Former Springboks and Stormers fly-half Peter Grant wants to win maiden title..
Former Springboks and Stormers fly-half Peter Grant wants to win maiden Super Rugby title at Force
by Christy Doran|
OUT with the old and in with the new.
On the back of a change in tactics and the signing of some established playmakers, the Force franchise is approaching next month’s Super Rugby season with renewed hope.
A desire to release the shackles and use the ball is what’s driving the Force forward.
Head coach Michael Foley has torn last year’s coaching manual to shreds and gone back to what Australian rugby does best: Use the ball.
No more squandering possession aimlessly. No more wasted kicks.
And front and centre of the Force’s revival will be their experienced South African import, Springbok Peter Grant — even if it means teaching an old dog new tricks.
Fresh from a season at La Rochelle in the French Top 14, the former Stormers playmaker — who played 104 Super Rugby matches for the Western Province club and sits seventh on the highest point-scorers list (866) — said that the Force were adopting a new, attacking style of play in 2016.
“That’s all we’ve been working on in the off-season, is just playing a bit more of an expansive game and improving our skills and the interaction between the forwards and backs,” Grant told foxsports.com.au.
“We’ve definitely worked hard on spreading the ball a bit more and playing an attractive, exciting brand of rugby, which I love and it’s the style of game I’ll play.
“I think maybe towards the end of last season they weren’t playing that style and it was a lot more kicking orientated and defensive but we want to change that whole attitude and be more attacking and aggressive.”
Grant’s arrival at the Force franchise has been a long time coming.
After his father resettled in Perth seven years ago because his sugar farm was under land claim from the South African Government, the Force franchise heavily targeted signing him but not wanting to jeopardise his Test claims, Grant stuck with the Stormers. He played a crucial role in spearing the South African side’s charge to three consecutive top-two finishes in the overall standings between 2010 and 2012, which included a final in 2010.
Eleven years after making his Super Rugby debut, however, the playmaker is as hungry as ever leading into his return to the competition.
“It was a great experience I had at the Stormers,” Grant said. “It was a good career there but the change was good for me.
“My goal is to do well here at the Western Force.
“I haven’t won a championship with Super Rugby. I’ve played in a final but I haven’t won it, so there’s that achievement I’m aiming for.”
Asked on whether that was a realistic target given the Force’s disaster 2015, Grant was buoyant about his new club’s chances.
“Definitely, definitely,” Grant affirmed.
“The preparation that we’re putting in our pre-season, we haven’t been training to be second best, so we all believe that we have a fighting chance to be in those play-offs and that’s the attitude we’ve gone on.
“I’m really excited. It’s a nice blend of players. Some real exciting youth and that always makes me feel younger.”
In particular, Grant was particularly excited by the prospect of combining with 23-year-old centre Kyle Godwin. The fly-half said he was hoping to play a mentoring role in the team similar to the role former All Black Tony Brown did during his one season at the Stormers in 2008.
“That’s part of my role and why Foles (Foley) brought me in — to play that mentoring part with the youngsters, because they do have a fairly young backline and there’s a lot of talent there which I’m hoping to have an influence on and help develop,” Grant said.
“The likes of Kyle Godwin, Luke Burton is another young star there that I think has great potential going forward.
“Whatever I can do to have an impact on their careers is what I want to do, because I want to give back a bit. I had Tony Brown join me at the Stormers for a year in 2008 when I was fairly young and I learnt so much from him. He might not have known it, but I was soaking up so much knowledge and so much of experience, so that’s the role I’m hoping to play with these guys as well.
“A guy like Kyle, he’s got all the talent in the world — he really is an exciting young player, so I look forward to playing with him and hopefully modelling his game a little bit.”
Meanwhile, the experienced playmaker said that head coach Foley was embracing the pressure of the coming season.
“I love his passion,” Grant said.
“He gets so excited, especially with the way we want to play.
“Coming off the season that they had last season, there’s lots of room for improvement and he’s really embraced the challenge and he’s really excited going forward.
“He has so much belief in the group that we’ve got and what we’re doing it has sort of overflowed into the players. He’s very transparent. He doesn’t sugar-coat too much.”
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/fo...8ea500f02c96ef
