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Sharpe backs Force, Mulvihill
16/04/2008 5:07:18 PM
Chris Pike
Sportal
The Western Force must beat the Reds this Friday night in Brisbane to stay in the finals race and captain Nathan Sharpe is confident of doing that, while at the same time showing support for assistant coach John Mulvihill's endeavours to coach the Waratahs.
Mulvihill has emerged as one of the main candidates to replace Ewen McKenzie after three years as an assistant at the Force and an impressive campaign as the Perth Spirit coach in last year's Australian Rugby Championship.
RugbyWA, Force coach John Mitchell and now Sharpe have expressed their support for Mulvihill, whilst acknowledging he would be a big loss.
"He is one of those guys that reads players very well; he deals with them well one-on-one and has learned a lot in terms of game style and structures from John Mitchell. We wish him all the best with his application, but at the same time we would love him to stay," Sharpe said.
"He's a big part of this team, especially in the way he's grown over the last year or so. It's an individual endeavour of his to become a head coach and you have to wish him all the best."
As for the Friday night clash with the Reds, Sharpe is confident of his side performing well even without Matt Giteau, but knows Queensland will provide stiff opposition.
"If we want to keep the destiny in our own hands, we have to win this weekend and the rest of the season. As soon as we take the foot off the pedal and drop a game, it will leave us relying on the results of other games," he said.
"Australian teams traditionally provide for scrappy matches because we know how to shut each other down so well. This is a big game for us with a lot of us coming from Queensland, there's plenty to play for with a finals spot on the line for us, and they will be looking to bring down as many teams as they can."
"They played well against the Bulls and that was their last home game, so we are expecting a similar performance from them this weekend. I'm sure that enthusiasm they played with that night will be there again on Friday night."
Sharpe's last game in Brisbane as a visitor saw him end up in hospital after suffering from dehydration and collapsing after the game. He is hoping for a more memorable return on this occasion but doesn't expect an easy ride from his former home crowd.
"That was an unenjoyable night, but hopefully I have fonder memories on this trip," he said.
"It's all in the past now and I don't remember much past the warm-up last time I was there. Apparently, I was copping a bit of stick and I expect to cop a bit more this week, but if they haven't moved on by now, it's a bit sad."
http://sportal.com.au/rugby-union-ne...ulvihill-46739
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