Western Force close to securing Dunning

By Justin Chadwick, 12 Jun 2009 Justin Chadwick is a Roar Pro

Tagged:: Andre Pretorius, James OConnor, John Mitchell, Matt Dunning, Peter Grant, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, wallabies, Western Force

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Western Force will know by Friday whether they have been successful in luring Wallabies prop Matt Dunning to the Super 14 franchise.

And the Force have put an offer to Lions flyhalf Andre Pretorius after Stormers five-eighth Peter Grant knocked back the Force’s advances.

Dunning, stranded on 99 caps for the Waratahs, is eager to come to Perth to further his career but is hesitant about leaving his family behind.

The 43-Test prop, who can play on both sides of the scrum, was forced to sit out the entire 2009 Super 14 campaign after tearing his Achilles tendon while playing for the Wallabies last November.

“It’s a big decision for Matt,” Force rugby manager Mitch Hardy said.

“He’s just in discussions with family and trying to sort things out there.

“Possibly his family will stay on the east coast and he’ll come over here for the six months per year.

“We were expecting a decision from him on Tuesday but we’ve given him a bit of extra breathing space so the deadline there is tomorrow afternoon.

“I think the family thing is the most important thing for him.”

Hardy said the Force could provide Dunning with the perfect platform to press his claims for a Wallabies recall.

“We would have a great front-row trio there in (hooker Tim) Fairbrother, Dunning and (Pek) Cowan,” Hardy said.

“Matt sees a big opportunity of coming over to the Force where he will get a lot of game time as opposed to staying at the Waratahs.

“He would also be able to put his best foot forward for the 2011 World Cup.”

The acquisition of Dunning would more than offset the loss of fan favourite AJ Whalley, who will link up with French outfit US Dax next season.

“To have someone like Dunning, who has Test experience under his belt, coming back in to our organisation will bring a lot of experience back to the table,” Hardy said.

Hardy said the Force had tabled an offer to 30-year-old Pretorius and were awaiting a decision from the 31-Test veteran.

“He’s interested,” Hardy said.

“(Coach) John Mitchell’s had a chat to him and we’ve put an offer in front of him and we are just waiting for a decision.

“He has to weigh up where his rugby aspirations lie as to whether or not he still aspires to play for the Springboks and be involved in Currie Cup campaigns back in South Africa.

“We are hoping that the contract we put together will allow him to achieve both those options.”

Star playmaker James O’Connor will wait to see who the Force secure as their new five-eighth before making a decision on his future.

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The Crowd Says (16) | Page 1 of Comments

Mick Gold Coast QLD said | June 12th 2009 @ 2:45am | Report comment

Telly Tubbie “who can play on both sides of the scrum”?

I must have missed those matches!

“who gets comprehensively creamed on both sides of the scrum”

There you go – fixed it.

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Tahriffc said | June 12th 2009 @ 8:22am | Report comment

I hope matt stays with the Tahs he’s been a terriffic player for them – he does need to look after his familly – but hopefully NSW can sweeten the deal enough for him to stay

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Brett McKay said | June 12th 2009 @ 8:49am | Report comment

Tahriffic, I’m not sure how you can sweeten bench time (at best), but good luck to NSW if they can. I actually hope that the Force get both Dunning and Pretorius, and that with news the Brumbies have conceded their chase, James O’Connor stays in Perth too. Those three signature will make a world of difference to the Force next year, and beyond.

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Even looser said | June 12th 2009 @ 10:02am | Report comment

What’s with the Tahs and their recruitment efforts? Crap in 08 and heard nothing in 09.

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AndyS said | June 12th 2009 @ 12:59pm | Report comment

I was thinking along the same lines, Brett. Dunning may be a useful pick-up for the Force (provided it does not interfere with the development of Cowan), but I’d still see more as throwing him a life-line than “luring” him to Perth. If a move to Perth is apparently going to complicate his family life, I wouldn’t have thought he’d be considering it if he had other options.

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Brett McKay said | June 12th 2009 @ 1:16pm | Report comment

yeah, all true Andy. It’d all be a big juggling act for Dunning to make it work. I’d imagine the biggest decision would be whether to shift the family over there perminently, or rather just commute, so to speak, for the Super season. The Force have relented on their original stance where players must play in Perth, and so Dunning could essentially be back in Sydney full-time by late May.

But good on them for targetting him. Between Cowan, Fairbrother and Dunning, they’ll have a pretty handy front row setup..

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AndyS said | June 12th 2009 @ 1:24pm | Report comment

Indeed. I also quite like the notion of that then providing the framework for two young hookers in Whittaker and Fitzpatrick to compete for game time.

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Brett McKay said | June 12th 2009 @ 1:38pm | Report comment

Have the Force let Luke Holmes go, or is he still in the mix too?? Saw him (and his brother, halfback Josh, playing at 12) playing for Warringah on the weekend on telly. He looks like he’s coming on pretty well..

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Working Class Rugger said | June 12th 2009 @ 1:40pm | Report comment

Andy

Have the Force signed Fitzpatrick. Haven’t heard much about it. A good move considering he has Polota – Nau and to a lesser extent Freier in front of him at the Tahs.

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Pippinu said | June 12th 2009 @ 1:53pm | Report comment

Do the Force know who they are actually buying????

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