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While significant chunks of the 2010 season was marred by injuries Emirates Western Force skipper Nathan Sharpe believes the opportunities and exposure the club’s younger brigade received at the elite level will be a silver lining seen for seasons to come.
The likes of Ben McCalman, who received his first taste of action in round one before being handed even greater responsibility following the loss of David Pocock and Richard Brown in the opening fixture, has gone on to make significant advances. McCalman started 2010 as a Super Rugby rookie but returned to Emirates Western Force training this year as the starting No.8 for the Wallabies thanks to his exposure to the top level last season.
"We lost a lot of our backrowers early on, he (Ben) came and played really well off the bench and then he got a start and ended up being the No.8 for the Wallabies at the end of the year,” said Sharpe.
"That rapid transition really helps our team. He's going to come back in as a starting member of the Wallabies pack.”
Sharpe said one of the great opportunities offered to youngsters at the Emirates Western Force was the chance to stake their claim early, as David Pocock and James O’Connor have been able to do since the club’s inception. McCalman wasn’t the only young player to make numerous appearances last season, outside centre Mitch Inman played a part in every game, one of only four players to do so, while young hookers Ben Whittaker and Nathan Charles became reliable members of the front row.
"A guy like Ben McCalman hadn't played Super 14 rugby until last year and that wasn't just an isolated case for us last year. Guys like Ben Whittaker, Nathan Charles, those sort of guys that came in and played a lot of rugby last year - that experience is invaluable,” Sharpe said.
"A guy like Ben Whittaker, he's someone who you can see has had a taste of it and he's really trained the house down in the pre-season and is looking forward to hopefully getting another opportunity."
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