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VETERAN Wallabies second-rower Nathan Sharpe has confirmed he will have a role with the Western Force next year, but it is yet to be determined what it will entail.
Sharpe, who will retire after the Wallabies' Rugby Championship campaign, was the Force's foundation captain in 2006 and is highly regarded at the Super Rugby franchise.
A strong supporter of the Force's newly appointed head of coaching Michael Foley, Sharpe was keen to maintain his link with the team even though he was moving back to the Gold Coast.
"I haven't discussed anything like that with the Force," Sharpe said. "I'll be involved with the club in some regard. It's been a great place for me. I've really enjoyed my time there.
"I've got intentions of being around there somehow. How it will work out I don't know yet.
"Things have been moving along pretty quickly behind the scenes at the Force. There's no rush for me to get involved in that. If there is a role for me and I can help out, we'll certainly talk.
"But that's down the track."
Asked whether he would become a coaching consultant at the Force, Sharpe said: "I don't know. I've got other plans in the pipeline that I'm excited about getting into. Once the organisation gets some stability and some direction as to how they want to operate I'll have a chat to them then. I do intend to be around the traps at the Force."
Sharpe welcomed Foley's appointment as head of coaching, which followed a long and arduous process since the resignation of Richard Graham in April.
"I think it is fantastic there is someone there in a position of leadership," Sharpe said. "It's a really positive result in light of the year we have had. "We wanted to make the process right. There's no point rushing into something if it's not right."
Asked what he thought Foley, who resigned from the NSW Waratahs last Tuesday, would bring to the Force, Sharpe said: "his technical ability is outstanding. And his man-management is very good as well.
"A lot of the guys have played under him and they are excited about him coming across. It has worked out well for the Force and even though it has been an arduous process, it's been a good result for us."
Sharpe was optimistic about the Force's future. "The way we finished this season, particularly in the amount of injuries we had, the guys did fantastically well and that experience is going to really help them next year," Sharpe said.
"You couple that with a new coach and a new management structure and I think it's going to be really positive for the team."
There is speculation former Waratahs manager Chris Webb will be part of the Force's new management structure following the departure of the club's general manager of rugby, Mitch Hardy.
Sharpe did not think former Force captain David Pocock would have changed his mind about joining the Brumbies if they had secured Foley earlier.
"No, I don't think so," Sharpe said. "Poey is a considered fellow and he has made considerations that he thinks are going to suit him the best.
"The Force wish him well because he has been a fantastic contributor for us. We are bloody sad that he is leaving because he is a great guy and he's a pretty handy player too. It's just the way things go. Things don't always work out the way you'd like them to, but there is a solution to everything and we'll certainly find one."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...-1226442571235