Western Force Gold before sell-out crowd
Peden to make his debut
Tuesday June 06 2006
Western Force before sell-out crowd
Sidelined by a back injury for the whole of the Super 14 season, Zander Peden will represent the Western Force for the first time when the team plays a Sharks Invitational XV on Wednesday night.
The 20-year-old centre is one of 13 Western Force squad members selected in the Western Force Gold starting 15, which will play a Dick Muir-coached side consisting of a large number of Sharks players and former Springbok, Solly Tyibilika.
The clash between the two teams, at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg, is reportedly a sell-out with more than 8,000 people expected to attend.
Western Force Gold coach John Mulvihill said Perth club footballers Dan Bailey, of Nedlands, and Tyler Edwards, of Rockingham – both members of Argonaut Gold – deserved their starting positions in the first game of the team's three-match tour.
"This tour is a great opportunity for us to find out about some of the club, Academy and Argonaut Gold players and Dan and Tyler are the first cabs off the rank," he said.
"There’s probably a little nervousness there but they are good players and are ready for the opportunity."
Meanwhile, Nedlands wing/centre Garth Ziegler will fly to Johannesburg to join the squad on Thursday, after Academy and Argonaut Gold representative James Dougal withdrew from the tour for personal reasons.
Western Force Gold's next game is against the Golden Lions on Saturday 10 June. The match was originally scheduled for Ellis Park, but will now be played at the University of Johannesburg.
Western Force: 15 Gavin DeBartolo, 14 Dan Bailey, 13 Zander Peden, 12 Haig Sare, 11 Brett Stapleton, 10 Brock James (vice-captain), 9 Chris O'Young, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Luke Doherty (captain), 5 Matt Windle, 4 Tyler Edwards, 3 David Fitter, 2 Luke Holmes, 1 David Te Moana
Replacements: 16 Ryan Tyrell, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 AJ Whalley, 19 Elliot Kuhlmann-Hall, 20 Josh Fuimaono, 21 Will Brock, 22 Vitori Buatava, 23 Matt Shaw, 24 Ben Ward, 25 Ryan Lenergan.
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