Western Australia caught the Bledisloe fever on Sunday as the Buildcorp Wallaroos and Qantas Wallabies joined the Western Force to give back to the WA rugby community at UWA Sports Park.
Fans were down early at the familiar UWA ground hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite WA and national players early as the Wallaroos were first to arrive on scene to great anticipating supporters.
The RugbyWA Juniors were also on show playing out their weekend’s fixtures at the event to showcase the best grassroots rugby can offer.
The Laurie O’Reilly Trophy, the Bledisloe Cup and the momentous William Webb Ellis Cup were all on show to supporter’s delight.
Entertainment was on offer for all ages with bouncy castles and Get Into Rugby courses were put on for the young fans while, UWA Rugby Club opened the bar and canteen allowing all fans and discuss the massive week of rugby.
RugbyWA development officers were out and about giving the young rugby fans their famous tips and tricks on how to advance their rugby skills ahead of the Junior Finals in the following weeks.
The precinct was littered in a very familiar royal blue with the Western Force players joining the fun ahead of Friday’s matchup at HBF Park.
The combination of all teams and supporters in the state was truly a sight to see for all fans outlining a true celebration of all thing’s rugby.
Supporters came from far and wide to celebrate the event with the South Wests Spirit junior rugby team making the long trip north to see their heroes.
The Qantas Wallabies took the event by storm entering to all fans delight as captain Michael Hooper lead a cast of familiar faces back to WA as the whole squad were on show to meet the community.
Spread across the park the national outfit were there to lend a hand running water for junior games as well as jumping on the barbecue at the clubhouse.
Massive cues ensued of supporters waiting to meet WA heroes David Pocock and James O’Conner giving the two a huge welcome back to the West and wishing them luck for Saturday’s match.
The Wallaroos finished the day with their open training session giving a taste of what is to come against the black ferns on Saturday.
WA girls Mhicca Carter, Ariana Hira-Herangi and Bec Clough felt right at home back at the RugbyWA Women’s training ground.
RugbyWA superstar Claudia Neilson also made an appearance with the Wallaroos stepping in to help the squad prepare.
The day was a huge success for all with Wallaroos, Wallabies and Western Force players coming together to kick-off the Bledisloe Cup festival.
The Wallaroos will have another open training session of Wednesday the 7th of August at UWA sports park from 10:00am to 11:00am.
The week will culminate the Bledisloe Cup double header on Saturday the 10th of August at Optus Stadium with the Wallaroos kicking off at 3:00pm local time.
RugbyWA would like to thank Rugby Australia for their organisation of the Gold Blooded fan day and their continued assistance with the drive of Perth’s Bledisloe Cup Festival.
