Western Force cling on in epic 13-try World Series Rugby finale
Nick Taylor - The West Australian - 18 August 2018
World Series Rugby has been entertaining all season and the Western Force and Panasonic Wild Knights produced plenty of action last night in the Force’s 50-45 victory at nib Stadium.
The game was energetic and fast-moving, had a Wild Knights powerplay seven-point try and was watched by 14,697 fans, taking WSR’s total audience to 104,348 in seven games.
It was a try-fest with 13 scored, seven by the Force.
And it was not a particularly scrappy or unstructured game. Most tries were well-constructed or were the end product of accurate play or individual skill.
The home side was forced to dig deep in defence as the Wild Knights launched a late offensive to try to snatch the win.
The only sour point came when Wild Knights and former Wallabies fly-half Berrick Barnes was carried off with an ankle injury midway through the second half.
Neither side could take a firm grip on the game for long periods but the Force were inventive in the backs and happy to use forward grunt when necessary.
Wild Knights are known for their defensive line speed but the Force worked hard at keeping possession.
Force coach Tim Sampson was proud of his side.
“That last five minutes typified where we are at as a group,” he said. “We really had to dig our heels in.
“It means a lot to beat a team of that quality. In the last month we have had a massive shift and it showed.”
Centre Marcel Brache and No.8 Brynard Stander both scored doubles with full-back Jack McGregor, winger Brad Lacey and second-rower Jeremy Thrush adding one each.
Captain and scrum-half Ian Prior converted six of the tries and added a late penalty.
Andrew Forrest, who has bankrolled the Force and WSR, confirmed a side will play out of Sydney’s western suburbs in next year’s expanded competition.
“We’d like to get in there and grow the rugby,” he said.
“We think the game can really light up in western Sydney.”
He addressed the crowd before the game, hailing their support.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/wester...3-try-world-series-rugby-finale-ng-b88932327z
A very different emphasis on this article compared to the headline of:
Force take win over wounded Wild Knights
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2018/08/16/world-series-rugby-force-panasonic-wild-knights-match
The "wounded Wild Knights" comes from Berrick Barnes suffering an ankle injury half way through the 2nd half. There were no other significant injuries.
Robbie Dean's had nothing but praise for the WSR initiatives helping to make rugby more appealing to spectators.