Graham regime no laughing matter
NICK TAYLOR, The West Australian
March 5, 2011, 7:00 am
In past seasons the Western Force’s traditional Captain’s Run — the final training session before a game — was a fairly lighthearted affair.
A few stretches, a game of touch footy, a bit of “kick-and-giggle” amid much whooping and laughter, a couple of quick drills and into Nathan Sharpe’s team huddle before packing up for the day.
Not any more. The touch footy is still there but that’s where similarities end.
Under new coach Richard Graham the Captain’s Run is as intense as any training session in the lead-up to a game.
It’s an intensity the Force are going to need for today’s clash against a Sharks team brimming with confidence.
The Durban side ended last season with seven wins from eight games, have the Currie Cup in their cupboard and wins against the Cheetahs and Blues in the first two Super Rugby rounds took them to the top of the South African conference and second on the overall ladder.
Force captain Sharpe is expecting the usual South African forward-dominated, physical style of play.
“You know that you’re going to have a heavy day, a heavy workload,” he said.
“They’ve got some big boys and they look to play that forward-orientated game but we’ve steeled ourselves for that. There’s plenty of energy in the training sheds.”
Sharks coach John Plumtree is also expecting a hard battle up front.
“The Force are talking about a physical battle. They’ll come out tough. We’re not expecting an easy night,” he said.
“But they have got talent across the back line and I like the style of play they are trying to achieve.”
Both sides can be dangerous in counter-attack from turnover ball. The Sharks thrived on it against the Blues last week.
“It is the easiest way to attack because defence is not structured but you have to have the courage to do it,” Plumtree said.
The Sharks have been working on their line-out as they know that in Sharpe the Force have one of the world’s best line-out exponents.
“We haven’t been happy with our line-out this year,” Plumtree said.
“We’ve had a change of personnel and there was always going to be a blooding period, but we’re working on it.”
Evidence of the Sharks’ strength is easy to find with an All Springbok front row of Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira and brothers Bismarck and Jannie Du Plessis keeping their national captain and front-rower John Smit on the bench.
The one change to the Sharks starting side further underlines their strength with 2007 World Cup star JP Pietersen replacing a current Springbok winger Lwazi Mvovo.
Pietersen scored the decisive try in the Sharks win over the Blues when he came off the bench last Saturday.
Tonight's match kicks off at 7pm at nib Stadium.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...ughing-matter/
