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An emotional weekend looms for the Western Force, with club, players and fans set to say goodbye to a legion of stars - led by Wallaby superstar and Force talisman Matt Giteau.
- Tim Clarke
- May 13, 2009 - 11:28AM
But while Richard Brown revealed it was the influence of young backrow partner and friend David Pocock which largely persuaded him to buck the trend and stay in WA, Pocock said the players would not be too sad bidding farewell to another element which has been with the Force from the start - Subiaco Oval.
Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Scott Staniforth, Ben Castle, assistant coach John Mulvihill, Tai McIsaac - if fit - and possibly, James O'Connor, could all be involved their last games in blue, on the night the club will also play its last game at WA's home of AFL before a move to Member's Equity Stadium.
Pocock said while some goodbyes would be hard on Saturday against the Highlanders, that one would not.
"It will be pretty emotional on Saturday night … and we want to send the guys who are leaving off on a good night, and also we owe it to our crowd at Subi," Pocock said.
"Beforehand it will be pretty normal, but afterwards there could be a few tears shed. They will be sorely missed, but new guys coming will be exciting.
"We have been playing there for a while now, but definitely for rugby in Western Australia moving forward we have to go to a rectangular stadium.
"You play at ground like Newlands (in South Africa) it is amazing how close the crowd is and how loud they get.
"I think all the boys are pretty excited about moving to a rectangular stadium, and hopefully we can make it our home and make it a lot tougher for teams to win there."
Brown's decision to stay in WA gave the club a massive boost on the day their 2009 finals ambitions finally ended in South Africa.
And with the pre-season trauma of the relationship breakdown between John Mitchell and his players, followed by a mass exodus of senior stars and his own contract uncertainty, the Queenslander said it had been a trying year.
"(It has been tough on) mind and body, it is good this is the last game and hopefully we can prepare for the Super 14 next year and it goes a lot smoother," Brown said.
"And (the contract) was a pretty big decision and I probably wish it had been over and done with sooner, it is a thing that weighs on your shoulders in practice, in games and in life and general."
In a promising sign for Brown and Pocock's international ambitions, the pair was today called on by the ARU to promote the Wallaby Test match against world champion South Africa at Subiaco in August, tickets for which went on sale this week.
Brown said the idea of playing alongside Pocock for the Wallabies was such an enticing prospect he did not want to do anything to prevent it.
"I don’t want to talk about it too much because I don’t want to jinx it," Brown said.
http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/emot...9.html?page=-1
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