David Pocock will captain the Western Force in tomorrow’s Super 14 pre-season match against the Canterbury Crusaders at Members Equity Stadium, but the leader of the pack at collision time will be Tai McIsaac.

Pocock skippered the Force on last year’s tour of England and the coaching staff considers him a likely successor to foundation captain Nathan Sharpe in 2012, hence his increased exposure to leadership at only 20 years of age.

Thirteen years his senior is hooker McIsaac, the only player to appear in all 39 Super 14 matches the Force have contested. His resilience is remarkable, given that he is easily the oldest player on the Force roster.

He will call the shots at scrum time against a Crusaders tight five containing the likes of Wyatt Crockett, Ben Franks and Ross Filipo and is confident the Force will at least achieve parity against the champions’ pack.

He admitted yesterday that, as one of the lighter units in the competition, the Force pack was considered by many outside Perth as vulnerable to raw power, but he warned that the forwards held their own in set pieces last year and would be better when the competition kicked off on February 13.

“We played well above our weight to be competitive,” he said after a training session at Guildford Grammar School.

“What we lacked in size we made up for with mobility and skill.

“We’ve kept changes to a minimum up front, so one more year’s experience and teamwork will result in further improvement.

“I don’t see why we can’t make the semifinals if we play to our potential.”

McIsaac, who earned eight Test caps after making his Wallabies debut against England in 2006, is a critical part of the Force’s 2009 ambitions because he is the only experienced rake in the squad.

Back-up Luke Holmes is capable — he started one match last year — but a different type of hooker, bringing burning pace rather than blocklike physique to the front row, while young Ben Whittaker is big but still a development project.

Coach John Mitchell said McIsaac’s experience was invaluable to the Force. “He has great strengths and he’s essential to the set piece,” declared Mitchell, who plans to split on-field time tomorrow night between McIsaac and Holmes.

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