On Friday 10 February 2006, a new force in world rugby made its debut; the Emirates Western Force. It was a coming of age for rugby in WA and a wonderful moment for the State's passionate sports fans that had been waiting a long time for. More than 37,000 people packed the stands to watch the local team do battle for the first time.

Exactly 14 months earlier, the Australian Rugby Union awarded Rugby WA the right to host Australia's fourth team in the expanded Tooheys New Super 14 - the toughest provincial rugby competition in the world.

Within months the team had secured the coaching services of former All Black, John Mitchell, and put together an impressive squad headed by Wallaby veterans Nathan Sharpe and Brendan Cannon, and including emerging stars Digby Ioane and Cameron Shepherd.