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I will like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the man the man helped make Rugby in Western Australia what it is today, and whilst I am singling out one man I am sure that there was a team of assistants and support staff who were there doing the hard yards that. But here is to Peter O'Meara.
Imagine if you would that the ARU announce that you have won the right for the fourth Australian franchise to be a part of Super Rugby, and then the ARU tell you that they will not assist you with recruitment, there will be no special concessions. You are on your own.
So Peter and his team went out and aggressively recruited the players identified by the coaching team. Why? He had no choice in the matter, He had no assistance. What was he going to do?? Oh excuse me Mr Sharpe - yes hi we were wondering if you had considered playing rugby in Perth. Yes, Perth. Well, you know where Mt Isa is? Yes well its South West from there.
The AFL gave assistance to their new clubs. Hell, the Sydney Swans moved to Sydney over 20 years ago, they still get assistance from the AFL. The Brisbane Bears/Lions won 3 Premierships in a row - they still get assistance.
So Peter O'Meara trod on some toes along the way. BIG DEAL. You don't make cakes without breaking an egg or two along the way. RugbyWA got fined. Well at least it was RugbyWA, they can afford to pay their fines. Imagine if NSWRU got fined - they would be on the phone to the ARU the next day asking for more money to pay their own fine for them.
After 4 years of Super Rugby. The Western Force have 10 players selected to play in the Wallabies, and the Western Force were successful against all 3 of other Australian Franchises. I hate to imagine how much we would have struggled if we didn't have a strong CEO like Peter O'Meara in our formative years.
So from this Western Force Fan, to Mr Peter O'Meara.
THANK YOU