1
Whilst not admitting defeat in the battle against this most recent deceitful and treacherous act of betrayal by the ARU, I have in mind "Plan B".
From a personal perspective, I will:
a) Cancel my Foxtel account (and let them know why I have done it);
b) Not attend any events organised by the ARU or where they are beneficiaries - I religiously have attended every Wallaby Test in Perth (purchasing up to 8 tickets to each) - I would encourage all of my network not to buy tickets to the Test this year at NIB (or any future games) as an act of defiance;
c) Not save my pennies and arrange my holidays to support the Wallabies at the various RWC's;
d) Hope and pray that the Reds, Tahs and ARU stew in the juices of the cesspit they have created.
From an organisational perspective, I believe we should use this "chopping of the Force" to formally advise the ARU that rugby in WA will no longer be part of their organisation (officially secede); their recent behaviour and the associated relevations make it very clear how little they value the contribution of WA Rugby.
We don't have to pay the ARU to buy back the Force Licence if we are not part of the system.
Use the clean start to embrace the internationality of the game and send State teams to place in NZ, Asia and Africa for their development.
WA would cease all participation in national tournaments and broaden their horizons; in one sense go back to some of the traditions of the game where touring was the pinnacle. Imagine sending our WA under age and school boy teams and sevens teams to places like Hong Kong and Japan in lieu of St Ignatius College in Sydney where the Australian team has already been selected from Qld and NSW before the first whistle. The upcoming national schoolboy championships in July would be the first cab off the rank.
Ignore the carrot being dangled in the form of an NRC team (many of the players may be parachuted in from the East anyway). Leave the ARU with no misunderstanding that the current NRC Champions no longer wish to play with them.
I'm feeling good already about the prospect and the possibilities of cutting all ties with the ARU.