The Western Force Women are an Australian rugby union team that competes annually in the Super W competition, and are based in Perth, Western Australia. They have competed in every edition of Super W since its official launch in 2018. They played under the name RugbyWA from 2019 to 2020.
| Union | Rugby Australia (Western Australia) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | ||
| Location | Perth, Western Australia | ||
| Region | Western Australia, Australia | ||
| Coach(es) | Dylan Parsons | ||
| Captain(s) | Trilleen Pomare | ||
| League(s) | Super Rugby Women's | ||
| 2024 | 3rd | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| westernforce | |||
History
editThe team played as the Western Force Women in the inaugural season of the Super W competition, finishing third overall.[1] They played under the name RugbyWA during the 2019 and 2020 seasons after their re-branding. The side returned to their "roots" by wearing the traditional black and gold state colours.[1]
They returned to playing under the Western Force name in 2021 as a newly structured Super W team, in an effort to increases support for the women’s game in Western Australia.[2] With RugbyWA administering the "operational and logistical aspects in a collaborative approach".[2] The Western Force did not complete the 2021 season but opted to pull out of the Super W competition after the first round due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in New South Wales.[3][4]
Current squad
editOn 20 February, the squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season was announced.[5]
| Western Force Women Super W squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
|
Loose Forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
|
Outside Backs
Fullbacks
|
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped, ST indicated short-term cover and TS indicates a training squad player. | ||
Season standings
editSuper W
Year Pos Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts Play-offs 2024 3rd 5 3 0 2 124 126 –2 1 13 Lost to Fijian Drua in playoff 2023 5th 5 2 0 3 77 132 –55 0 8 Did not compete 2022 6th 4 0 0 4 57 146 –89 0 0 Did not compete 2021 Withdrew from competition due to COVID-19 pandemic Did not compete 2020 5th 4 0 0 4 41 184 –143 2 2 Did not compete 2019 4th 4 1 0 3 53 86 –33 1 6 Did not compete 2018 3rd 4 2 0 2 154 87 +67 2 10 Did not compete
Coaching Staff
edit- Head Coach: Dylan Parsons
- Assistant Coach: Chris Heiberg
- Assistant Coach: Dwayne Grace
- Female High Performance Pathways Manager: Claudia Bell
References
edit- ^ a b "Super W: RugbyWA Women unveil new squad and old-school look". www.rugby.com.au. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ a b Conway, Bryce (1 April 2021). "Western Force launch Super W team". westernforce.rugby. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Chadwick, Justin (27 June 2021). "Force pull out of Super W due to COVID". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Vakil, Karina (26 June 2021). "FORCE WITHDRAW FROM SUPER W 2021". westernforce.rugby. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Somerford, Ben (19 February 2024). "Force's 2024 Super W squad confirmed with seven extended members". westernforce.rugby. Retrieved 6 April 2024.