Reuben Thorne on the ball over Force

By RICHARD KNOWLER - The Press | Thursday, 5 April 2007

The Western Force's surge this season has not caught Reuben Thorne by surprise.
If anyone knows how John Mitchell's rugby brain works, it is Thorne after the pair forged a coach-captain partnership with the All Blacks in 2002-2003.

Now Mitchell, in his second season in charge of the Force, is making waves with his rejuvenated side which has won five matches and sits third on the competition log as it prepares to meet the Crusaders on Saturday night.

It is a far cry from last year when the Force finished last and won just one match in its first Super 14 season.
The Force's revival, however, has not caused Thorne to raise his eyebrows.
"No. There's not many teams that start afresh and perform miracles in their first year.
"Even though they had got a fairly strong squad, they were badly affected by injuries and never really got a flow on," Thorne said.
"But this year, they haven't had that problem. So, it will be a big motivation for playing well.
"They are a very good team. If you look at them on paper, there's a lot of experience there and some real class players."

Lock Rudi Vedelago missed most of last season because of injury, while flanker Richard Brown and hooker Brendan Cannon were among the forwards sidelined. In the backs, Lachlan MacKay, Scott Daruda and James Hilgendorf also battled injuries.

Mitchell did not dither with his recruiting drive and this season has added newcomers Matt Giteau, Ryan Cross and Drew Mitchell to his backline.
"He's doing well, isn't he?" Thorne said on Mitchell's results.
"He's obviously recruited well since the team has been together for only two years and has a very strong squad."

The Thorne-Mitchell All Blacks' partnership ended when the coach was dumped following the 2003 World Cup semi-final loss, while it took his former skipper 2 1/2 seasons to find favour with his replacement, Graham Henry.

Despite Mitchell now living in Perth, Thorne said they still remain in contact.
"We do keep in touch a little bit, either by text or the odd phone call when we get time for it.
"We'll definitely catch up after the game and have a chat. It will be good to see him again."

Mitchell, who was involved in coaching England before taking over the All Blacks in late 2001, spent a season with Waikato in 2004 before moving to Australia to join the Force.
"He definitely knows his stuff, particularly as a forwards coach," Thorne said.
"I always thought he was a very good coach, very astute and put his time and effort into the learning and application of the game."

Thorne also noted that while Mitchell could be tough on his players, he was also meticulous in his pre-match planning.
"He was very thorough with that sort of thing.
"When he needs to be, he can be very hard-nosed and demanding of the players in his squad. They will be well drilled and well disciplined.
"That's what we expect of a team with `Mitch' at the head of it."