Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force and Wallabies great Nathan Sharpe reflects ahead of 20th anniversary

The term that comes to Wallabies and Western Force great Nathan Sharpe’s mind when he thinks back to the club’s first-ever game is ‘anticipation’. And as the Force prepare to celebrate their 20th anniversary when the current iteration of the side takes on the Brumbies at HBF Park on Sunday, there is a different sense of anticipation abounding. Sharpe is one of a host of former Force favourites who will be in attendance at the game on Saturday, with the Sea of Blue excited to welcome back their heroes of yesteryear. A 116-Test Wallaby, Sharpe’s place in Force history is set in stone as their first captain, with the club’s highest individual men’s honour also named after him. The dual John Eales Medalist told The West Australian he had been reflecting with fondness on his seven seasons with the Force and he was excited to reunite with former teammates and those who helped build the club from day dot. “I’m really looking forward to catching up with a lot of the people that I played with, and a lot of people that I didn’t get the opportunity to play with, but have been part of the team for the last 20 years,” he said. “Everyone finishes football, and even though they go to different industries or follow different paths, they’re always connected by those moments in time and it’ll be nice to be able to take a breath and reflect on that together over the weekend.” While the club celebrates 20 years as an entity this year, their first Super Rugby game came in 2006, when more than 37,000 packed out Subiaco Oval — a crowd that shocked Sharpe. “I certainly wasn’t expecting to run out to 37,000 people in Subiaco. I had played Test matches there and had only just had a few more people for that game,” he said. “It just spoke volumes around anticipation that the community had for being able to support their own rugby union team and Western Australian crowds are far more vocal than some of the east coast crowds. “It was more of a celebration of the fact that so much work had gone into putting the team on the map there and it was an opportunity for us to showcase the support that everyone had given us to get us there; unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get it done, but it was the start of something pretty special.” Sharpe said he was proud to see the club’s resilience come to the fore throughout its at-times arduous 20-year history. “A big part of what we were trying to achieve was to grow the footprint in Australian rugby, create pathways for future Wallabies and really connect with the community in Western Australia. “In many ways, we did that, and have managed to continue doing that. It’s been a tough road at times, but the resilience the club has shown over the years from its inception has been outstanding.”