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Sam exit will open door for Mitchell
Rupert Guinness | February 25, 2009
NSW fullback Sam Norton-Knight has revealed he is set to join the Cardiff Blues in Wales, clearing the path for the Waratahs to (attempt to) recruit Drew Mitchell from the Western Force.
Norton-Knight, 25, is yet to put pen to paper on the lucrative three-year contract that Cardiff have offered him, but he hopes to sign it before the Waratahs' round-three Super 14 match against the Highlanders at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night.
"It looks like I am going," he said yesterday after being named at No.15 in the NSW side. "I am looking at a draft contract. Nothing has been signed yet, but we will line something up."
Norton-Knight's likely departure means the Waratahs need a new fullback next year and coach Chris Hickey said Mitchell was definitely in his sights.
Mitchell is one of the 17 Force players off contract this year. It is understood he is unsure about staying in Perth in the wake of Matt Giteau's decision to return to the Brumbies next season. However, the NSWRU will have to fight with their ACT counterparts to get him.
Competition for the No.15 slot at the Brumbies is fierce - Mark Gerrard has started the season strongly and Adam Ashley-Cooper was the Wallabies' preferred fullback last year - but Mitchell could find a move to Canberra more attractive than Sydney because of his close friendship with Giteau.
Hickey is keen to meet Mitchell as soon as possible and no later than April 18, when the Force come to Sydney for the round-10 clash against NSW.
"We would like the opportunity to talk to him. If he is interested, he would fit in very well at the Waratahs," Hickey said, adding that Force midfielder James O'Connor was also of interest.
Norton-Knight is at the end of a two-year deal with the Waratahs. He said a big factor in the decision to pursue his career in Wales was the opportunity to play five-eighth.
"It would be easy to stay here," he said. "I am enjoying the footy. I am enjoying it at the Waratahs but I am at a time of my life where I have to look at what I am doing. This is an opportunity to get a bit closer to the footy, the ruck, a bit closer to the game.
"I will get a chance to play 10. If I chose to move, that's definitely a part of why I am. I enjoy playing fullback [at NSW]. I am not bitter about that or anything, but I would still like to give myself a bit of a test at 10. So that is really what the move is about."
Norton-Knight, who moved to the Waratahs from the Brumbies and has 48 Super rugby caps, is not worried that his move to Wales will all but end his Wallabies prospects. He has earned only two Test caps since his debut against Wales in 2007, when he played five-eighth. And after missing out on selection last year, he doesn't believe he is in the plans of Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
"There were a lot of guys picked last year and I wasn't one of them," Norton-Knight said. "I don't expect him to change too much on that front. "I don't see myself pushing for a Wallabies selection. That is a lot of guys' ambition for playing Super 14. If I can present someone with an opportunity like that, that's great."
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"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau." 
Originally Posted by Jehna
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