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Matt Henjak Named Inaugural Captain of the Perth Spirit
The Mazda Australian Rugby Championship was officially launched at the Sydney Opera House today, with Matt Henjak named as the inaugural captain of the Perth Spirit.
The Mazda ARC has been developed to fill the identified gap between traditional club rugby and the game’s professional or elite level.
More than 120 professional players, including current and former Wallabies have signed on to take part in the exciting eight team national competition.
The teams from Western Australia (Perth Spirit), Victoria, the ACT, NSW and Queensland will compete across eight (8) rounds for the Mazda Cup from August 10 until the final on the weekend of October 13/14.
The Perth Spirit is expected to name its squad next week.
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) Managing Director John O’Neill AO says the Mazda ARC is the most significant development in rugby in Australia since the Super rugby competition came into being in 1996.
“In recent years it has been very evident that New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship and South Africa’s Currie Cup have been the breeding ground for some very polished players at the professional level,” John O’Neill said.
“Our Tri Nations partners have a competitive edge on us in the depth of talent for elite rugby,” he said.
“The Mazda ARC is the perfect platform for Australian rugby to launch our Super rugby and Wallaby players of the future.
“Our development pathways are reasonable, but the piece of the jigsaw which has been missing on the Australian Rugby landscape has been the ARC.
“From next month excitingly, the landscape changes,” he said.
Mazda Managing Director Doug Dickson says the company is pleased to be associated with another major sporting initiative.
“Mazda is delighted to be playing such a key role in bringing this new sporting innovation to rugby’s exciting sporting landscape,” Doug Dickson said.
“Mazda’s major support of events like this and other partnerships such as Opera Australia, the AFL through the Kangaroos and the Fremantle Dockers, is our way of saying thank you to the Australian people for supporting our Zoom-Zoom vehicles.”
“Mazda is seen as an automotive innovator, creating Stylish, Insightful and Spirited cars that are a pleasure to drive and that are of a superior quality and value for money.
It is this passion that makes supporting initiatives such as the ARC a natural fit for our brand.”
The eight teams which make up the Mazda Australia Championship are:
* Perth Spirit - Member’s Equity Stadium
* Melbourne Rebels - Olympic Park, Melbourne
* East Coast Aces - Gold Coast Stadium
* Sydney Fleet - North Sydney Oval
* Western Sydney Rams - Parramatta Stadium
* Canberra Vikings - Manuka Oval
* Ballymore Tornadoes - Ballymore, Brisbane
* Central Coasts Rays - BlueTongue Stadium, Gosford.
The Mazda ARC teams will be led by a number of Wallabies, including;
Matt Henjak, Scrumhalf (Perth Spirit and Emirates Western Force)
David Croft, Flanker,( Melbourne Rebels and Reds;
Alister Campbell, Lock (Canberra Vikings and Brumbies);
Lloyd Johansson, Utility back (East Coast Aces and Queensland Reds)
Matt Henjak Named As Perth Spirit Captain At ARC Launch
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 4:56pm
RugbyWA
Well done Matt.
Theres a vote of confidence in the man.
Truth be told, he shouldn't be captaining the Spirit - he should be with the Wallabies squad. On ya Matty!![]()
Dear Lord, if you give us back Johnny Cash, we'll give you Justin Bieber.
Good on ya Jak - what a result for the Spirit - know he'll prove those Wallaby Selectors wrong - brillant
61 years between Grand SlamsWas the wait worth it - Ya betta baby
awsome to hear, But i do agree with coach he should be playing in gold and green!!
hard yakka, hard yakka Ooh Ah hard yakka
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Hmm... seems like a little bit of a consolation prize...
I made Happy sad...
Maybe but still good for him
Well done Matt, well deserved!! Now kick some arse!!![]()
Saw him on ABC News in his Jersey - he looked chuffed (and oddly for him his hair was all one colour)
Perth Spirit Jersey looked to be one of the best looking of the lot of em too.
61 years between Grand SlamsWas the wait worth it - Ya betta baby
Yeah, agreed TQ1. I reckon the good old bumble bee held it's own against all the "pretty" new age designs!
Well done Hennas, go for it mate and prove the establishment wrong![]()
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
geez u guys reckon henjak is a capain? he can play but he is a whinger and i can imagine him annoying the ref alot which would not be that good for the team.
plus, he is still pretty young and even though he has been overlooked for wallabies duties this season, he should be looking at cracking the squad in th next few seasons. i think maybe fava or someone would have been a better option...
He wouldn't have been my first pick Felix but I guess we don't know who is off for off-season operations etc.
I think it will be good for him and will continue the maturing path we saw from '06-'07.
Here are the Captains wearing their respective jersey's:
Lloyd Johansson, East Coast Aces
Tom McVerry, Ballymore Tornadoes
???, Western Sydney Rams (not sure)
Alister Campbell, Canberra Vikings
??? Cameron Treloar, Central Coasts Rays (not sure)
Tim Davidson, Sydney Fleet
David Croft, Melbourne Rebels
Matt Henjak, Perth Spirit
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
can anyone pick who our jersey sponsor is??
On zooming in it looks like it could be that ET crowd (in the mining game me thinks). They are sponsors of the Force also.Originally Posted by travelling_gerry
Good on ya Yak and Felix I do believe he'll do the job well. Do feel a little sad for Scotty Fava though. He came across as deputy to Sharpie, lost the job to Stanners in year 2 and now he doesn't even make captain of the Spirit.
well done...thanks WF