In their Round 5 clash against the Chiefs, the Western Force played themselves to a standstill.
It was unfortunate that this occurred at the sixty minute mark and the Chiefs proceeded to run riot, eventually scoring nine tries.
The Match
The dark clouds are gathering over the Western Force as they capitulated yet again in another uninspiring and unimaginative performance that exhibited limitations in skills, vision and ability to react.
As predicted by virtually everyone, the Force tried to play their “build pressure through multiple phases” game but the Chiefs countered with their high speed brand of rugby and the Force simply could not transition from attack to defence.
The portents where there in the first try from the Chiefs when a pilfer by Sam Cane led to a long range try in the twelfth minute to the Smiling Assassin, exciting young fullback/flyhalf Damian McKenzie, who was unable to convert his own try. However the Force knuckled down again and played as the Force play, grinding out phase after phase of possession-rugby.
A rare Force break came in the 21st minute as Semisi Masirewa sliced majestically through the defence but could not find any support. The resulting breakdown resulted in a penalty to the Force that flyhalf Peter Grant duly converted into points.
The “Smiling Assassin” – scored the first try of the game
The Chiefs seemed to react badly to this and were even possibly flustered as they embarked on a brand of helter skelter rugby that can either be magical or just manic. In this period of the match it was more manic than magical and Force flanker Brynard Stander forced a turnover that led to a try under the posts to Ben Tapuai, duly converted by Grant taking the score to Chiefs 5 Force 10.
This seemed to provide a bit of a boost to the Force and they competed well and dominated possession for the next ten minutes without really threatening the line: a familiar scenario.
The Chiefs hadn’t spent much time in the Force’s 22 up until the 33rd minute when they had a scrum feed about 10m from the line. In what was a deceptively simple try, Michael Leitch picked up from the back of the scrum and carried Force flanker Matt Hodgson across the line for a five pointer.
The try was made easier for Leitch through the excellent lines run by the Chiefs supporting attackers, who managed to attract the attention of all the close-in defenders. McKenzie converted and the score climbed to Chiefs 12 – Force 10 where it remained when the referee blew half-time.
Ben McCalman takes off
Following the resumption of play, rookie Chiefs lock Taleni Seu won the ball at a ruck by simply stepping through it. After quick hands centre Charlie Ngatai was over for a try before the Force had time to reorganise their defence . McKenzie had no problem converting this one and the score was now 19-10 to the Chiefs. Seu was having a great impact in the match with his strong running scattering defenders almost at will.
Force flanker Angus Cottrell was shown the dreaded yellow card following a lifting tackle in the 55th minute and it seemed that this would be the trigger for the predicted Chiefs breakout to start.
And start it did, with winger Toni Pulu scoring a try on debut, following a nicely-worked back line move featuring sensational hands from Aaron Cruden. Unconverted: Chiefs 24 Force 10.
And so it came to pass that the sixty minute mark was reached and verily the floodgates opened.
The tries came regularly from this point as Charlie Ngatai powered over and was quickly followed by the flying James Lowe benefiting from great hands. The Smiling Assassin was having a rare off-day with the boot and only Lowe’s try was converted bring the total to an ominous 36-10 in favour of the home side.
Charlie Ngatai – scoring his fourth try
Force coach Michael Foley brought on some fresh legs with about 15 minutes to go but the damage seemed irreparable even at that stage, whilst 2011 RWC hero Stephen Donald made a return to Super Rugby after an absence of five years.
The final ten minutes of the match saw Damian McKenzie bag a second try and Charlie Ngatai reap the rewards of direct hard running with three more tries. Yes, three more!! They brought his match tally to four tries. That’s only one less than the Force have scored all season.
The Force’s unimaginative game relies on opposition players being impatient. The Chiefs demonstrated that they would not fall for that “tactic” and their rapid transitions from defence to attack were simply too much for the Force to handle.
The Force played exactly as expected. They failed to dominate with this tactic. Exactly as expected. I’m no expert but there might be a pattern developing.
The final score of Chiefs 53 – Force 10 accurately reflected the difference in skills and belief between the two sides. Had McKenzie kicked well the total would probably have exceeded 60.
Toni Pulu – his try opened the floodgates
[one_third last=”no”]
Game Changer
The Force were well in it at half- time: down just 10-12: they weren’t playing great but they were hanging in.
When the Chiefs got their third try at 45 minutes there was still a chance. But after Cottrell was carded ten minutes later McKenzie delayed an offload for Pulu to score and the floodgates opened.[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Man of the match
Take your pick from many of the Chiefs players including Charlie Ngatai with four tries, Aaron Cruden and Damian McKenzie.
But my MOTM was Michael Leitch who kept the ruck area secure for the Chiefs, linked well in attack and also affected a couple of crucial turnovers.[/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”]
Wallaby watch
I have it on good authority that Wallaby coach Michael Cheika switched the TV off with ten minutes to go. Some say he had a tear in his eye.
It would be as difficult to nominate the best player in such a thrashing as it would be the worst, but Adam Coleman was decent at lineout time.
[/one_third]
Grinners are winners
THE DETAILS
Chiefs 53 (C. Ngatai 4, D. McKenzie 2, M. Leitch, T. Pulu, J. Lowe tries; D. McKenzie 3 cons, S. Donald con) def. Force 10 (B. Tapuai try; P. Grant pen, con)
Card:
55 min Angus Cotterell (Yellow)
