Hurricanes prop Tim Fairbrother will join the Force from next season as he feels that he has not been able to nail down a starting spot with the Hurricanes.
Twenty seven year old Fairbrother has confirmed that he has signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the Force after rejecting offers from other Australian sides and rugby clubs in England.
There have been rumblings lately that Fairbrother was being weighed up for the Wallabies as his grandparents are Australian making his eligible for Wallaby selection.
Fairbrother feels that he will have better opportunities with the Force as he will not have to battle for a starting place in the team as he has done for the last six years with the Hurricanes.
"I'm getting to that age where I think I've done my apprenticeship now and I want to start and play full-on all the time."
"It's my time to shine I suppose."
He also added that the lure of playing international rugby was also a consideration although he did point out that he had not had much contact with Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
"It is a motivating factor but I'm not thinking too much about it. It's one of those things - you've got to play well to get into something like that.
"I just want to go over and play for the Western Force before I start thinking about anything else." he told Sportal.
With the move some time away Fairbrother says that the only thing on his mind is winning the Super 14 with the Hurricanes.
"That's the only thing I'm thinking about at the moment even if I'm not in the 22. I'm still going hard."
"I really want to win this thing," he said.
The Hurricanes reached the first ever Super 14 final in 2006 where they lost to the Crusaders in the fog of Christchurch. They also made the semi-finals in 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007 and last year.
Fairbrother however, believes this time is different, "This year we've got a really good chance just because of the depth that we've got. Guys are getting injured and someone else is slotting in.
"You've got All Blacks on the bench and you've got rotation going down and I'm part of that rotation. It's good for the team."
Competition for places in the Hurricanes is fierce this year especially in the front row where Fairbrother, Neemia Tialata, John Schwalger and Jacob Ellison have all found themselves on the bench or out of the 22 altogether at some point during the campaign.
Another example of where competition for places is fierce is Piri Weepu who has not been able to get a start – at either nine or 10 - in the past two weeks despite being Colin Cooper's first-choice first five-eighths for most of the first half of the season.
Fairbrother however says that he has no problem with being left out and it if it means the Hurricanes thrive.
"I've always been a team man and sacrifices like that are pretty major for the team's benefit and I've got no problems with that."
The Hurricanes currently top the Super 14 table and can seal a place in the play offs if they beat the Chiefs this weekend.
Coach Cooper has been boosted by the news that Cory Jane and Tamati Ellison are likely to be available for selection but will have to undergo further tests before getting the all-clear from a head knock which saw him miss the second half of the game against the Blues.
"He's certainly had no headaches from training in the past couple of days so he's looking good but he still has to go through a test because of the head knock," Cooper said.
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