Western Force
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| Union | Australian Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Location | Perth, Western Australia |
| Region | Western Australia |
| Ground(s) | nib Stadium, Perth (Capacity: 20,500) |
| Coach(es) | David Wessels |
| Captain(s) |
Ben McCalman and Heath Tessmann |
| League(s) | Super Rugby |
| 2016 | 5th (Australian Conference) 10th (Australasian Group) 16th (overall) |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
Western Force is a rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, playing in the international Super rugby competition. They first competed in the 2006 season and finished with the wooden spoon in that year, however their performances greatly improved in 2007. In 2008 they finished in 8th place, just missing out on the finals again. The team is the fourth Australian team to be accepted into the competition. It was coached by former New Zealand All Blacks coach, John Mitchell for the first five seasons before former Australian sevens captain Richard Graham took charge ahead of the 2011 season.
The bid for entry into an expanded Super 12 competition started in the early 2000s, when in 2002, a group was formed to oversee developments in the push for a new Australian franchise. The group's objective was to ensure that if SANZAR agreed to a fourth Australian franchise, that RugbyWA would be ready. RugbyWA were invited to bid for the fourth Australian team, and the union assembled a project team, which was given four weeks to formulate their bid. The bid was backed by the state government, which loaned more than one million dollars to RugbyWA, as well as committing $25 million towards an upgrade of the Members Equity Stadium. It was announced in December 2004 that RugbyWA had beaten Rugby Union Victoria for the right to host the fourth Australian franchise.
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. Since this result, the Force have 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 is the longest it has ever taken a side to get a point in Super rugby history (8 rounds/7 matches).
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