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March 21, 2008 - 1:27PM
His flyhalf has been labelled the best player in the world, and his team the best in Australia - but Western Force coach John Mitchell will settle for coaching the best side in Queenstown.
The last part of the hardest section of the Force's Super 14 season will see the confident Force take on a winless Highlanders on Saturday (kick off 12.30pm AEDT) in one of the most beautiful rugby settings in world.
But the scenery of New Zealand's South Island, and the equally appealing plaudits his team have received since beating the Blues, have been far from Mitchell's mind as he prepares to take on a team he likens to his own in terms of spirit, if not results.
"(Last week) was an important step for the group and they have gained some confidence from it. But we've put that behind us now and we're focusing on the Highlanders," Mitchell said.
"They've been very unlucky so far this season and have been in a position to win each of their games, so we know we'll have to fight for the full 80 minutes."
Sitting a point outside the top four, with three victories on the road already, the stuttering start from Australia's other sides would appear to place the Force at the forefront of the country's bid for a Super 14 title.
And following influential showings in the close loss to the Crusaders and the Blues win, Matt Giteau's status was elevated by some observers to that of world's number one player.
Mitchell said such assertions were being made too early to be accurate.
"We are only at week six so it's hard to make those judgments at this stage," Mitchell said.
"We've been pretty happy with our start but we need to keep improving to get through to the semi-finals and contest semi-finals."
With four changes made to each side, Mitchell made no excuses for injecting new faces into his winning outfit.
"We've been on the road for five of six weeks this year and have played in three different countries, so it's imperative we look at ways to keep the group fresh.
"It is about bringing in some fresh legs to energise the group."
And after also making a quartet of changes, Highlanders coach Glenn Moore said despite a lack of results, and plaudits, he was still proud of his team, and believed a win was not too far away.
"The squad are young but fight right to the end," Moore said.
"We have a number of wins in us - it is a rebuilding phase for us but I still believe these guys are good enough to win a number of games.
"We are not far off a win and if we can do that it'll help gather some confidence and build up some momentum."
http://news.rugbyheaven.com.au/force...0321-20um.html
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