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Rupert Guinness
April 19, 2009 - 11:48PM
THEY have been maligned, investigated and made to answer for a number of on- and off-field issues since their inception in 2006. But the time has come for the Western Force to warrant some credit.
That was the message from their foundation coach John Mitchell, himself having been implicated in controversy, after their 15-14 win over the Waratahs at Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday.
Their victory secured a grand slam over Australian sides this season. And while Mitchell and captain Nathan Sharpe were hardly boasting about the feat - which kept their Super 14 finals hopes alive - the former All Blacks coach used it to remind that for all the Force's woes, there have been unrecognised positives.
"Clearly, there has been a lot of focus on some of the negatives throughout our growth," Mitchell said. "But I think it is important to say that we are doing some great things for Australian rugby, and we are ? a part of the rugby family.
"I guess, being the newest club ? we will have to continue to earn respect between the white lines. As long as people continue to do that, with the way we play - and we are very proactive in the way we play - people will continue to support us."
The Force, ninth on the ladder on 23 points and six out of the top four, realise they will probably need to win all of their remaining games to sneak into the finals.
That includes games against the improving Lions (11th) in Perth on Friday, followed by the Bulls (3rd) in Pretoria, the Stormers (12th) in Cape Town and the Highlanders (10th) back home in round 14.
With so much at stake, Sharpe was only too willing to shelve celebrations for his side's unprecedented run of wins against the Brumbies, Reds and Waratahs.
"We are still mathematically alive, so until we are mathematically dead in the race we won't dwell on that at all," Sharpe said. "Mathematically, we are still a chance [of qualifying], and we are playing some good football. Aside from that [last] 10 minutes against the Hurricanes [in round nine], the last few weeks have been pretty good."
Mitchell said he felt the Force's attacking style should boost their chances of winning and scoring the tries needed to earn the bonus points to sneak through the log-jam and qualify for the knockout rounds.
However, he agreed there was every likelihood that the fate of his team - if not, that of several other teams - could be determined by the inconsistencies of the referees, such as James Leckie, whose control of Saturday's game between the Waratahs and the Force earned the derision of both sides.
Asked if a team's destiny could be determined by the referee, Mitchell said: "I think they always will [be]? but clearly we are an attack-focused team ? We have the ability to score four tries in every game the way we are playing at the moment.
"If the breakdown is dealt with clearly and we are allowed to get good ball, we will continue to stress sides."
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/spor...0419-abj1.html
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Originally Posted by travelling_gerry
I thought they'd finally said something nice. 
Courtesy of quality South African commentry