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April Fools Thread!
Please read Post #15 before continuing!
Professional “Super” 8 to shake up WA Rugby.
George Lancaster, “The West”.
In a move to lift the standard of the local Rugby scene and sure to rock the establishment in Western Australia, RugbyWA are set to announce a brand new “Super 8” Premier Club Professional Competition to start as early as 2008.
The new competition, allegedly titled “The Western Shakedown” (in keeping with recent modern team names the Western Force and Perth Spirit), is to be financed by a leading locally active International Resources Company and individual team sponsors are already lining up.
For some time whispers have been surfacing from behind closed doors that RugbyWA were concerned that the States Premier Rugby was an inferior breeding ground for replenishing the Emirates Western Force Squad in coming years.
Now, as sources have revealed, the next great step in Western Australian Rugby is going to occur in a unique format.
Documents to hand that lay out the master plan show the eight new teams as being a mixture of six existing “elite” Clubs, a Force Academy XV (much like the AIS side in the Women’s National Basketball and Netball competitions) and an “Invitational XV” made up of players from the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.
In a move sure to upset some Clubs and to delight others, the six existing Clubs will be decided primarily on results in this seasons Home Building Society Premier Competition however, other factors such as depth and location will also help decide the final selection.
It is yet to be decided if some form of relegation system may be implemented after a settling in period.
Officials from outlying Clubs contacted yesterday have off the record expressed serious concerns about their Clubs being “left behind” with all the resources being directed into the new competition however, they have withheld formal comment until they can hold discussions with RugbyWA.
One stalwart Club President said, “This is all news to me, amazing, incredible! You would think that RugbyWA may have consulted with their stakeholders prior to trying this on? The bloody nerve. I better hold my tongue but they can expect a fight from our corner!”
The proposal involves a sixteen week season with two rounds of Home and Away, Semi’s and the Final. The season will commence in early April each year in order to taper into the Australian Rugby Championship calendar and keep new found talent on their development path.
Rumour has it that the proposal is to hold two “double headers” at Members Equity each weekend, one Saturday night, one Sunday twilight during the season however, as the Super 14 Season allows, the earlier Rounds may be held as curtain raisers to the Force Home matches.
Negotiations are also underway with the Australian Rugby Union to see if Perth can host the last Home match of the Tri Nations each year. If this is successful then the season will be further adjusted so as the Final can be a major draw card Curtain Raiser for the annual Western Australian Test Match.
It is believed that greater development for the Force Academy players will occur from training and playing as a unit fulltime in the Academy XV rather than sharing time with their old Clubs and being trained by outdated and hack methods.
The Invitational XV is to be made up of seasoned players to add depth and variety to the new competition and to give local players greater exposure to International styles of play. Preliminary talks have said to have already been undertaken with several “past greats” from the New Zealand scene looking to extend their careers for a couple more years.
Rugby WA was approached for comment yesterday however no response was forthcoming.