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.
Oh well, a win’s a win and they’ll be pleased to get their South African leg off to a winning start. It looks like they’ll be meeting sterner opposition in the next few games.
Like last week, the Lions provided some spirited opposition and were still in the game until the 57th minute when a second Force try took them out of reach.
The first half in particular was very dull with a succession of penalty goals (four each by David Hill and Herkie Kruger) taking the score to 12-12 just before the break.
And then, in the 39th min, the Force came to life with a great break by Mark Bartholomeusz. Barty had replaced Cam Shepherd, who had a minor quad strain, in a late change prior to the start.
After a fair number of phases Spanner crossed unopposed for a five pointer. Converted by Hill, they led 19-12 at halftime.
It may have been a dull half but it was brightened up by both Hodgson and Van Heerden being yellow carded at different times for professional fouls.
The defence from both sides was fairly staunch in this half and was a factor in the restricted scoreline.
In the early stages of the 2nd half the Force were clearly the dominant side but just couldn’t penetrate. They were busy and there was lots of activity; however, none of it game breaking.
They became quite predictable especially with the angled inside run. I was getting a bit annoyed with Ryan Cross. He had a reasonable game but on about two or three occasions he should have passed the ball instead of running into players himself and some of those were try scoring opportunities.
A couple of good substitutions were made (Charles and McCalman) and at the 57 min mark Pek Cowan made a substantive break. After a couple of phases Hodgson put Hill into space with a great pass and he scored. 26-12 after the conversion.
The final try was scored by Barty in the 73 min after some more good phase work with Hill converting, leaving the final score at 33-12.
In total Hill scored 23 points, his kicking game was effective and he had a very productive game. He’s going to be missed.
In the forwards, you just can’t go past the international loose trio of Brown, Pocock and Hodgson. They were an absolute menace in all facets of the game and it’s hard to actually pick one out.
The stats say Hodgson topped the tackle count (16) and Pek Cowan the forward carries (7). Tucky Dunning had his best game for some time (and only one scrum penalty).
Sharpie’s Indian summer continues although I thought at one stage there might be a Stephen Hoiles moment coming with Referee Craig Joubert after he was penalised a few times. However, it was sorted and didn’t develop into anything.
In the backs Barty (112m) and Cummins (96m) topped the run metres and both looked sharp and penetrative. It was good to have the solid Spanner back and he made as many tackles as Izzy would during a normal match.
For the Lions, it’s 11 consecutive defeats to share that record with the 2002 Bulls and back to the drawing board. Baywatch Grobbelaar and Wickus Van Heerden (despite the sin binning) were their best forwards.
Actually Van Heerden is one of those special players: he was a Springbok and so was his Dad, the legendary hard man of the Seventies, Moaner Van Heerden.
Carlos Spencer had quite a good game at fullback and was as creative as the Force allowed him to be.
This was a workmanlike win for the Force but they’ll have to step up a gear to defeat the Cheetahs this weekend after their confidence building defeat of the Blues.
Western Force 33 (Staniforth, Hill, Bartholomeusz tries, Hill 3 cons, 4 pen) bt Lions 12 (Kruger 4 pen)
Wallabies Watch
Put his hand up: Richard Brown. Back to his best. Along with Bam Pocock and Matt Hodgson he was into everything and is gunning for a recall.
Did himself no favours: Cam Shepherd. He didn’t even make it onto the park with a quad injury ruling him out late in the piece. Another Daniel Heenan I’m afraid.
Bolter watch: Ben McCalman. He was on for 30 min and was very effective later in the match especially with his aggressive ball carries. There is much to like about this kid.
