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- by: Dale Granger
- From:The Sunday Times
- June 23, 201210:00PM
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GENTLE GIANT: Force stalwart Nathan Sharpe will play his last game in Perth on Saturday. Source: Getty Images
THE Western Force is plotting an ambush for Australian Conference leader the Brumbies in Nathan Sharpe's final Super 15 game in Perth next Saturday.
Sharpe's teammates say victory is non-negotiable after a disappointing season.
Already the highest-capped player in Super Rugby history, and the third most-capped Wallaby with 104 Tests, the clash against the Brumbies will be the inspirational Sharpe's 160th in a last hurrah with his comrades determined to give him a fitting sendoff.
Prop Salesi Maafu summed up the feeling in the Force camp ahead of the game.
"There's no doubt there's a lot to play for on Saturday night, but Sharpie would say it himself: the most important thing is winning the game," Maafu said.
"When you add his 150-odd Super Rugby caps and 100-plus Test matches, when he says something, the guys take it on board. There'll never be another Nathan Sharpe and the game is losing a player of a very high calibre, particularly around lineouts.
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"I know in my time of playing I've never learnt so much in such a short time as I have playing with him and it's going to be a big loss for Australian rugby."
In many ways, the club owes as much to Sharpe's sons Cooper, 5, and Franklin, 3 who have had to "loan" their dad to rugby.
Wallaby and Force captain David Pocock said the club appreciated the sacrifices Sharpe had made. "You can't help but admire Sharpie for all that he's achieved throughout his career: his longevity, the number of games he's played, the success he's had," Pocock said. "But I've also had the privilege of getting to know Sharpie the man, the good friend and the loving father.
"The sacrifice his boys have made to the club in terms of giving up their father while he's been away on rugby duty and we travel more than any other team in the competition might not be seen by the public, but it's something his teammates have always appreciated."
Another teammate, Matt Hodgson, said Sharpe was probably the "greatest player who'll ever play for the Force".
"Having him as skipper for the first six years here was a great introduction to Super Rugby for me," Hodgson said. "He was excellent at instilling confidence in the side and the players initially and, for me, being a young guy in a new town, he did whatever he could to make that transition very easy for me.
"But probably the biggest thing I've taken from Sharpie is that every home game we walk into the sheds and he'll put his jersey on and he'll tuck it into his Skins.
"He always seems to wear his Skins around his bellybutton. Unfortunately that's something that will live with me forever."
http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/rug...-1226406497024