Hard times build resolve

The selection of the new coach draws nearer and the Western Force need strong decisions to achieve consistency.

Young men need time to develop and it is just the opportunity for a clever coach to take this raw lump of clay, already filled with a strong work ethic and resolve, and shape it into a title-winning team.

After my final game on Saturday I implored the players to get back to enjoying their rugby.

The only way to do this is work so hard in the down times that when it becomes time to perform it is second nature and you can dominate. When you dominate an opponent that is when rugby is truly fun.

Robbie Deans once said: "Those that sweat most in times of peace, bleed the least in times of war."

The Force will be sweating over the coming months for their time at war next season I can assure you.

In a season that could easily have gone off the rails, I must congratulate coaches Phil Blake, Andrew Scotney and Nick Stiles.

They held the team together and kept developing the players to the point you saw in the second half against the Crusaders.

In a difficult situation they steered the team in the right direction. Phil, I will miss the half-time rev-ups.

The final game of the season sums up where we are as a club. Plenty of injuries have introduced many of our younger players to the highest level of provincial rugby in the world and they acquitted themselves well.

Fighting back from an electric first half by the Crusaders to outscore them 21-6 in the second reflects the inner strength and resolve of the group.

The Crusaders are my pick for the title, their collective intensity at the breakdown is second to none. It was a terrific lesson for many of our players who were exposed to the rigours of playing against a team stacked with All Blacks.

As Phil said after the game, it was an opportunity for young men that money can't buy.

To those boys who I played my final Force game with, thank you.

It gives me great delight to have seen the start of many great careers throughout my seven years here.

Richard Brown should never have played on Saturday night. Suffering from pneumonia, he gutsed it out to the final bell with me.

I wanted to play with him as I started my time here with some players that I didn't get a chance to finish with.

It was important that I finish with him and Pek Cowan, who were with me from the start, to remind me of the other injured boys at home that I have spent so much time with over the years.

It is these efforts of mateship that I will treasure from my time with the Force, not so much the wins and losses along the way.

Every year before our final away game the team staff participate in a handicapped 100m sprint race. The only rule is that they must all wear Skins sprinting apparel.

You can imagine the bulging garments as they parade in front of the team on their way to the start line. It's fantastic entertainment.

The winner this year was kicking coach Scotney.

He rarely gets out of a saunter at training, and convinced those around him that a 14m start was acceptable.

He exploded out of the blocks and the field didn't gain a centimetre on him.

Good foxing, but next year I think he might find himself off scratch.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...build-resolve/

Onya Sharpie - Good luck with the Wallabies and thanks for your time here.

That loss wasn't the ideal end to your Force career, but as he said, his last half of Super Rugby was a 21-6 beating of the Crusaders!

And (possibly) good-bye to Phil Blake, too. It's a shame your first top-flight head coaching role was inheriting the clusterf*ck RG left behind - turning a team around mid-season is always a tough ask. If you move on, I hope you get a good gig somewhere, show what you can do and maybe when the next coach has done his 4-5 year stint you'll be on the short-list again!

Going to miss these Sharpie!

I wonder if writing in the West constitutes a 3rd-party deal. Have the ARU been told?

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Richard Brown should never have played on Saturday night. Suffering from pneumonia, he gutsed it out to the final bell with me.


Sharpie - Legend
Brownie - Legend