, more than 25,500 Western Australians signed a petition in support of their state's bid. In addition, 5,000 people, including the state's premier Dr Geoff Gallop, attended a rally at Subiaco Oval, organised by two rugby mothers "the Scrum Mums" (Jennifer Hoskins and Irma Cooper) to show how much the people of Western Australia wanted the franchise. By the end of the first season, the Force finished with the highest crowd average out of all the Australian teams, despite finishing in last place, the fans still came out to see Wallaby stars such as Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and Nathan Sharpe (though Mitchell and Giteau were not in the 2006 line-up).

Stadium

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HBF Park, home of the Western Force since 2010

For the first four seasons, the Force played all of their home games at Subiaco Oval. The stadium had a capacity of 43,500[28] configured in an oval shape for Australian rules football.

The club moved to the Perth Oval for the 2010 season and, with association football club Perth Glory, pushed for an upgrade to the venue which would create a rectangular venue for the two clubs. As of 2019, the stadium is known as HBF Park after WA's biggest health insurer took over naming rights at Perth's home of soccer and rugby.[29] The Force were given a limited grant by the government to improve facilities at the stadium, and the capacity was increased to 20,500 in time for the 2010 Super Rugby Season.

Between 2010 and 2011 the State government developed a masterplan for an improved rectangular stadium and then completed a business case which saw $88million dollars allocated to the first stage which was to include a new permanent East stand, new lights, two video replay boards, LED signage at pitch level, replacement of the playing surface and replacement of the south scaffold stand with new scaffold. A Project Definition Plan was then completed and following this, the government allocated a further $7.14million to add corporate amenity including 48 corporate boxes and a 250-seat BBQ deck to the new Eastern stand.

In June 2012 builder BGC were awarded the head building contract for the project and on 7 June 2012 the Minister for Sport and Recreation Terry Waldron MLA announced that hard work by the project team, led by the Department of Sport and Recreation, and a keen price by builders would enable the south stand to become a permanent, unroofed structure rather than new scaffold. It was completed in September 2013, with a capacity of 20,441.

Development teams

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RugbyWA's two elite development squads just below full-time professional level are the Western Force A and WA Under 19 teams. These teams are closely aligned with the Western Force and train at McGillvray Oval, the training base used by the Force. RugbyWA also previously fielded a separate National Rugby Championship team, the Perth Spirit, until the end of season 2017 but competed in this tournament as the Western Force from 2018. From 2019 the Development Team, Perth Gold, competes in Emerging State Championship.[30]

Western Force A

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The Western Force A team plays matches against interstate and international representative teams, and has also competed in tournaments such as the Pacific Rugby Cup. Teams known by various names over the years including Western Force A, Western Force Gold and Force Academy have been selected from the best emerging rugby talent in Western Australia. The current squad is a mix of Western Force contracted players, Force Academy players from elite youth programs, and selected Premier Grade club rugby players.[31]

In 2006 the Western Force Gold, playing in the traditional gold and black colours of Western Australia, undertook a two-week tour to South Africa. The team played the Golden Lions and Blue Bulls before returning home to Perth to play Manu Samoa and Japanese Top League teams Toshiba and Yamaha.[31] In 2008, the Force Academy beat the Singapore national side by 113–7.[32]

Under 19

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The Western Force under 19 side plays in the URC competition. Western Australian teams played in the Southern States Tournament up until 2015 and also played occasional matches against other representative sides such as Pacific Rugby Cup teams. Prior to 2008, state colts teams at under 21 and under 19 age levels were fielded in national tournament but these teams were consolidated as under 20s ahead of the inaugural World Rugby U20 Championship. In 2018, an under 19 age limit was reinstated for the state colts teams.

Season positions

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Super Rugby

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Year Pos Pld W D L PF PA +/− BP Pts
2006 14th 13 1 2 10 223 373 −150 4 12
2007 7th 13 6 1 6 276 282 −6 6 32
2008 8th 13 7 0 6 247 278 −31 5 33
2009 8th 13 6 1 6 328 275 +53 10 36
2010 13th 13 4 0 9 258 364 −106 3 19
2011 12th 16 5 2 9 333 416 −83 5 37
2012 14th 16 3 0 13 306 440 −134 7 27
2013 13th 16 4 1 11 267 366 −99 5 31
2014 8th 16 9 0 7 343 393 −50 4 40
2015 15th 16 3 0 13 245 384 −139 7 19
2016 16th 15 2 0 13 260 441 −181 5 13
2017 12th 15 6 0 9 313 404 −91 2 26
2020 AU 5th 8 0 0 8 115 253 −138 3 3
2021 AU 3rd 8 4 0 4 148 193 −45 2 18
2021 T-T 8th 5 0 0 5 82 148 −66 1 1
2022 Pacific 9th 14 4 0 10 326 443 −117 7 23
2023 Pacific 10th 14 5 0 9 346 494 -148 2 22
2024 Pacific 10th 14 4 0 10 294 426 -132 4 20

National Rugby Championship

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Year Pos Pld W D L PF PA +/− BP Pts Play-offs
2018 3rd 7 5 0 2 284 202 +82 3 23 Semifinalist
2019 1st 7 6 0 1 285 213 +72 4 28 Champion

Global Rapid Rugby

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Year Pos Pld W D L PF PA +/− BP Pts Play-offs
2019 * 1st 10 10 0 0 415 159 +256 11 43 —

Notes:

^* Summary of all matches in the 2019 Global Rapid Rugby season, including the Asia and Pacific showcases.

Honours

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Minor honours

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Notes:

^a Western Force won both the Asia and Pacific showcases in an undefeated 2019 Global Rapid Rugby season.

Current squad

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For player movements before and during the 2025 season, see List of 2024–25 Super Rugby transfers (Australia) § Force.


The squad for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season is:

Force Super Rugby squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Outside backs

  • (c) denotes team captain.
  • Bold denotes internationally capped.
  • DEV denotes a development squad player.
  • ST denotes a short-term signing.
  •   denotes a player ruled out for the season with injury.

Coaches

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Western Force Coaches
Coach Tenure Games Wins Losses Draws Win % Finals Appearances Titles
  John Mitchell 2006–2010 65 24 37 4 37% None None
  Richard Graham 2011–2012 24 7 15 2 29% None None
  Phil Blake (interim) 2012 8 1 7 0 12% None None
  Michael Foley 2012–2016 60 18 41 1 30% None None
  David Wessels 2016–2017 18 6 12 0 33% None None
  Tim Sampson* 2018–2022 63 32 31 0 51% NRC: 2018, 2019 GRR: 2019 SR: 2021 AU NRC: 2019 GRR: 2019
  Simon Cron 2022–present[33][34] 14 5 9 0 36% None None

Updated 24 June 2023. * denotes combined record across Global Rapid Rugby, National Rugby Championship and all Super Rugby competitions.

Statistics

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Competition

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Super Rugby

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Competition Years Matches PF PA
P W D L W%
Super 14 2006–2010 65 24 4 37 36.92% 833 1,572
Super Rugby 2011–2017; 2020–present 145 40 3 102 27.59% 2,456 3,881
Overall 2006–2017; 2020–present 210 64 7 139 30.48% 3,289 5,453

National Rugby Championship

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Competition Years Matches PF PA
P W D L W%
National Rugby Championship 2018–2019 14 11 0 3 78.57% 569 415
Overall 2018–2019 14 11 0 3 78.57% 569 415

Individual records

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Most appearances

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# Player Caps Span
1. Matt Hodgson 140 2006–2017
2. Pek Cowan 129 2006–2017
3. Ian Prior 96 2013–2017, 2019–present
4. Nathan Sharpe 92 2006–2012
5. Sam Wykes 87 2008–2015
Nick Cummins 87 2008–2015

Most points

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# Player Pts Span
1. Cameron Shepherd 370 2006–2012
2. James O'Connor 306 2008–2011
3. Matt Giteau 293 2007–2009

Most tries

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# Player Tries Span
1. Cameron Shepherd 30 2006–2012
2. Scott Staniforth 18 2006–2010
3. Nick Cummins 17 2008–2015
4. Matt Hodgson 16 2006–2017
5. Ryan Cross 15 2007–2010

Most points in a season

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# Player Pts Year
1. James O'Connor 170 2011
2. Matt Giteau 128 2009
3. Cameron Shepherd 121 2006
4. Sias Ebersohn 117 2014
5. Cameron Shepherd 115 2007

Most tries in a season

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Tries Player Year
9 Scott Staniforth 2006
8 Zach Kibirige 2023
7 Cameron Shepherd 2006
Cameron Shepherd 2007
Cameron Shepherd 2009
Nick Cummins 2014
6 Matt Hodgson 2014
5 Scott Staniforth 2009
David Smith 2011
Luke Morahan 2015
Alex Newsome 2017

Most points in a match

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# Player Pts Opposition Year
1. Cameron Shepherd 25 Bulls 2007
2. Cameron Shepherd 23 Reds 2007
3. Matt Giteau 21 Chiefs 2007
4. Matt Giteau 20 Lions 2009
James O'Connor 20 Reds 2011
David Harvey 20 Reds 2012
5. Peter Grant 18 Reds 2017

Most tries in a match

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Tries Player Opposition Year
3 Scott Staniforth Lions 2006
Cameron Shepherd Brumbies 2009
Nick Cummins Waratahs 2014

Firsts

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  • First pre-season game – vs the Cheetahs (lost 19–29)
  • First season game – Round 1, 2006 vs Brumbies (lost 10–25)
  • First try – Scott Fava vs Brumbies
  • First points – Scott Daruda (3-point penalty kick) vs Brumbies
  • First conversion – Scott Daruda vs Brumbies
  • First draw – Round 11, 2006 vs Crusaders (23–23)
  • First drop goal – Matt Giteau vs Cheetahs
  • First penalty try – Pre-Season 2006 vs Cheetahs (19–29)
  • First win – Round 13, 2006 vs Cheetahs (16–14)
  • First home win – Round 6, 2007 vs the Hurricanes (18–17)[35]

Controversies

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In November 2007, Western Force players Scott Fava and Richard Brown were fined and ordered to do community service for mistreating protected native quokkas at a team bonding session on Rottnest Island, 19 kilometres (12 mi) off the coast of Perth.

Eye-witness accounts stated that the players had mishandled the animals, including trapping and throwing them, though none were known to be seriously injured. Alcohol was said to be a factor.

As a result of the actions, Australian Wallaby number 8 Fava was ordered to pay $11,000, attend a week of community service and undergo counselling for alcohol abuse, while flanker Richard Brown was sentenced to a $5000 fine as well as seven days' community service. Both fines were payable to the Rottnest Island Conservation Foundation.

In February 2008, Matt Henjak and Haig Sare were involved in a fight at a pub in Perth. Henjak hit Sare and broke his jaw and was sacked by the Force for misconduct. Haig Sare returned to play for the Force at the end of Season 2008 once his injuries healed.

Firepower funding debacle

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Sponsorship payments from the fuel technology company Firepower were a major factor in luring Wallaby star Matt Giteau and others to play for the Western Force in Perth.[36] The luckless Giteau was one of a number of sportsmen owed millions of dollars after the collapse of Firepower.[37] A new consortium offered to cover the Firepower money if Giteau extended his existing contract;[38] he, however, chose not to and returned to Canberra to play for the Brumbies.[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "It is a ludicrous and unfair legal initiative by the ARU". PerthNow. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. ^ Decent, Georgina Robinson, Roy Ward, Tom (20 March 2020). "Western Force back in the fold as RA confirm new domestic competition". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Revamped Super Rugby unveiled with 2021 draw". wwos.nine.com.au. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  4. ^ Polson, James (13 December 2020). "Waratahs to host Hurricanes in trans-Tasman Super Rugby opener". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Reports: Agreement reached for 12-team Super Rugby from 2022". sarugbymag.co.za. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Force hold Crusaders to a draw". planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
  7. ^ "Western Force win race for Giteau". planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
  8. ^ "Force Fined $110,000 For Breach". MSN. New Zealand. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
  9. ^ "Western Force culled from Super Rugby competition". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest reveals details of new rugby competition". Fox Sports. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Indo Pacific Rugby Championship". Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Talks strengthen hopes of Hong Kong entering team in Andrew Forrest's Indo-Pacific Rugby Championship". South China Morning Post. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  13. ^ "MR Presiden aims Malaysia club participants in IPRC". Ragbi Online. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Rugby: Singapore keen on joining new Indo Pacific Rugby Championship". The Straits Times. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  15. ^ Decent, Tom (6 March 2018). "'Twiggy' launches World Series Rugby, confirms 2018 Force fixtures". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  16. ^ Thomsen, Simon (15 November 2018). "Andrew Forrest unveils 'Global Rapid Rugby', a new format aimed at reviving interest in the struggling game". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Global Rapid Rugby delayed until next year". The West Australian. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Western Force win maiden NRC title with five-try second-half blitz". rugby.com.au. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Global Rapid Rugby season cancelled". rugby.com.au. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Super Rugby 2020 season shut down: Coronavirus news, SANZAAR, Highlanders vs Jaguares cancelled, NZ travel restriction". Fox Sports. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Suncorp Stadium derby to open Super Rugby AU competition". rugby.com.au. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Revealed: Rugby Australia announce 2021 Super Rugby AU draw". rugby.com.au. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  23. ^ "2021 set for thrilling Trans-Tasman crossover". rugby.com.au. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Reports: Agreement reached for 12-team Super Rugby from 2022". sarugbymag.co.za. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  25. ^ "New Zealand Rugby confirms Fiji Rugby & Moana Pasifika as preferred partners". allblacks.com. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  26. ^ "SUPER RUGBY STATS".
  27. ^ "Renewed Western Force reveal new logo, jumper". The West Australian. 4 March 2018.
  28. ^ Major Stadia Taskforce – Background
  29. ^ "HBF to be new sponsor of Perth Rectangular Stadium". HBF Health. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  30. ^ Media, Rugby WA (26 September 2019). "Perth Gold team selected and ready to fire in Adelaide for the NRC II competition | Latest Rugby News | Rugby WA". wa.rugby. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  31. ^ a b "The "Empire" strikes again?". ruggaworld.com. 16 May 2006. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  32. ^ "Tatupu claims outside centre berth". rugbywa.com.au. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  33. ^ Doran, Christy (30 March 2022). "'We can make a dominant team': Ambitious Force sign Cron to turn them into title contenders". Fox Sports. Australia.
  34. ^ Worthington, Sam (28 March 2022). "Western Force land highly rated coach Simon Cron to replace Tim Sampson at season's end". Nine's Wide World of Sports.
  35. ^ Gray, Wynne (12 March 2007). "Rugby: Force win as TV replay shows officials' frailty". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  36. ^ Chadwick, Justin (27 May 2008). "Firepower debacle hits Matt Giteau, Western Force". PerthNow/The Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  37. ^ Magnay, Jacquelin; Ryle, Gerard (28 May 2008). "The game's almost up for Firepower". Rugby Heaven. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008.
  38. ^ Matt Giteau rejects $1.6m Force offer PerthNow, 1 November 2008
  39. ^ Giteau to return to Brumbies ABC News, 21 February 2009
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