THE head of Perth boutique investment bank Argonaut Capital, and well-known rugby tragic Charles Fear, has urged corporate WA to get behind the State’s rugby union.
THE head of Perth boutique investment bank Argonaut Capital, and well-known rugby tragic Charles Fear, has urged corporate WA to get behind the State’s rugby union.
Argonaut Capital recently signed a two-year sponsorship deal, with an option for another year, in return for the naming rights of WA rugby union side Perth Gold.
Renamed Argonaut Gold, the highly successful team unfortunately lost only its second game in three years over the weekend to New South Wales Country.
Speaking at the launch of Argonaut’s sponsorship deal Mr Fear told businesspeople how successful the WA team had been and why it had deserved the sponsorship.
It is not known how much the sponsorship deal is worth but Rugby WA president Tony Harvey thanked Mr Fear for his “very generous” offer.
Mr Fear later said Argonaut, sponsored the WA team to rally corporate support for WA rugby.
“The spin-off for us is rugby is a corporate game and by aligning ourselves with the Argonaut Gold we expect we can get some support from corporate WA,” he said.
Mr Fear said WA was keen to enter the Australia-South Africa-New Zealand Super 12 competition and by getting behind the current Perth side it would increase the State’s chances of breaking into the competition.
“If we support them now then the more WA players who make the Super 12 competition the more likely it is that we’ll get a Super 14 side,” he said.
One of the options under consideration is that the current Super 12 competition be expanded by two sides and the hope is one of those can be Perth-based.
Argonaut Capital also has an option on the naming rights for Perth’s entry into the Super 12 competition.
Mr Fear said having a Super 14 side in Perth would provide a pathway for Perth’s large population of young rugby union players and he urged Perth’s former rugby union players to get behind the sport.
“It is about time our corporate showed their true colours,” he said.
“Do you realise the strength of the rugby fraternity at the top end of town?”
Alinta Chairman Tony Howarth, Western Power chairman Neil Hamilton, Channel Seven executive chairman Kerry Stokes and Austal chairman John Rothwell, were just some of Perth’s corporate rugby union fans, Mr Fear said.
