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SCOTT Staniforth's Japanese club might have suddenly turned amateur on him but the former Wallabies winger is determined to prove he is, as ever, the consummate professional when he reinforces the Western Force on Saturday.
Yokogawa's recent failure to win promotion to the Japanese Top League was enough to convince the team's corporate owners the meagre tax write-offs associated with running a second-tier professional team were not worth the effort.
That left Perth-based Staniforth without a club, and ripe for the picking by his old Super 14 team, Western Force, which is in desperate need of quality players after losing four senior internationals to injury. After receiving clearance from the Australian Rugby Union yesterday, the Force signed Staniforth to a four-match contract to help tide it over during its injury crisis, starting with Saturday's match against the Chiefs at Members Equity Stadium.
If he plays a fifth match for Western Force this season, the club will be obliged to sign him to a full-year contract.
"It's a holding operation, that's the goal," Staniforth said.
Staniforth has also made contact with the Melbourne Rebels to alert the new franchise when it becomes Super 15 that he would be interested in making a permanent return to Australia next year.
The Force's other key reinforcement, David Hill, the one-Test All Black five-eighth, is expected to arrive in Perth today.
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