‘Rugby has to evolve’: Western Force coach Tim Sampson talks Global Rapid Rugby ahead of Hong Kong clash with Tigers
- Tim Sampson brings his team to Hong Kong for return match against the South China Tigers
- Coach supports Andrew Forrest’s vision of making rugby more fan friendly and fast paced
Tim Sampson gets what Andrew Forrest is trying to do.
“Rugby has to evolve,” said Sampson, head coach of Global Rapid Rugby’s Western Force. “It has to evolve. I think rugby is one of the few sports that hasn’t evolved over the years, you look at other sports here in Australia like Rugby League, they brought in little changes here and there. The AFL has changed a few rules, even NBA basketball changing their shot clock.”
Sampson’s Force will be in Hong Kong on Sunday taking on the South China Tigers in the seventh game of Global Rapid Rugby’s condensed showcase series season.
Australian mining billionaire Forrest launched GRR this year hoping to sprout a new league in Asia and give his Force team a permanent place to play after they were booted out of Super Rugby. The plan was to run a full season in 2019, but various factors including the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, pushed Forrest to aim for a 2020 debut.
The Force are undefeated, having outscored their opponents 120-51 over four games in Perth and Singapore, two against the Asia-Pacific Dragons, who have split their two contests with the Tigers.