Author: Roscoe Tims

Western Force 33 Lions 12 This game was an advertisement for Foxtel IQ. You would probably have been glad that you never stayed up to watch it. I mean, it had a few highlights in the 2nd half but it certainly wasn’t a classic as the Force downed the Lions by three tries to nil on a wet Jo’burg (late) afternoon. It was played in front of three men and a dog and was totally devoid of atmosphere. The Force should have had a bonus point win but buggered up a couple of useful scoring opportunities.

I don’t want rugby union to sign Israel Folau or any other mungo looking for a quick buck. And that’s what it’s come to, an unseemly exercise in playing off the AFL against the ARU to get the ‘right price’ for this bloke. After all the bad experiences we’ve gone through with the other mungos that have been recruited – to wit: Sailor, Tuqiri, Rogers, Tahu and who can forget lesser lights at state level like Blacklock and McGoldrick, why would you want more of these people. Haven’t they learnt? He’s probably a nice simple kid reportedly from a good…

You’d have to be a true believer to stay up for this one although it could be a feast of running rugby the way both teams are playing the game. With defence seemingly not a high priority for the Lions a bonus point win for the Force would be the icing on the cake. If this game was played in say, Round 4 you’d be struggling to pick a winner. What a difference having a few quality players back makes. The Force have shown true grit to come back from the dead and win against the Highlanders, Stormers and last…

Western Force 24 Crusaders 16 You’re never going to keep me down. The Western Force did a bit of ‘tubthumping’ themselves last night and produced a sensational second half embracing commitment and quality to defeat the best provincial rugby team in the world. And they did it without their star player Rabbit O’Connor who was languishing on the sideline with a broken wing. It was achieved despite all the mighty Crusader weaponry deployed on the park – McCaw, Read, Jack, Thorn, Franks (2), Carter, Guildford blah, blah, blah. In a statement of ‘what might have been’, the Force have returned…

The smell from today’s rugby league disaster is wafting over the Melbourne Rebels’ administration with CEO Brian Waldron in a potentially untenable position. For the past five years the Melbourne Storm rugby league franchise (of which Brian Waldron was Chief Executive Officer until only recently) was rorting the league salary cap regime and essentially running two sets of books to enable ‘secret’ payments to be made to players. Nothing in rugby league surprises me any more but to have an administrator who was operationally in charge of this franchise whilst the rorts were taking place and now currently involved in…

You may not know this but the first reported wearing of headgear, called a ‘scrum cap’ in England, was at Christ’s College Finchley in London during the 19th century. The scrum cap was a thin cloth helmet with padding over the ears and a chin strap to hold it in place. This early form of headgear was intended to protect the ears of the player only and to prevent that nasty inflammation of the ‘shell likes’, cauliflower ears. Latterly, the scrum cap developed into something like a sophisticated version of a leather flying cap in the early 20th century. These days,…

Auckland Blues 38 Western Force 17 Two steps forward, one step back. The Western Force were subject to an old fashioned carve-up as the rampant Blues went ballistic with expansive Polynesian style footy. Only a late try to Bam Pocock in the 66th minute – it was 38-3 at the time – and a penalty try at the bell (for lazy running) provided a degree of respectability to the scoreline. In this six try romp, Smokin’ Joe Rockocoko was in sublime form scoring a hat-trick of tries and seriously enhancing his All Black selection prospects.

Last week I picked 19 players who, in my view, were certainties for selection in this year’s Wallaby test 22. We’re now back to 18 after Cliffy Palu seriously injured his knee on the weekend and looks out for the count this year. That leaves vacancies for only four more players. However, there’ll obviously be others who’ll appear as there are around 15 tests all up in 2010 including the extra All Black match in Hong Kong. This week I’ll select the players who I think will be challenging those ‘dead certs’ and who should be in serious contention for…

Western Force 41 Otago Highlanders 27 The impressive Remarkables mountain range was the backdrop today as the Western Force defeated a determined Highlanders in Queenstown, scoring six tries in the process. Remarkable really, considering they’ve virtually doubled their season try tally in one hit. Not only that but they’ve moved up the leader board to 12th place and there’s every likelihood they’ll climb higher. My notes (written late in the game) say “Sharpie calling the lineout throws to himself”, “The substitutes bench has had a huge impact on this game” and “Hill has adapted to the pace of Super 14”.…

In what has been a prick of a season so far, the Western Force have an opportunity to post a rare brace of wins following last week’s victory over the Stormers. With their international backrow of Pocock, Brown and Hodgson back on deck for the first time since Round 1, combined with Cameron Shepherd cooking up a storm in place of the injured Scott Staniforth, the Force are now ‘a going concern’.

We’re more than halfway through the Super 14 and wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall at Wallaby Selectors Robbie Deans, Jim Williams and David Nucifora’s weekly post-match conferences? Just at the moment, everyone’s talking ‘inside backs’ but there’s plenty of talent from 1 – 22 being showcased. After eight rounds there’d be a consensus taking shape about established international’s form and non-Wallaby challengers. To some degree form ebbs and flows with how your franchise is actually performing on the field and the good news is that most Australian teams are doing just that.

Western Force 16 Stormers 15 The Western Force finally pulled off a victory for the first time this season after toughing it out against an off-key Stormers outfit in Perthfontein last night. Five eighth David Hill was the toast of the town after he kicked a drop goat goal in the last play of the game to achieve a come-from-behind victory. This was a match that didn’t reach any great heights, with both teams lacking ball security and mistakes galore. It was just waiting for someone to grab it by the throat.

The good news is that finally Bam Pocock and Richard Brown are back; the bad news is that the Force’s main attacking weapon has been relegated to the rear again. This game could be about the best defence in the Super 14, the 2nd placed Stormers, versus the worst attack in the Super 14, the Western Force. If that’s the case, what does the coach do about it? He sends their best attacking weapon (James O’Connor) to fullback and their least creative player (Ryan Cross) to inside centre. Yeah, I’m wondering what this is all about as well? Maybe it’s…

The Melbourne Rebels threatened the ARU with legal action to get their own way by forcing the ‘announced’ recruitment window forward from 1 June to 15 March. Here we are rolling into April Fool’s Day and what have they got to show for their efforts? Like the over-promising politicians we all know they’ve actually got diddly squat! Their marquee signing and proposed captain is Stirling Mortlock. April Fool! Wonderful player that he was (and bloke that he is), he’s now past his best and on the decline. In fact, if you look at recent seasons he’ll be hard pressed to…

In September 2009, Argentina were invited to join the Tri-Nations by SANZAR if certain ‘conditions’ were met. There have been a couple of stumbling blocks to adding the Pumas to this competition, the main ones being the division of broadcast revenue (currently shared between NZ, Australia and South Africa), the cost in staging a tournament over essentially three continents and the lack of a professional structure in Argentina. In an encouraging sign, the IRB have agreed to substantially underwrite the Pumas entry into the Tri-Nations with an unprecedented investment of US$2.5 million per year over the period 2012-2015 subject to…

You don’t like saying it of a champion but Father Time has finally caught up with Stirling Mortlock. Like George Gregan, who stayed too long at this level, he just ain’t the player he used to be. He’s lost some pace, is starting to fall off tackles and doesn’t have that dynamism any more. When was the last time he made a decent bust? I know he’s been injured a bit lately but that’s part of the problem, he’s routinely injured. Going on 33, I think it’s time for him to look for a big payout and gentler pastures.

Bulls 28 Western Force 15 The ‘glass half full’ version says that the Western Force showed heart and courage last night in the face of adversity and gave the top of the table Bulls a real fright. However, reality bites in that it was the Force’s 6th loss in a row in a winless season and they’re still the cellar dwellers on a solitary point. If the Force continue to play an expansive game combined with the hustle, bustle and harassing style of play they showed last night I reckon they’re a chance against the Highlanders, Lions and Cheetahs. These…

By announcing his departure from coaching the Western Force ‘at the end of the 2011 season’ John Mitchell is effectively a dead man walking. I wonder where he’ll celebrate New Years’ Eve this year? You can bet your bottom dollar it won’t be at the Western Force. If you think otherwise you’re living in Fantasyland. For the life of me, how on earth can he remain with this team as a lame duck coach for another 12 months or more? After such a disappointing season (it ain’t going to get too much better) they’ll want a new broom. Out with…

NSW Waratahs 14 Western Force 10 A sluggish Waratahs were ambushed by a rejuvenated Western Force in Perth last night who came within millimetres of causing an upset of cyclonic proportions. The Force were a completely different side to last week’s shambles in Brisbane with turnover king Matt Hodgson again head and shoulders above any other player on the park. The complacent Waratahs stayed in second gear for most of the match but defensively were on the ball when it counted (at the death) as the Force put the pressure on but failed to breach the line.

In probably a new first for the Australian division of the Super 14 both the Western Force and Waratahs run-on sides selected for Saturday’s game in Perth are the same as last weekend. For Tahs supporters that’s all well and good but for the Force there’d be a sense of disquiet. How could you pick the same guys that were pulped by the Reds the other day? John Mitchell say’s he’s backing his player’s ability to respond to the challenge and is putting accountability back on the same playing group. This is in effect Mitch-speak for ‘there isn’t anyone else…