Cameron Shepherd returns to fullback for the Emirates Western Force this Saturday night against the Lions and he feels the team has to approach a game they are expected to win differently.
A fully fit Shepherd is without doubt one of the best fullbacks or wingers in not only Australia, but world rugby, and some of the football he's played in nine caps for the Wallabies, 20 for the Waratahs and now 45 with the Emirates Western Force has been brilliant.
The problem has been getting out on the park though. The broken ankle he suffered while playing with the Wallabies in June 2008 hindered him throughout 2009 where he managed just seven matches, but his pre-season coming into 2010 saw him enter the campaign in great shape.
However, an injured thigh in the warm-up of the Week 1 clash with the Brumbies saw him miss not only that game, but remain out of the line-up until the trip to New Zealand to start on the wing against the Highlanders in Queenstown.
He has now played three games on the wing and will move to fullback this Saturday night in Johannesburg against the Lions with James O'Connor still out with a sore shoulder.
The 26-year-old is delighted to now be back and starting to feel good out on the field again after a time on the sidelines that was at times difficult to endure.
"It's relief for me after missing so many games to finally be able to string a few together. It's pretty tough and up until a few weeks ago I had only played eight games in the last two years so it's really good to be back on the field. I'm hoping I can keep playing well to stay out there," Shepherd said.
"I'm getting a bit of rhythm back. The body has a few aches and pains, it's going to take a while just to get used to the physicality and everything again. I'm just so happy to be back part of the group though. It's not a fun place to be in rehab when you're in it and I'm just glad to be out of there.
"The hardest thing is being away from the group for so long and you go through so many highs and lows. There's times when it's impossible to get motivated and you can only think of the bad things, so it's nice to have come through the other side to get back on the field. It's a great feeling and we have a great bunch of guys. Hopefully from here we can finish the season on a high."
The Force have found some outstanding form in the last month recording wins over the Stormers, Highlanders and last week the Crusaders.
Two of those over the Stormers and Crusaders were against teams expected to make the semi-finals, but now up against the winless Lions this week in Johannesburg, Shepherd knows the Force have to be switched on to get the victory.
"We do have to approach it differently. We've had a focus at training of getting the simple things right and making sure we prepare the way we want to play. The Lions, before we started winning probably identified this as one of their big games to focus on to get a win, so they will turn up pumped up to play. If we don't turn up to play we could be in for a rude surprise," Shepherd said.
"Whenever you finish the season with a big trip it's always pretty tough. A lot of guys are run down by this time of the year and staying motivated and positive when away from home is pretty tough. We've played well in South Africa and had a great time there though. We've got a few guys who are leaving us at the end of this year again and we want to make sure we send these guys off on a high."
The win over the Crusaders after being 13-nil down at half-time last week at ME Bank Stadium is one that Shepherd rates right up there with the best he's played in at the Force.
While the whole team takes great heart and confidence out of the memorable win, the focus now has turned to the Lions to begin the South African tour, and then the Cheetahs and Sharks to finish the season.
"We've always competed well against the Crusaders and have probably been unlucky not to beat them another couple of times, so coming into the game it was one that we'd always targeted. They are the pinnacle of Super 14 teams, so it's a big one for us to get up on. It's definitely up there with the best wins I've had for the Western Force," he said.
"You have to take positives out of it, but we are under no illusions about what we've done and what we need to do. We still have to front up this week and really now last week doesn’t mean anything. We've got a team that we should beat this week and a team that we should beat well. We've got to forget about the Crusaders, move on and concentrate on the Lions."
His return from injury has seen Shepherd play with flyhalf David Hill for the first time and he's enjoyed that, as well as the whole marquee player system that has brought Ben Castle and Andre Pretorius also to Perth.
"It has been fun actually. I've really rated having Hilly here. He's been around a lot of clubs and for a long time, and is a really good bloke so it's been fun having him around," he said.
"It's one thing I've really enjoyed since they've brought in the marquee player signing and even having Andre around as well has been good and then we had Ben Castle last year too. It's good and you get a mix with guys with different cultures and outlooks into the club. They always seem to fold effortlessly into our program and it's been good to have them around."
