The Force outlasted the Bulls in greasy conditions at NIB stadium this evening.
The Match
If you had an English phrase book in your hand and the words “winning ugly” appeared, I think a photo from tonights game would tell you everything you need to know. It hasn’t rained in about five months in Perth, but tonight it did and pretty consistently too, which effectively killed any chance of this match featuring any attacking footy.
You could make a pretty strong argument that this was exactly the kind of game that the Bulls would traditionally relish. They’ve always had a big imposing pack, great set pieces, a nigh on unstoppable rolling maul and an expert kicker out of hand and off the tee. A team with those attributes would normally enter a game like this feeling very confident about their chances. The problem is that this Bulls team isn’t the power it once was. They’ve had some injury problems and their best forward was suspended for a silly piece of foul play from last week. The other issue for the visitors is that this Force team has a fair bit more steel in them than has previously been the case.
Things started off well enough for the Bulls though. They were able to keep the Force pinned in their own half for nearly 30 minutes of the first half. There was a lot of aerial ping pong being played and the visitors were doing it just that little bit better. They managed to pick up some points too, courtesy of a couple of penalties. Things then turned around when they made a few errors, mainly in receiving kicks, and got themselves into a bit of trouble with the referee. The Force duly capitalised through the accurate kicking of Sias Ebersohn and somehow the home side went into the break at 9-6. To their credit though, they stayed disciplined on defence, chased hard and kept returning the pressure to their opposition. It wasn’t very entertaining. but they were all sensible tactics in the conditions.
The second half was more of the same. The rain was still falling and the ball was still having the air punted out of it. The Force were able to win a couple more penalties at the breakdown and from offside infringements by the visitors and went 15-6 up. It has to be said that the home side had the rub of the green with Angus Gardner tonight. They got most of the 50/50 calls and Bulls captain Victor Matfield was pretty exasperated by the end. They were their own worst enemies at times though. Their five-eighth, Jacques-Louis Potgeiter, had a shocker. He made several handling errors, all of which put his team under pressure. They also weren’t particularly streetwise at the breakdown either and this something you cannot be against the Force, who have one of the competitions best back rows.
On thing that did stand out tonight, however, was the quality of the Bulls line out. They haven’t dropped their standards there and it was as imperious as ever. In fact, it was the only thing keeping them in the game, as they won several against the throw and were able to relieve pressure or put themselves in a position to score. There were a number of occasions when the Force had attacking lineouts and they turned the ball over. Why Willem Steenkamp didn’t make it onto the paddock escapes me, because he was exactly the kind of general needed out there when things weren’t going right. This isn’t to say that Coleman (in particular) or Wykes had poor games, far from it. Coleman is developing into a fine lock forward and testing himself against the best practitioner in world rugby in the modern era will help him in the long run. But Steenkamp would have steadied the ship, I feel, and put the game well out of reach.
There wasn’t a lot more to write home about in this game, other than a very tense last ten minutes when the Bulls threatened the Force line. The Force stuck to their defensive structures, however, and won a crucial ruck penalty right near the end to effectively end the contest. Arguably the better team won, but it was if I’m honest a pretty terrible game. Neither side really played any footy and the one who made marginally fewer errors was going to be the winner. In previous seasons the Force would have lost games like that, but tonight they stuck to the task and got the chocolates.
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The Game Changer
The penalty against Jacques du Plessis for an illegal cleanout. It was a brainless bit of footy when your team is hard up against the opposition goal line. The Force cleared and got out of jail.
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The G&GR MotM
Sias Ebersohn for his kicking alone. He kept the Force with their noses in front from about the 35 minute mark onward.
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Wallaby watch
Gus Cotterel had another workmanlike game in the loose and young Adam Coleman continues to develop.
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The Details
Force: 15 (Ebersohn 5 pens) defeated Bulls: 9 (Potgeiter 2, Pollard pens)
Yellow cards: None
Refereee: Angus Gardner
