Force sign trio in preparation for life after Giteau
By AAP, 16 Jul 2009 AAP is a Roar Pro
The Western Force are preparing for life without Matt Giteau by securing the services of three promising junior Australian representatives for the 2010 Super 14 season.
Centre Mitchell Inman and No.8 Ben McCalman have both signed two-year deals with the Force while South African-born halfback Mark Swanepoel has signed a one-year rookie contract.
RugbyWA general manager Mitch Hardy said the three recruits would compliment the senior squad which, despite the loss of Giteau to the Brumbies, will boast Wallabies Richard Brown, James O’Connor and Josh Valentine.
“We see Ben as a similar type to Browny and Tamaiti Horua. He’s an aggressive, abrasive type of back-rower which suits our game,” Hardy said.
“Mark and Mitch both have plenty of potential and we expect to see them press their claims for selection during the 2010 season.
“We will have competition for places in the squad across the board next season, which is exactly what we want.”
Swanepoel could have represented the Springboks or All Blacks before committing his future to Australia.
The 18-year-old left South Africa to become a New Zealand citizen as a child before moving to the Gold Coast at age 11.
He joined the Force in February on a short-term contract after injury scares to Valentine and Justin Turner.
Swanepoel is a current member of the Australian schoolboys side which 21-year-old McCalman played for in 2005 and 2006 before moving on to under-20s in 2008.
Inman, 20, represented Australia at under-19s level in 2007 and has recently been plying his trade with the Sydney University club after two years in the Australian sevens program.
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ilikedahoodoogurusingha said | July 16th 2009 @ 5:37pm | Report comment
Errrrr….Slight correction Roar Guru….Josh Valentine sigend for the Brumbies for 2010/2011 some time ago.
Bay35Pablo said | July 16th 2009 @ 10:39pm | Report comment
Good to see the Force re-signing a few more. I was afraid they’d fall apart after Giteau left and destroy all the momentum they’ve been building.
The last thing we need is 2 underperforming Aussie Super sides.
Working Class Rugger said | July 17th 2009 @ 12:18am | Report comment
The whole “the Force are on the edge” speculation is just that. They are here to stay. Rugby in WA is going from strength to strength especially in the junior ranks (swelling even with a team like Joonalup boasting two to three teams in every junior age group from U6′s to U16′s and the entry of the Busseltown Jets JRFC and the North Coast JRFC that which currently runs 11 teams in its first year.). At the recent schoolboys championship 11 of the Combined States team were WA Juniors with the CS 5/8 (one of the WA boys) being selected for the Australian Schoolboys. The juniors are beginning to filter upwards and the level of Rugby will continue to increase into the future.