Staniforth hopeful of Wallabies recall
Justin Chadwick
April 14, 2009 - 5:54PM
Departing Western Force winger Scott Staniforth is still holding out hope of earning a dream Wallabies recall but concedes his chances are slim ahead of his upcoming move to Japan.
Staniforth, who has 12 Test caps to his name, was contracted to the Force until the end of 2010 but has negotiated an early release in order to link up with Japanese Top League team Yokogawa at the end of the Super 14 season.
However, Staniforth, who featured in the 1999 and 2007 World Cups, is hoping for one final hurrah with the Wallabies in this year's Tri-Nations series, which kicks off in July.
"I'm still eligible to play for the Wallabies this year, it's still a goal of mine to do that but long-term wise it's coming towards an end," Staniforth said.
"The release (from the Force) is subject to me not being picked in the Wallabies squad.
"If I was picked in the first 30-man squad, I'll be here for the Tri-Nations, but if not then the release comes into place and I'll be heading out.
"It's always sad but it's another opportunity on the horizon.
"There's a lot of young guys coming through now (at the Force) and I'm not getting any younger being a winger at 31, so it's time to give some other guys like (Nick) Cummins a go.
"At the end of last year it was mutual, the Force and I were having a chat and they wanted to freshen up their list a bit and I said 'look, if there's an opportunity for me to help you do that I'm more than willing to do it', and an opportunity came up in Japan.
"So everything's a last for me this year."
Staniforth, a supremely talented utility back who notched 61 caps for the Waratahs before switching to the Force in 2006, said he was looking forward to returning to where his career began in Saturday night's derby clash between the two sides.
"It will be exciting to play where it started for me at the Sydney Football Stadium," he said.
"It's a bit sad but these things come to an end."
But Staniforth thought he would be denied a farewell appearance in Sydney when he twisted his troublesome left knee badly in the dying stages of last week's heartbreaking loss to the Hurricanes.
"A lot of thoughts went through my mind in a split second," he said.
"I thought I was in a bit of trouble there but the boys have been giving me a bit of grief about being Lazarus by getting up and walking again.
"Luckily nothing major happened.
"It was just a sharp pain but it went pretty quick."
Staniforth is hoping to play the remaining five games of the season in order to notch a century of super caps.
© 2009 AAP
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/bre...0414-a62o.html
