Earlier this month, the state government confirmed Perth had secured hosting rights for the HSBC SVNS – a multi-day international rugby tournament – for a further three years until 2028.
As the name suggests, SVNS is a shortened form of the game, with seven players per side on a regular-sized field, split into two seven-minute halves.
The off-field entertainment is not only fast and flowing, but also carnival-like, with spectators encouraged to dress up and enjoy relaxed music in a festive atmosphere.
However, next year the event offering will change from World Rugby to Rugby Australia, which could bring some significant benefits in determining the tournament’s key spectator statistics.
“The SVNS was provided by World Rugby for the last two or three years – and that became a bit tricky to secure (data) access,” Ms O’Connor said.
“But for the next three years it will be run by Rugby Australia, so we have been working closely with Rugby Australia over the last few months.
“When the tickets launched there were options to join the Force family too – so we used it to gain as much influence as possible, which was great.”
In June the Force took on the British and Irish Lions in a test match at Optus Stadium, the largest ever crowd for a Force home match with 46,656 spectators.
Mrs. O’Connor told it Business news that the club took many positives from the event as Perth moves closer to a bumper 2027.
In addition to SVNS at the start of the year, Perth will also host a series of men’s Rugby World Cup pool matches in October, including the opening ceremony and pool match.
“We know there is hunger here,” she said.
“We know there are rugby and code enthusiasts here. It’s about working hard now to network and get people to get behind us as a sport.”
The Force reached the end of the first Super Rugby Australia competition, narrowly falling to the NSW Waratahs 33-26 in the grand final.
Ms O’Connor said both she and the club were delighted that the grand final was being held at Wanneroo Rugby Union Club as it provided another good opportunity for the club to further grow its footprint in the community.
“Anything that gets more people to see rugby and gives them access to it… it also gets the boys (the Force men’s team) playing more rugby,” she said.
“We’ve also supported it with what we call North v South (series) in the women’s game, to get the girls playing rugby together a lot more.
“We’ve created these opportunities to connect with the community and it’s refreshing to see the difference this has made to talent coming through the WA pipeline – and that’s really what you want to be, but it just takes time to build.”
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