EPISODE 26: The tale of the Western Force

GOLD DIGGER: The search for Australian rugby

A historic new expansion that turned into one of Australian rugby’s most bitter civil wars, the Western Force is a franchise that has ridden the rollercoaster of excitement and devastation. This is an episode that looks at how the team came into existence, how Australian rugby and Super Rugby evolved over that time, the inside story of the controversial axing of the team and how the Force managed to rise again from the ashes.

With first hand interviews with former ARU Board director and WA rugby stalwart Geoff Stooke, former Rugby WA chairman Tony Howarth, former ARU CEO John O’Neill and a host of others including clips from the Senate Enquiry into the “Future of Rugby in Australia”, we piece together just what happened to the Western Force and why it still matters today. Get a big cup of coffee, sit back and dig into this gripping yarn.