New Super Rugby competition all about rivalries, Cameron Shepherd writes
Cameron Shepherd From: The Sunday Times February 19, 2011 6:25PM
THE new Super Rugby competition is all about rivalries.
So it seems right that we start our season against a side most Emirates Western Force supporters would consider to be our biggest rivals, the Queensland Reds.
The animosity between the sides was sparked when 13 of the Reds' 2005 squad left Queensland to make WA their new rugby home, or maybe it's because they named a Hill at Ballymore after our beloved captain, Nathan Sharpe, only to see him sign with the new franchise a few days later.
Needless to say, the hill is no longer the "Don't Go, Sharpie, Hill", and on the eve of our sixth battle with the Reds there is still no love lost.
I love playing Queensland. In fact I love playing all the Australian teams but especially the Reds.
There is always a huge buzz heading into these games and just that little bit of extra pride playing against your own countrymen.
So far in the lead-up, neither team has won away from home, but today we intend to change that, despite the critics clearly favouring the Reds.
I have a huge amount of confidence in the side we have this year. Although we'll miss the talents of Willie Ripia this weekend, the side is a great one.
We hope to see Willie lining up soon, but in his absence an enthralling match-up has been engineered, as Emirates Western Force young gun James O'Connor lines up opposite best friend and current Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper.
I hope I don't get caught up watching these two go at it, because I think it will be one of the highlights of the day. Both of these great young Australian rugby talents hate losing and are capable of doing some freakish things on the field.
Supporters and players alike are left asking themselves, could I do that when I was 20, or any age for the matter? Sadly, for most of us, the answer is no: that's why the O'Connor/Cooper clash will be so special.
This weekend heralds a new era for rugby.
The new competition delivers on several key fronts and gives supporters what they've been wanting more rugby.
There is genuine excitement among players that rugby can again recapture some of its past glory, particularly with a World Cup looming later this year. I think you'll all be delighted with what you see.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/rug...-1226008627981
