0
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 6:44pm
By Chris Pike
Emirates Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe on the charge against the Bulls
Emirates Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe on the charge against the Bulls
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has been tremendously impressed by Nathan Sharpe's season with the Emirates Western Force and with several members of the Force's forward pack.
Deans is impressed with the new found depth that now exists in the frontrow across not only the Force, but also the Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies, and feels it could be the start of a new generation of big men up front for the Wallabies.
Matt Dunning, Pek Cowan, Tim Fairbrother and even young hookers Ben Whittaker and Nathan Charles will be looked at by Deans to possibly join the Wallabies squad to firstly play Fiji, England and Ireland next month ahead of the Tri Nations, and he likes the depth that's new developing.
"The good thing now is that we've got depth in an area where previously we had none. We've got genuine competition in the frontrow and even underneath the obvious group of players pushing for Wallabies spots, we've got another generation coming on underneath," Deans said.
"We can look forward to a good era of frontrow play in Australia and that's exciting. Some of them will be cult figures and they are showing the potential of the role. Depth is always important and the days of just having a top 15 are gone. You need 30 or 40 players who can step in and perform."
Dunning has got better the longer his first season in Perth with the Force has gone on, with Cowan showing to Deans that he has plenty to offer both as a loosehead prop and hooker.
Fairbrother came to the Force with a faraway dream of playing for the Wallabies, but according to Deans he has gone about things the right way to achieve that.
"They are all in contention. Matt looks like he's starting to gain a bit of momentum in his game and he's obviously enjoyed his time over here. Pek has looked like he has enjoyed getting back to loosehead, but the experience at hooker won't have harmed him," Deans said.
"He's perfectly capable to be honest of pushing on there as well, and having that versatility won't be a bad thing at all. It was a big part of Tim's motivation in coming to the Force and he has established himself essentially at tighthead, which is no mean feat because there's a good cluster of frontrowers here."
Sharpe has had an outstanding season leading the way for the Force both in the lineouts, around the breakdown and by running hard in early phases with ball in hand.
Deans has been so impressed by his form that he put his name up among the captaincy candidates and feels his injury lay-off last year when the Wallabies were in the UK has been hugely beneficial to him.
"Sharpey has benefitted without a doubt from the time he was able to not only freshen, but build his body and he has played for a long time without much opportunity to do that," he said.
"It's easily underestimated, but the benefits are not only physical but most importantly mentally to freshen up too for the time he had at home with his family to have a break. The results are evident."
The Wallabies play England at Subiaco Oval in the first of two Cook Cup matches in Australia on June 12 with tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.
More...
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by RugbyWA
