HARDWICK THANKFUL FOR RUGBYWA PATHWAY

After signing his first full contract with the Western Force last week one could be forgiven for thinking Richard Hardwick’s journey to the elite level has happened overnight, but in reality the young gun backrower has been slowly working his way through the ranks for years.

A product of the UWA Rugby Club, Hardwick’s journey to becoming a fully contracted member of the Western Force began when he captained the Under 15 State Team in 2010 setting the Namibian-born flanker on the RugbyWA pathway.

“It has been a very long journey to get to this point and a very exciting one,” he said. “It was Dwayne Nestor who started it all for me back when I made my first state team in the Under 15s, from there I was lucky enough to be picked in the academy and incrementally made my way up the ranks.”

As one of three inaugural members of the Future Force Foundation, Hardwick credits the program for much his development into a Super Rugby calibre player.

“When I got to the end of my junior rugby days, there wasn’t a whole lot for me to move onto next apart from club rugby but I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the original members of the Future Force Foundation.”

“To be part of the Future Force along with Kane (Koteka) and Harry (Scoble) was massive for me in terms of getting ready to take that next step. It creates that perfect stepping stone for young guys to prepare themselves physically and mentality for the elite level.”

On his journey through the pathway the 22-year-old has ticked just about every development box along the way: WA Schoolboys, Australia ‘A’ Schoolboys, Perth Gold, WA Under-20s, Combined States Under-20s, Western Force ‘A’ and now three seasons with the seasons with Perth Spirit in the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship.

With an increasing number of local products in the Force squad including the likes of Harry Scoble, Kane Koteka, Luke Burton, Ross and Dane Haylett-Petty, Hardwick believes the opportunity for young players to pull on the Force jersey has never been greater.

“There are so many great programs for development now from Junior Gold Cup to the Super 20s competition, the Future Force and Perth Spirit as well which has provided an opportunity for heaps of local guys from the (Pindan) Premier Grade to show what they can do.”

“It is so good for young players in Western Australian to see that there is a real shot of playing for the Force. If you work hard and have the right attitude, the system and the pathway is there to help you become the best rugby player you can be.”

https://www.westernforce.com.au/arti...ugbywa-pathway