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Justin Chadwick - AAP
Western Force skipper Nathan Sharpe says his players took little notice of Ryan Cross's disparaging remarks about the Perth-based franchise - but they won't forget them in a hurry.
He was speaking on the eve of Saturday night's Super Rugby clash with the Waratahs in Perth.
Cross, who spent four seasons at the Force before jumping ship to the Waratahs at the end of last year, lit the fuse for an explosive return when he said his former outfit were still too nervous to close out close games.
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Sharpe said Cross's comments, at a time when the Force were still coming to terms with last week's heartbreaking 26-25 loss to the Melbourne Rebels, would generate a little extra motivation.
"Look, the boys enjoyed those comments from Crossy. They weren't lost," Sharpe said.
"You don't want to be relying on motivation like that to play well on the weekend.
"Motivation for us is last weekend and where we are on the table at the moment.
"But certainly, comments like that don't get lost."
The Force, with just one win and a draw from six outings, must beat NSW to have any realistic chance of reaching the finals.
The situation is far rosier for the Waratahs after their 4-2 start, but winger Drew Mitchell said the team wasn't focusing on ladder positions just yet.
"It can be a little bit of a distraction if you start worrying who's at the top and who they're playing on the weekend," Mitchell said.
"It's a matter of us just worrying about our coming opposition.
"The media's pretty funny, they jump on anyone as quick as they can.
"After the first two weeks we were probably the team people were talking most about and then we had a couple of poor performances against the Crusaders and Cheetahs and then everyone was off us all of a sudden.
"Conversely, the Reds didn't start too well but they're hitting form now, so as quickly as you're in favour you can be out of favour, so we don't worry about that too much."
Mitchell, who spent three seasons at the Force before switching to the Waratahs at the end of 2009, said he felt more settled in Sydney and had no regrets about making the move.
"I'm enjoying my time here. The biggest reason why I came here was more of a lifestyle change," Mitchell said.
"As much as Perth's a nice place to live, for me it's just a little bit isolated.
"I felt somewhat disconnected from family and friends.
"Now I'm a little bit closer, things for me are a little bit more settled off the field and I don't really have to worry about anything other than going out there and chasing the ball."
Sharpe said the inclusion of former Hurricanes five-eighth Willie Ripia would give the team greater variety in the backline, where James O'Connor will don the No.15 jersey.
NSW lock Dean Mumm will captain the Waratahs in the absence of skipper Phil Waugh (calf).
Original article link
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...408-1d7hj.html
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Originally Posted by BeeJay
