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Thread: Nathan Sharpe: Mitch waits in Lions den

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    Nathan Sharpe: Mitch waits in Lions den

    NICK TAYLOR, The West Australian
    March 16, 2011, 6:49 am

    And so to South Africa and a meeting with the Lions under the direction of former Western Force coach John Mitchell.

    Mitch had a huge influence in Perth, and already you can see his impact at his new home in Johannesburg.

    The Lions were terrific in the Currie Cup last year and have played some of the most expansive rugby by any team in the new Super Rugby competition.

    They have made somewhere in the vicinity of 150 more passes than any team in the competition, a statistic consistent with John's philosophy of playing with width to spread opposition teams and allowing more space to punch holes through their defence.

    This style can be tracked all the way back to the All Blacks of 2003 where leading into the World Cup that year they were unstoppable. Winning a record 18 Tests in a row is no mean feat.

    For many of the players this week, it will be a strange day running out against Mitch's team, but like any contest with someone you know well the added incentive of trying to get one over them in a competitive environment will be well and truly burning. No doubt there will be time to catch up once the battle on the field concludes.

    Waking up the day after a game with a stiff neck, heavy legs and bruised muscles is worth every ounce of effort when you come away with a victory.

    So what happens when you don't win? I can tell you it hurts even more with the added mental disappointment of failing to achieve your objective.

    And then there's a draw, and the assessment can really go either way. It can be a relief if you didn't deserve to win, or an empty hole in your gut if you did.

    I feel we deserved to win against the Blues on Saturday, however, through our own small mistakes at the death we fell short.

    I've heard it said that having a draw is like watching your mother-in-law drive your new car off a cliff. I happen to like my mother-in-law, so it was fitting in this game that I found no positive feeling in taking the two competition points.

    On a positive, it was a night of romance for one of our boys after the game when Cameron Shepherd, playing in his 50th club match, proposed to his long-term girlfriend Sam on the sidelines.

    It was nearly a perfect night for Shep, as he played outstanding rugby, got engaged to a beautiful girl and almost came away with a resounding victory at home.

    It was also a big night for the Force animal Richard Brown, playing his 50th Super Rugby game. To have been involved with Brownie since he started his professional journey has been tremendous.

    The way he has grown as a player, as a man, and having seen his ears before they actually started to resemble a cauliflower, I consider myself lucky.

    I can say it makes me very proud to have run out and played with both of them in this milestone game. Well done boys.

    While we may not have had the results we have chased so far this year, I can tell all our supporters we are very close to turning the corner and getting some reward for all the hard work. See you back home in two weeks.

    http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...-in-lions-den/

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    Champion Tazzmania's Avatar
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    Great read, and this great man is shunned by the ARU, see other thread. Shame on them.

    Great comments about sheps and brownie, and the team turning the corner for us.

    Sharpie here's to you, stay focused we need you here in the west.

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    Simon Cron: “People talk about winning and losing all the time and they are critical, but there’s a process to get into and it’s the ability to stay present, do your job and execute skills under pressure.”

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