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Valentine wants Wallabies return
07/11/2008 7:37 PM
Chris Pike
Sportal
A frustrating season on the sidelines with the Waratahs has seen half back Josh Valentine join the Western Force for the 2009 Super 14 season and he is hoping it puts him back into Wallabies contention.
Only two of Valentine's 51 Super 14 caps came in 2008 as he constantly saw Luke Burgess and Brett Sheehan selected ahead of him, but after also having four Wallabies appearances to his name the 25-year-old is hoping greater opportunity with the Force will mean that his national representation days are not over yet.
"A lot of blokes would have gone overseas already if they were in my position, but the ambition to play for Australia is great. I've worn that jersey before and it was great, so I'll stick around here for another year, see how I go in 2009 and then weigh up my options from there," Valentine said.
"Sitting on the sidelines this year being a professional trainer didn't help my development l. It's hard sitting on the sideline watching your Super 14 and Australian team going out without you, so my goal is to earn the nine jersey with the Western Force and hopefully put myself in contention for the Wallabies."
Following the departure of Matt Henjak on the eve of last season, the Force struggled in the scrumhalf position with Chris O'Young and James Stannard, and the chance to get more opportunities lit up Valentine's eyes when he was looking for a new home.
That and the chance to play inside Matt Giteau ensured moving to Perth wasn't a tough decision, but Valentine will be bitterly disappointed if Giteau opts out of his contract with the Force ahead of the 2009 season.
"After Matty Henjak left here they never really had a set No.1 at half back and hopefully I can take that now that I'm here, but I'll have a battle on my hands with Chris O'Young and Justin Turner to do that," he said.
"I also wanted to come here to play with Matt Giteau. With him playing at 10 with the Wallabies, playing inside him would obviously help my cause of playing for the Wallabies again. He was one of the main reasons I came over here, but now that chance of playing with him looks to be up in the air a little."
"It will be much disappointment for us all if he doesn't lace up the boots for the Force next season. If he does stay, I'll be excited to spend at least a season with him. He's my sort of bloke and we knock around a lot together, so just to play Super 14 rugby inside of him would be great."
Having played with the Reds, Waratahs and Wallabies in recent years, Valentine is far from a stranger as he joins the Western Force camp for pre-season and he is enjoying being in Perth so far.
"I've been here two weeks and it's a lot different to Sydney, especially the traffic. It's quite easy to get around and it's a lot more laidback than Sydney. It's more like where I'm from back home in the country and I'm fitting in quite well," he said.
"There's not too many guys here that I didn't already know, which helps. There are Reds, Waratahs and Wallabies players, and being in and out of those teams I can mould a friendship with them all, and it has actually been good to catch up with a lot of them again."
http://sportal.com.au/rugby-union-ne...s-return-60063
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Originally Posted by mudskipper
