Wykes flying after stuttering start

Nick Taylor
February 11, 2015, 7:22 am


Sam Wykes' start to his Western Force career was anything but auspicious, although he did unwittingly create his own piece of club folklore.

Seven years ago, the then woolly-haired teenager was set to embark on his first tour to South Africa with his new teammates, only to be firmly grounded.

He had forgotten to renew his passport.

A new document was rushed through to allow the 19-year-old to fly out soon after.

But upon arrival in Johannesburg, the guitar-carrying Wykes wandered around trying to find his connecting flight.

Fortunately for him and the Force, he received the necessary assistance to board a flight to Durban and, 10 days later, made his debut in the team's last-gasp win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Wykes has come a long way since then.

As interim Force captain he has a chance of creating another bit of folklore by leading the side to its first win in the opening round of a Super Rugby season.

Wykes will lead the team while Matt Hodgson recovers from a hamstring injury that will sideline him for two months.

To some of those outside the Force circle, Wykes' elevation to the captaincy came as a surprise, but insiders say the big lock has changed noticeably in the past two seasons.

Wykes has taken on greater responsibility in the standards group, is more content in his role and cares for his teammates.

He puts it down to family, in particular his 16-month-old daughter Annia.

He still has a laid-back attitude to life outside rugby and laughs when reminded of the false start to his first tour.

"I'm still easy-going, but when it's time to work, put in the details, we're very serious about what we do," Wykes said.

"It (attitude) has changed.

"It's probably from having family and having my little baby girl.

"That's definitely changed the perspective. They are No.1 and it has helped me with mood."

Wykes said being handed the captaincy was a great honour, but stressed Hodgson was still the team's leader.

"It's definitely an honour to be able to lead the boys, but at the same time Hodgie's definitely still our captain," he said.

"I'll be drawing on him every chance I get.

"We have a lot of boys in our standards group who have played a lot of footy in terms of caps and Tests, so I'll be drawing on them as well. I won't be doing it alone.

"I'm not a big talker. I'm pretty calm in trying to get the mood right. I'll let the guys do what they need to do. Our nine and 10 will drive the team."

"It (attitude) has changed. It's probably from having family and having my little baby girl."

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sp...ttering-start/