All posts tagged "nathan sharpe"

At the end of each game throughout the 2010 Super 14 season over at the forum, readers have submitted their 3-2-1’s for each Australian team. All of these votes will accumulated and an overall 3-2-1 assigned for each match to the three leading point getters for each Aussie team. This is a...

Ok ok. It’s that time of the year when the talk turns to Origin again. Nah, I don’t mean the Slater, Inglis, Lockyer, Hayne, Kimmorley and co. Sure that State of Origin series is on, but it just happens to coincide with the call for a State of Origin in Rugby Union...

Sharks 27 Western Force 22 I’ve banged on a bit about Matt Hodgson being the backbone of the Force’s efforts this year but in the face of adversity you cannot fault the commitment, workrate and leadership of Captain Nathan Sharpe. Hodgo was consistently outstanding at openside when he took over from Bam...

In what has been a prick of a season so far, the Western Force have an opportunity to post a rare brace of wins following last week’s victory over the Stormers. With their international backrow of Pocock, Brown and Hodgson back on deck for the first time since Round 1, combined with...

Well that was some good footy! Now I’ll give you that Force v Stormers game didn’t set the world on fire, and the weather (and the visitors) impacted the quality of the Tahs v Cheetahs match, but the rest of the round was pretty damn good. And all the Aussies won! [ed:...

We’re more than halfway through the Super 14 and wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall at Wallaby Selectors Robbie Deans, Jim Williams and David Nucifora’s weekly post-match conferences? Just at the moment, everyone’s talking ‘inside backs’ but there’s plenty of talent from 1 – 22 being showcased. After...

You don’t like saying it of a champion but Father Time has finally caught up with Stirling Mortlock. Like George Gregan, who stayed too long at this level, he just ain’t the player he used to be. He’s lost some pace, is starting to fall off tackles and doesn’t have that dynamism...

Bulls 28 Western Force 15 The ‘glass half full’ version says that the Western Force showed heart and courage last night in the face of adversity and gave the top of the table Bulls a real fright. However, reality bites in that it was the Force’s 6th loss in a row in...

By announcing his departure from coaching the Western Force ‘at the end of the 2011 season’ John Mitchell is effectively a dead man walking. I wonder where he’ll celebrate New Years’ Eve this year? You can bet your bottom dollar it won’t be at the Western Force. If you think otherwise you’re...

So were the inspirational words spoken by Russel Crowe as Maximus, one of cinema’s greatest ‘Rebels’, in...

You’ve got to feel for the Force. Not a lot of depth and without all their best players these Western warriors have…umm…’gone west’. I think their season is just about over and despite the return of a few Super 14 quality players this week it might have been just that little bit...

With the Melbourne Rebels now in the player market place, not too long after the WA Force entered, a subset issue is now a subject of hot discussion.  Who can lay claim to the player.  It is a common cry out of NSWRU and the Sydney club land that they created the...

In the Seventies it used to be the ‘Whingeing Pom’ who copped a hammering for supposed incessant...

And so we look back on week 2 with mixed views. The Reds won, and won well, which everyone seems pretty pleased about. The Brumbies, Force and Tahs all lost on the road which shouldn’t really be a surprise should it? Perhaps we expected more from the all-star Brumbies, but they were...

This Saturday night Super Rugby heads back to Ballymore for the first time since 2005.  It shapes...

You don’t have to be Einstein to work out that two into one won’t go. However, one into two is an entirely different matter. In a miracle of modern science as ground breaking as the Theory of Relativity James Rabbit O’Connor created a new position in the game of rugby at the...

Every week during the Super 14 season G&GR will take a look at the key plays and players of the week just had. We can be a myopic lot here at G&GR sometimes, so no point stopping now. Let’s make it clear. Our focus is the Wallabies, so these reviews will focus...

The ‘Super Star’ CA Brumbies take on the Western Force on Friday night at the new home...

The Western Force have named their team for Friday’s match-up with the Brumbies and as flagged earlier in the week, Mark Bartholomeusz is the new black. He was recruited by the Force as a utility to provide backup at fullback and for Andre Pretorius at flyhalf – that he’s now the first choice...

If ever there was a time for the Western Force to fulfill their real potential it’s now. They’ve essentially been a journeyman outfit since entering the Super 14 competition in 2006. I don’t mean that in a negative way because they’ve achieved more in the last four years than many of the...