Fighting Force won’t go quietly say Wallaby pair
Western Force pair Dane HaylettPetty and Adam Coleman insist the Wallabies have the physical ability and mental resilience to beat the All Blacks, but coach Michael Cheika’s major role this week could be focusing minds following the fallout of the franchise’s Super Rugby axing.
In a move which has shaken Australian Rugby to its core, the Perthbased club will no longer be involved in the competition following a review which also put the Melbourne Rebels under the spotlight.
The Force, backed by a billionaire supporter, are appealing the decision, but the shock and anger felt by players and supporters in that part of Australia has quickly shown itself in the wake of Friday’s decision. Outside back Haylett-Petty, hopeful of being available for Saturday’s test despite a bicep injury, is one of the first Wallabies to come through the Western Australian rugby system and yesterday spoke of his anger, confusion and disappointment at the decision.
“As a group we’re really sticking tight,” he said. “The process is not done yet. There are a lot of people back home still fighting the good fight.’’
An extra cruelty is the fact that there is no set time-frame for the appeal, so the issue, hanging over the Force players all season, could yet run and run. A Force teammate at the Wallabies, lock Coleman, said: “I feel for the supporters back home and all our mates back home. A lot of the fans and the players are still in shock at the moment. It will hit home and when it does hopefully we’ll stick tight.’’
Coleman, who had been at the franchise for four years and has captained the side, added: “I’ve poured my soul into the club. It’s very much part of me and I’m sure everyone who has played in the jersey feels the same way.”
Feelings are at fever pitch on the west coast, and they haven’t been sated by the resignation of ARU boss Bill Pulver. There is talk of Force supporters boycotting the WallabiesSpringboks test in Perth on September 9, or even supporting the South Africans. However, Haylett-Petty said that would be counter-productive, and preferred another form of planned protest – Australian and South African supporters alike wearing blue Force jerseys to the test.
The division and chaos affecting the game here is lending a surreal backdrop to the test, 12 months after the All Blacks thrashed the Wallabies in the first of three victories last year. It makes the mental side of Cheika’s preparation all the more important.
The Wallabies’ coach has already created headlines when running an intense and at times unorthodox camp over the past month – including players training with their mouths taped shut — and Coleman believes experiencing that adversity as a team has brought it closer, and he quashed any notion of a mental block against the All Blacks.
“No. Absolutely I think the boys believe now more than ever that this weekend we can beat the All Blacks.’’