Hodgson’s darkest day down to ARU decision

WESTERN Force stalwart Matt Hodgson says the ARU is killing his love of rugby after the governing body rejected another offer to save the Perth-based franchise.

On Tuesday, billionaire Andrew Forrest offered to pump tens of millions of dollars into Australian rugby if the ARU reversed its decision to axe the Force.

But the governing body refused to budge, with the matter set to be decided in the courts.

RugbyWA is arguing the ARU had no right to axe the Force under the terms of the alignment deal struck last year.

But the ARU said it could not reverse the decision because it had already told governing body SANZAAR it would axe one Australian franchise.

The matter will now be decided by the NSW Supreme Court after RugbyWA won the right to appeal.

Hodgson, a foundation player at the Force, is widely considered to be the franchise’s heart and soul.

The 36-year-old has been a tireless campaigner for rugby in Western Australia and around the country.

But in an emotional Facebook post written shortly after the ARU rejected Forrest’s offer, he said the ARU was killing his love of the game.

“Today might just be the day I finally (lose) the love of the game, after another opportunity to make the right decision again was wasted. It’s never too late to make the right decision,” Hodgson wrote. “Will the love ever come back? I’m not sure.”

Hodgson said this year had been by far the hardest of his rugby career.

And that’s from a man who has broken his nose 33 times, endured reconstructions of his knee (twice), shoulder (three times) and ankle (twice), and almost had his ear ripped off.

“I have been close to being forced out of the game on many occasions due to injury. Even in the darkest of my days I still loved the game. The game was not to blame,” Hodgson wrote.