Rugby League: Master tradesman hears final whistle

By DAVE HADFIELD

Two notable international careers will end with the final test against the Kiwis in Wigan on Sunday, but if his Great Britain coach and his team-mates have their way, Mike Forshaw will not complete a trio of farewells.

There would be a certain symmetry if the Bradford loose forward decided, as Gary Connolly and Terry O'Connor have done, that this test against New Zealand will be his last.

It is ideal for them as well, but they are only Wiganers by adoption; Forshaw is a native of the town, still lives there and likes the idea of making his last bow in the international arena there.

"I can't imagine a better place to finish," Forshaw said, but he has talked this way before. "I suppose I retired after we had been trashed by New Zealand at Bolton in the World Cup in 1998. That was my reaction at the time, but when David Waite took over [as Great Britain coach] he spoke to me about playing again and gave me some new enthusiasm."

That enthusiasm is mutual, because Forshaw is one of the players about whom the Great Britain coach waxes lyrical.

"There aren't many better tradesmen in the game than Michael," he said. "He is something that all your young backrowers should aspire to be - not just a tradesman, but a master tradesman. He does all the little things right and has the confidence to make the right decisions at the right time."

Since joining Bradford in 1997, Forshaw has become a classic, late-blossoming success story.

Initially regarded primarily as a second-row grafter, he has re-invented himself as a creative loose forward, with the result that it now strikes few people as odd that the Great Britain No 13 shirt, heavy with the symbolic sweat of the great players who have worn it, is in his possession rather than Andy Farrell's or Paul Sculthorpe's.

For all their outstanding qualities, it has been Forshaw's off-loading that has arguably given the Kiwis the most trouble during the present series. Like most things he does on the field, it is thought out.

"If you shift the ball, they can struggle. They've got so many big players and we have people with the agility to take advantage. The point is that we can't match them in collision all the time.

"They have a reputation for off-loading the ball, but at times we've beaten them at their own game. Wigan is the best environment we could have for the third test and the best thing about it is that we know we can still improve."

It will, he feels, be a perfect way to leave an international stage.

"I'll be 33 by the time Australia come here next year and I can't imagine being picked. There are so many good young backrowers coming through that if I'm in the side something has gone wrong."

Waite disagrees, urging him to keep his options open. But, if this does turn out to be his swansong, he will have few regrets.

"It's all a matter of your form, but if, after this, it's all a matter of playing well for Bradford, I won't be disappointed."

- INDEPENDENT