Western Force coach Tim Sampson remains focused on ending his tenure as head coach on a high as they prepare for Friday's must-win match against the Melbourne Rebels.
It was confirmed last week Sampson will leave the club at the end of the season, replaced by Simon Cron.
Having joined the club at seemingly rock bottom following their Super Rugby departure to their initial finals appearance in 2021, Sampson was disappointed to leave, however, was confident they were set up for success in the future.
“It’s naturally disappointing,” Sampson told reporters. “I think where everything is heading is fantastic. I mentioned it straight away the club is in a really good position and moving forward, there’s success around the corner.
“As I said to the players when we met after the Brumbies, my job is to keep preparing the team well every week. My focus is on the players and performing well.”
The Force have opted to rotate their Wallaby contingency, with captain Feleti Kaitu'u and lock Izack Rodda selected on the bench for Friday's clash at HBF Park.
“With a Friday game, we started our week’s preparation on Sunday and knowing Feleti, Izack and Toni wouldn’t have got back until late Tuesday,” Sampson explained on his decision to rest his Wallabies.
“It’s important for us to prepare well and think about the team first and foremost.
“As a coach (having players selected for the Wallabies) is one of the reasons why you do it, assisting players in getting rewarded in higher honours. We like to keep increasing our level of players selected at the Wallabies level, that’s what it’s all about.”
Along with this, Toni Pulu has failed to recover from an HIA suffered during the narrow defeat to the Brumbies.
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This has caused a major backline shift, with Pulu joined on the sidelines by Jake McIntyre and Richard Kahui due to COVID isolation.
“You would ideally like to settle on combinations, especially those combinations which are really important,” Sampson added.
“The nine, 10 and 12 have played well together, whatever combination we’ve rolled out. Reesjan and Bayley have played a lot of footy together and trained a lot together.
“Ian Prior adds a lot of composure to the team. He’s played inside Reesjan. They’ve performed really well together, a nice combination, nice balance.”
