The Western Force are Perth’s professional rugby union team and Western Australia’s only side in Super Rugby Pacific, the top club competition in the Southern Hemisphere. Founded in 2005, the Force have had one of the most turbulent journeys in the sport: a promising start, a controversial axing from the competition, several years spent in alternative tournaments, and a hard-fought return to the top table. This guide explains who the Western Force are, how they got here, who leads them today, and how their recent seasons have unfolded.
The Western Force at a Glance
Based in Perth and playing in the maroon, blue and gold of Western Australia, the Force sit a long way from the game’s traditional heartlands on Australia’s east coast. That isolation is part of their identity: they are the lone West Australian professional team, drawing on a smaller local playing pool than their rivals. The quick-facts panel below sums up the essentials before the full story.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Western Force |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Based in | Perth, Western Australia |
| Home ground | HBF Park (capacity ~20,500) |
| Competition | Super Rugby Pacific |
| Super Rugby debut | 2006 |
| Head coach | Simon Cron |
| Captain | Jeremy Williams |
| Major honours | National Rugby Championship (2019); Global Rapid Rugby (2019) |
| Official website | westernforce.rugby |
How the Western Force Began (2005–2007)
The Western Force were founded in 2005 and made their debut in the 2006 Super 14 season, the expanded version of what is now Super Rugby Pacific. Their first match was at home against a strong Brumbies side, and the newcomers went down 25–10. It set the tone for a difficult opening campaign: the Force lost game after game and had to wait until their seventh match to collect their first competition point. They finished their maiden season near the bottom of the table.
There were bright moments, though. The standout was a 23–23 draw with the Crusaders, who were the reigning champions at the time — a result that showed the Force could compete with the best. Off the field, the club made headlines by recruiting Wallabies playmaker Matt Giteau from the Brumbies and winger Drew Mitchell from the Reds for the 2007 season. Giteau arrived on one of the richest contracts in the competition at the time, and his signing signalled genuine ambition. In 2007 the Force enjoyed their best early return, finishing seventh.
Axed From Super Rugby and the Years Outside (2017–2021)
After that 2007 highlight, success proved elusive. For the next decade the Force failed to reach the playoffs in any season. Then, in August 2017, the competition’s governing body SANZAAR (the joint body run by South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina) decided to cut Super Rugby from 18 teams back to 15. Three sides were removed, and the Force were the Australian team dropped — a deeply unpopular decision in Perth that ended their run in the competition after the 2017 season.
The axing stung all the more because it came despite a spirited public campaign to save the club, and it left Western Australia without a top-tier professional team. For a region that had invested more than a decade in building a rugby base, losing its Super Rugby licence felt like being cut adrift from the rest of the Australian game. Many supporters feared the Force would fold altogether.
Rather than disappear, the club found new backing. Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest stepped in to keep professional rugby alive in Western Australia and bankrolled a new venture, while the Force also entered Australia’s domestic second tier. The result was several years spent well away from the Super Rugby spotlight.
National Rugby Championship
The Western Force played the 2018 and 2019 seasons in the National Rugby Championship (NRC), the second tier of Australian rugby union. They finished third in 2018, losing in the semi-finals, then went one better in 2019 — winning the title with a commanding 41–3 victory over the Canberra Vikings in the final.
Global Rapid Rugby
Alongside the NRC, Forrest launched Global Rapid Rugby, an Indo-Pacific competition designed to give the Force regular high-level matches against teams from countries such as Fiji, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Samoa and Singapore. It began in 2019 as a series of showcase fixtures, which the Force dominated. A full home-and-away season was planned for 2020, but the arrival of COVID-19 forced its cancellation, and the tournament did not return.
The Road Back to Super Rugby (2020–2022)
The pandemic that ended Global Rapid Rugby also, ironically, reopened the door to the top flight. With international travel impossible in 2020, Rugby Australia created a home-only competition, Super Rugby AU, and invited the Force to join the four existing Australian franchises. The Force came back into the professional fold, although they finished last of five teams without a win that year.
They remained part of the Australian set-up through 2021, which also featured Super Rugby Trans-Tasman — a crossover series between the five Australian and five New Zealand teams. As restrictions eased, the governing bodies rebuilt the competition into a single trans-Tasman league. In 2022 a new 12-team Super Rugby Pacific launched, bringing together the five New Zealand sides, the five Australian sides (the Force included), the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika. The Western Force were back permanently. On their return they finished ninth, missing the finals narrowly on points difference.
The competition has since contracted. The Melbourne Rebels played their final season in 2024 before Rugby Australia declined to grant them a licence amid the club’s financial collapse, leaving Super Rugby Pacific with 11 teams from 2025 onwards.
Season by Season Since the Return
Since rejoining in 2022 the Force have been a mid-to-lower-table side slowly trending upwards. Their 2026 campaign was their strongest for more than a decade, even though it again ended just short of the playoffs. The table below sets out their Super Rugby Pacific finishes since the comeback.
Super Rugby Pacific Record
| Season | Finish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9th | Missed the finals on points difference on their return |
| 2023 | 10th | First full season under coach Simon Cron |
| 2024 | 10th | 4 wins, 10 losses |
| 2025 | 9th | Continued to build under Cron |
| 2026 | 7th | 7–7 record; best finish since returning but missed the finals |
The 2026 season was a genuine step forward. After opening with home losses to the Blues and the Brumbies, the Force found their rhythm, claiming a first win over Moana Pasifika in New Zealand and stringing together results that lifted them into seventh. A final-round comeback win over the Waratahs in Perth sealed a 7–7 record — the club’s first non-losing season since 2014 — although a missed bonus point earlier in the run meant they were eliminated from the finals race with a round to spare. For a side that had finished ninth or tenth in every previous year since returning, it was clear evidence of progress.
Coaching and Leadership
The Force are coached by Simon Cron, who arrived in Perth in late 2022 and took charge for the 2023 season. Before joining the Force, Cron was an assistant coach with the Waratahs in Sydney and head coach of the Japanese club Toyota Verblitz. His work rebuilding the Force’s competitiveness earned him a contract extension that runs through the 2027 season, giving the club rare stability in the top job.
On the field, the side is captained by lock Jeremy Williams, who has led the Force since 2024 and wore the armband for a third straight season in 2026. Ben Donaldson, the team’s first-choice fly-half, and back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny serve as vice-captains. The Force’s playing roster is built around a core of home-grown West Australians supplemented by experienced recruits and a handful of Wallabies, with flanker Carlo Tizzano among the recent graduates to full international honours.
Over the years the jersey has been worn by some notable names. Lock Nathan Sharpe captained the side in the early era, Matt Hodgson is the club’s most-capped player, and Giteau and Mitchell remain the best-known of the early marquee signings.
Stylistically, the modern Force are built on a hard-working, physical forward pack and a defence that aims to make life uncomfortable for more fancied opponents. Operating with a smaller budget and playing pool than the east-coast franchises, they have leaned on togetherness, set-piece grunt and the long travel that visiting teams must endure to reach Perth. That underdog identity is central to how the club presents itself and to the loyalty of its supporter base.
Where the Western Force Play
The Western Force play their home games at HBF Park in East Perth, a rectangular stadium that holds about 20,500 spectators. The ground was formerly known as Perth Oval and has also been called Perth Rectangular Stadium; it is shared with the city’s A-League football and NRL teams. In their first four seasons the Force played instead at the much larger Subiaco Oval before moving to the more intimate HBF Park, whose tighter confines suit a smaller, passionate home crowd. Occasionally a home match is relocated — in 2026, for example, one fixture was moved to Joondalup while HBF Park hosted a major football tournament.
How to Follow the Western Force
For New Zealand fans, the Force are a familiar Super Rugby Pacific opponent for all five Kiwi franchises, and every round is shown live in New Zealand on Sky Sport. Fixtures, results and squad news are published on the team’s official website, which is the most reliable place for up-to-date information. If you want to understand the wider competition the Force play in — its format, teams and finals system — our guide to Super Rugby in New Zealand covers the essentials.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What competition do the Western Force play in?
The Western Force play in Super Rugby Pacific, the top professional club competition in the Southern Hemisphere. Since 2025 it has featured 11 teams: five from New Zealand, four from Australia, the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika.
Why were the Western Force removed from Super Rugby?
In August 2017 the governing body SANZAAR decided to cut Super Rugby from 18 teams to 15. Three sides were dropped, and the Force were the Australian team removed after the 2017 season. They returned permanently when the rebuilt Super Rugby Pacific launched in 2022.
Where do the Western Force play their home games?
The Force play at HBF Park in East Perth, a rectangular stadium with a capacity of around 20,500. They used the larger Subiaco Oval during their first four seasons before moving to their current home.
Who coaches and captains the Western Force?
Simon Cron has been head coach since the 2023 season and is contracted through 2027. Lock Jeremy Williams is the club captain, a role he has held since 2024.
How did the Western Force perform in 2026?
The Force finished seventh with a 7–7 record — their first non-losing season since 2014 and their best finish since returning to Super Rugby. Despite the improvement, they narrowly missed the playoffs, bowing out of the finals race with one round remaining.