Mitchell a force in mind games

[travelling_gerry]

NICK TAYLOR, The West Australian
March 17, 2011, 6:31 am


The West Australian © Enlarge photo
John Mitchell, a master of the pre-game psychological build-up, has been saying plenty of nice things about his old club as the Western Force prepare to take on his new side, the Lions, in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Mitchell claimed his knowledge of the way some of the Force members play and his time as mentor to new coach Richard Graham would be of no benefit.

"There will be no real advantage from the fact I coached the Force because it is the same as Richard knowing me," he said.

"Teams change and the game changes, so it all comes down to their last three games.

"But that said, I was gutted for the Force last weekend because they deserved to win (Saturday's 22-all draw with the Blues). So they will be highly motivated when they meet us."

Hardly surprisingly he said the Force would be tough to beat.

"They have five Test players and eight former internationals, so they will come here with more experience than we have," he said.

"James O'Connor is one of the best backs in the world at the moment. It is good to see Cameron Shepherd back and Nathan Sharpe is an inspirational leader.

"They also have an unsung hero in Matthew Hodgson and the brilliant athleticism of Ben McCalman makes them a good team."

Mitchell's praise of McCalman is interesting as it is understood he did little to encourage the club to push the re-signing of the Wallaby.

"I also rate their scrum highly. So we know what their strengths are. But it is going to be tough match," he said.

Mitchell said the Lions would appeal against the three-week ban of full-back James Kamana, who was sent off for a tackle on Cheetah Robert Ebersohn on Saturday.

He claimed the tackle was not as bad as the one by Force centre Rory Sidey against the Sharks that earned him three weeks on the sidelines.

If the appeal fails Jaco Taute will reclaim his place in the starting line-up.

�Christchurch will not host Rugby World Cup games because of the damage caused by last month's earthquake.

The two quarterfinals scheduled for the city will be played in Auckland on October 8 and 9, while five pool matches involving Australia, England, Argentina, Italy, Georgia and Russia are to be moved.

The decision affects the Wallabies, who were scheduled to base themselves in Christchurch during the tournament.

The World Cup will run from September 9 to October 23.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...in-mind-games/

[James]

I wonder what he means when he says Mitchell "...did little to encourage the club to push the re-signing of the Wallaby."

When exactly was he going to do this? He left last year and McCalman's contract expires this year. Short of telling McCalman that he wouldn't get another, what did he do?

[BDAVEY]

15 POINTS TO THE FORCE, THEY WILL BE TOO CRAFTY FOR THEM... LOOSE FORWARDS WILL DOMINATE... DEPENDS WHO THE F KEN REF IS !!!! NIT A PADANTIC PRICK I HOPE

[Rex Messup]

The Lions are a much better team than last year. The Force aren't. We'll struggle

[GIGS20]

The Lions are a much better team than last year. The Force aren't. We'll struggle

Do you support the Force or not? You seem to change sides every time you say something

[normie]

I believe objectivity will do that.

[GIGS20]

Possibly, but consistency won't

Let's face it, I don't mind somebody saying the team is shit, because you can discuss that.....when somebody alternates, you never know whether they're trolling or just really indecisive. As for the force not being better than last year, that's pretty debatable, but defensively, that useless mug from Manly (rex's view) hasn't done a bad job, and set piece, well that useless scrum coach (again Rex) isn't doing to bade either. It's really only our attack that's falling short, the problem seems to be we've not got over the round one rustiness......maybe that's because random injuries are hurting us, maybe that's the team being shit, but in two out of three indicators, I call us better.


Can you see how I question the veracity of the opinion?

[James]

I blame the early bye. Everyone starts the season rusty and it takes 2 or 3 games to get into gear. The only bad game we've played was against the Sharks and they had had that extra hit out and were playing most of the game with a one man advantage. Willie Ripia being out didn't help much either.

[shasta]

mug from Manly (rex's view)

That'd be one (virtual) Manly mug rubbishing another Manly mug. Time will tell who's the jumbo sized mug. I'm (shock, horror) backing the mungo.

[travelling_gerry]

Maybe we can get through A game with all 15 men on park for 80 mins. Yet to happen this season.

[GIGS20]

That'd be one (virtual) Manly mug rubbishing another Manly mug. Time will tell who's the jumbo sized mug. I'm (shock, horror) backing the mungo.

we only need one more good defensive performance for the gate to be shut IMHO....if we keep the same intensity against the Lions, we'll have shut down some of the most attack-committed teams in the comp. Teams from both the Barge-it-up camps and the throw it wide camps.

The Saders might cause some issues, but there isn't a team in Super Rugby who don't find that, and it'll be interesting against the Tahs as well, but there aren't too many levels higher to prove ourselves in defense.

Points sure go to Phil Blake (Manly RUGBY coach) in the argument so far!

[slomo]

if our defence is as strong as it has been for the first few games, were in with a shout, smith was lively last week and hopefully we'll see more of the same tonight, keep our discpline, get the line out operating well............and hopefully keep 15 uninjured players on the park!

[GIGS20]

I think if we can shut down their attack we're in with more than a shout. Their defense might not be the turnstile it was last year, but it's close!