He’s yet to guide the Western Force to a finals series, but longstanding captain Matt Hodgson says coach Michael Foley is the “best thing to happen” to the Super Rugby club.

His comments come despite the Force crashing to the bottom of last year’s competition after winning just three of 16 matches.

The last-placed finish came on the back of the Force’s best ever performance in 2014, where the club narrowly missed out on the finals, finishing two points off the pace.

But despite the dramatic slide in the standings last year, Hodgson says the team is right behind their under siege coach.

I think he’s the best thing that has happened to the Force, Hodgson said.

You saw how well we gelled in 2014.

Obviously 2015 was a disappointment, but we as a playing group are also under pressure too.

We’re not putting pressure on him because we love him as a coach and he’s probably been the best coach we’ve had for a long time at the Force.

He’s been able to transform the team’s culture and team unity.

One of just two foundation players — along with prop Pek Cowan — remaining at the club since their inception in 2006, Hodgson also revealed that the former Wallabies hooker was the reason he was continuing his Super Rugby career at the Force.

He’s given me a new lease on life, the 34-year-old said.

I probably wouldn’t still be playing if it weren’t for Michael.

I’d probably be a bit stale, but he’s added things to my game and trialled and tested me, and wanted me to improve even as a 34-year-old after 14 years of Super Rugby.

He wants to get the best out of every player and get every player to fulfil their potential and he has belief in the whole squad that we can do it.

He’s really installed that winning philosophy in us and we’ve bought into that and the players just love playing for him.

Not content with last year’s disappointing results, the Force have ditched their conservative game plan and are hellbent on playing with width and speed in 2016.

And the early indications are promising after winning their two trial matches, including a 28-0 victory over the Hurricanes.

As you’ve seen in our two trials, what we’ve done on the training paddock has been transformed into the games, Hodgson said.

Playing with a lot more width, a lot more speed and using our players in wider channels.

We looked at the teams that were successful and they scored a lot of tries, especially the Hurricanes.

So we looked at their game style and we want to try and emulate that a little bit, but also have our own flair on it and get the ball in the hands of our attacking players like Luke Morahan, Dane Haylett-Petty and Kyle Godwin and getting them ball with width.

Hodgson also believes that the recruitment of former Springboks fly half Peter Grant and former Reds title-winners Jono Lance and Ben Tapuai has given the club the required impetus in attack to catapult the side into premiership contention.

The biggest target of all is to win it and you’d be stupid to go into a tournament like this not wanting to win it, Hodgson said.

If you didn’t believe it you wouldn’t be playing football, you wouldn’t be playing professional sport.

We believe it and we’re proud enough to say that we are going out there to win the whole tournament.

I don’t know why you’d aim for second if you could go for first.


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