Michael Wells has officially been confirmed as the new Western Force captain for the Super Rugby Pacific season.
The back rower will lead the Force for the 2023 campaign beginning on Saturday, 25 February, against the Melbourne Rebels at HBF Park.
Wells is honoured to take up the position and is ready to lead the team out for the first time on Saturday.
"The first chat was probably only a few weeks ago, I said, if the coaches have decided that way, I'm more than happy to take it. I'm not going to come out there and say I need to be captain. It's a thing that happens organically. You naturally see people who are more suited to leadership positions. It's got to be given to you by virtue of how you mix with the group and how you interact with everyone. So, it was only a couple of weeks ago that those chats officially started and then obviously had the Reds trial. Hopefully, the team feels like I'm the right person for the job because, at the end of the day, if you lose the face of the playing group, you lose the game," Wells states.
Wells, a firm believer in a captain leading by example on the field first. Understanding that presenting a representation of hard work creates success and drives teams to victory.
"I have to keep being the best player that I can personally, because otherwise, you lose the integrity and the position as captain, and you lose the respect. So, I've known that as long as I do my role, to the best of my ability, that's doing the best job as captain.
The day you're not performing on the field, you're no good to anyone as a leader, no matter what you say, actions speak a lot louder than words.
I definitely learned a lot from having my first experience as a captain of a Super Rugby team last year (Melbourne Rebels). What I'll bring to this role is knowing to put my performance first, and if I'm doing my job, it gives my words a bit more value when I speak.
I also learned that you need to connect with people on a higher level as a captain. Knowing that you have to build relationships with people so they trust you on the field, they trust what you're saying, and they trust that you've got their best interests at play.
We've got a great group here. Forwards wise, Folau, Rodda, Feleti, I can lean on them to deliver messages. In the backs, Hamish, Bryce, Ian Prior. Sam Spink also stepped up in terms of being able to talk attack and defence game management-wise. This allows me to step back, and focus on my performance at times, but then also gives my words more power when I choose to speak because it's not getting delivered to people all the time," Wells claims.
Honest in his leadership approach, Wells states he will forever be a student of the game, eager to continue to grow with this captaincy role behind him.
"My style of leadership is very, I guess, black and white, technical, tactical and to the point. I find professional rugby, you need results, and you need fixes quickly and if you give emotional messages, they don't tend to hit the mark because emotion is too subjective. What works for half the group might not work for the other half and if you're losing half your group with messaging," Wells assures.
Wells and head coach Simon Cron continue to form their craft after over ten years building solid foundations. Although, Wells mentions they are painted with the same brush, their goals for the Force are closely aligned.
"I've known him (Simon Cron) since 2011, when he first started coaching Norths in Sydney. My relationship with him is pretty aligned in how we see the game. We are both more technically and tactically oriented and reasonably blunt. I would say Crony differs to me in that his obsession with rugby is second to none. I've never met someone who contributed so much time to probably the detriment of other things. He is very committed to getting the results, and that's also his expectation of everyone, I buy into that completely.
I've probably never had the same amount of faith that I do in a coaching group as I do here. If there are results to be had, they'll get them out of the group and they'll get the amount of everyone. For him and me, he's made me most of the player that I am today in terms of the abilities that I have, and the way I see the game; a lot of that's down to his rugby brain and the IP that he's given to me across the years that we've had at Norths.
We're pretty aligned as a coach and a captain, which is always helpful because then, from his perspective, he can let the reign loose a little bit and know that the messaging on the field is accurate," Wells attests.
Wells is the seventh captain in the club's history since 2006 and follows in the footsteps of Force legends Nathan Sharpe, David Pocock, Matt Hodgson, Ben McCalman and Ian Prior.
The 29-year-old assumes the role from club stalwart Feleti Kaitu'u, who led the Force last season. The club would like to acknowledge Kaitu'u for his leadership over the last 12 months.
Western Force Club Captains:
Nathan Sharpe: 2006-2011
David Pocock: 2012
Matt Hodgson: 2013-2016, 2017 (co-captain)
Ben McCalman: 2017 (co-captain)
Ian Prior: 2018-2021
Feleti Kaitu'u: 2022-2023
Michael Wells: 2023-
