It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since the Western Force ran out for their first Super 14 competition in 2006.
This year the team celebrates their 10th season and, amongst the Force Foundation squad members, one individual who has been there since the very beginning is Wallaby number 757, Scott Staniforth.
Born in the NSW country town of West Wyalong, Scott made his Super Rugby debut for the Waratahs in 1998, the same year he was called up to the Wallabies for their tour of France and England.
He was part of Australia’s Rugby World Cup winning side a year later in 1999 where he scored two tries in his Test debut against the USA.
“It was amazing. It was obviously a great era of Australian rugby and great to be part of,” Scott said.
“Being the youngest, and one of my first tours, you probably don’t appreciate what a big feat the boys achieved.
“Now looking back on it, it was definitely a highlight of my career.”
Scott had already represented Australia at Schoolboys, Under 19s and Under 21s level.
A product of Eastwood Rugby Club in Sydney, he went on to win the Sydney Premiership with the Woods and score a record nine tries for the Waratahs in 2002 before again being selected for the Wallabies’ Spring Tour.
In 2004, after consistent seasons with the Waratahs, he signed for London Irish where he played 24 games, scored seven tries and was named Player of the Year.
After a successful year in London, Scott returned to be part of the Western Force’s inuaugural season in 2006.
“We were having child number three so we wanted to get back to Australia. The Force opportunity came up through a mate of mine, Greg Marr, who was the Team Manager at the time, and they left a spot open for me.
“I also wanted to move on to the next stage of my life after rugby.
“I remember thinking, ok I’m 27, 28 and I’d like to get back, do a couple more years of rugby in Australia and try to get back into work, so I’m very grateful to the Force in giving me that opportunity.
“Being part of something new was attractive as well. The Force are an extension of RugbyWA, which has been around for a long time, but in the professional era it was very exciting and something I’m still very passionate about,” Scott said.
Scott was the top try-scorer for the side in their first year, with nine tries to his name, an achievement that saw him acknowledged as Western Force Player of the Year and equal runner up for Super 14 Player of the Series, before again being selected to pull on the gold jersey for the Wallabies.
Scott is amongst a line-up of Wallaby stars to have played for the Western Force, including Nathan Sharpe, Matt Giteau, Tai McIsaac, James O’Connor, David Pocock, Digby Ioane, Ryan Cross, Drew Mitchell and, more recenttly, Ben McCalman and Pek Cowan.
The utility back played 106 Super Rugby matches, including 45 for the Force, and represented Australia 12 times before being forced to retire from rugby in November 2010 at the age of 32 due to a chronic neck injury.
Scott swapped the rugby boots for more corporate attire after taking up a role as Business Development Manager with Pindan Capital Ltd, a property funds management business.
Four years later and they have since branched out of Western Australia to the East Coast, where Scott is now situated as General Manager.
“Pindan are great supporters of rugby, they sponsor community rugby in WA. I had been in discussions with them for a while during my playing career.
“I had worked in property with CBRE for most of my time during rugby. An opportunity then came up with a new fund that I was able to be a part of.
“I did a Bachelor of Commerce in Property and Economics so I always wanted to get into property. Then when I finished my degree I looked for work opportunities to figure out exactly what space to get into.
“I started with more of a paid role and tried to do certain days a week, which didn’t quite work out with rugby. Over time it worked out better to do work experience.
“I realised it's more about the experience and working out what you want to do. Every profession has multiple fields. With property, for example, there’s sales, leasing, acquisitions, so it’s all about getting in there, getting a broad range of experiences and working out which one you’re really passionate about. “
Scott also continues to work with the Western Force on the Board as a Player Representative, a position he has held since 2011.
“My primary role is looking after player’s needs and also helping them with anything outside of rugby.”
“Everyone has different ways of getting back into rugby (once they retire), like coaching, but that kind of thing wasn’t really for me.
“I wanted to help the guys achieve their passions outside of rugby.”
In fact, Scott says one of the most important pieces of advice he could give to players is to find a passion outside of rugby.
“For some people that will be rugby, so for them it’s about gathering all the IP and training notes to try and progress that side of their career.
“But if it’s a trade, or whatever it is, it’s really important to find out what your passion is and, in doing so, actually pursuing it because sometimes what you think you’re passionate about, once you actually do it, you may come to realise that it’s not for you.
“It’s important for when you transition to find the right field you want to do because it’s really hard when you retire. You may have kids and other commitments so it’s better to hit the ground running with something you already know you want to do,” Scott said.
