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Rockingham mates eye the world stage
NICK TAYLOR, The West Australian January 15, 2010, 6:19 am
WA News / Mal Fairclough ©
Kieran Longbottom and Ryan Tyrrell got their first taste of rugby union as teenagers on a field in an industrial area of Rockingham.
Now the pair are preparing for a Super 14 career with the Western Force that could take them to some of the biggest stadiums in the world.
Rockingham Rugby Union Football Club may have moved to swish new premises these days but memories of the old barren paddock remain with the two front-row forwards.
"Apart from school, that's where we both really started our rugby. Yeah, some good memories," prop Longbottom said.
Longbottom, the first born and raised West Australian to make the Force professional squad through the ranks of local rugby, has already experienced Super 14.
He made his debut as a reserve for the clash with the Chiefs at Subiaco in 2008, made two more appearances from the bench that year and a further two as a reserve last year.
At 26, Tyrrell is two years older than Longbottom and the pair did not play together at Rockingham until they made the club's Premier Grade side.
They both played for the Perth Gold side, were members of the Perth Spirit squad and now Longbottom is hoping good mate and hooker Tyrrell will become the second locally bred player to add his name to the Force senior list.
Longbottom, who is playing at 115kg and who holds the Force bench press record of 175kg, has always played prop.
"I was a little fatty at school and apart from a couple of games at No. 8 and centre that's where I've always played," he said.
A specialist loosehead who is working on his tighthead skills, Longbottom was given a professional contract last year, but knows he has plenty of competition with Wallabies Matt Dunning, Nic Henderson and Pek Cowan ahead of him.
"It's going to be tough but I'm really enjoying being a part of the team," he said. "The thing for me is not to step back. I spent a couple of years watching, almost in awe of those ahead of me, learning from them. Now I want to be in there with them."
The 113kg Tyrrell, who has been converted from flank to the middle of the scrum, was a Force apprentice for two years and is now on a rookie deal.
He has a good chance of stepping up to the professional ranks. The Force have only two hookers on their books. The other is Australia A schools representative, 20-year-old Ben Whittaker.
"My main goal is to move from being a rookie but I don't want to look too far ahead," Tyrrell said.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...e-world-stage/
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