The Western Force went down in another heartbreaker at Loftus to the Bulls on Saturday night
The Match
In a game that, if we’re honest, wasn’t a terrific spectacle the Force got in front during the last quarter of the game only to be denied by two late tries. Early on it looked like the Bulls would run away with it fairly comfortably. The Force couldn’t get their hands on the pill in the early going and things looked ominous. Whilst it wasn’t vintage Bulls rugby, they were using their powerful set piece and early security at the breakdown to scarcely give the visitors a sniff. Their first try was a result of good line out ball off the top, crisp passing to the midfield and a quality offload in the tackle. Add that to a couple of poor reads in defence and Morne Steyn went over.
The Force did eventually get on the score board courtesy of some good lead up play by Nick Cummins, securing a midfield bomb which allowed debutante Sias Ebersohn to slot a drop goal. Ebersohn was solid with ball in hand in general play, but very good with the boot throughout and I think we got a glimpse of what the Force were missing in the first couple of weeks. Things could well have been different had his goal kicking been utilised.
The only real issue with picking him against the Bulls was the fact that the game degenerated at times into a tactical kicking duel, which the Bulls usually won. There was a lack of dynamism at times in the midfield, which may have influenced the decision to put the ball on the boot a bit more than they’ve been doing in the first couple of rounds. The problem came, however, with the fact that the Force lineout got the wobbles again. Now the Bulls, even without Matfield, have always had a strong lineout but the job gets even harder if they are gifted possession.
One thing you don’t do with the men from Pretoria, even when they aren’t playing that well (and in all honesty they didn’t on Saturday) is allow them clean ball from a set piece where they can bring their big pack into play. There were several times when they got a powerful rolling maul going and the Force found it nearly impossible to defend without infringing. Indeed, the game defining moment was Cook’s try from precisely that kind of move.
With all of that said, the visitors hung in and scrapped hard as we have become accustomed to seeing. They defended brilliantly at times, though there have been some worrying signs in the midfield. Cottrell’s try was an example of that when he took an intercept from Steyn’s wide ball. It was a good read and a poor pass, but it put the Force back in front. Things were looking even better when Toby Lynn scored from a sequence that started with a crafty lineout move and some good follow up phase play in close.
At this point the crowd started to go a bit quiet and added to that the Force were getting on top at the breakdown (by fair means and foul). Chris Alcock injected some dynamism both on defence and attack and the Bulls would have been a bit worried. They turned the game around, however, after winning a penalty when Nick Cummins entered a maul from the side. They then backed their lineout and maul again and scored. That seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visitors and the Bulls ended up winning with a bonus point.
The Force though can be much happier with how they played this week and nobody would have given them any chance of winning at Loftus. They should plenty of courage and heart and some performances of a few individuals suggest they’ll continue to improve. What they seem to lack at the moment is a bit of polish on attack (though it is better than last year) and the composure to close out the tight games.
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The Game Changer
The key moment for me was the catch and drive from the lineout in the 71st minute that led to Jean Cook’s try. The Force had just been penalised and the Bulls stepped it up a gear in the tight stuff. They gained huge momentum from that moment and were never headed after that.
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The G&GR MotM
There weren’t really any stand out players in the game, but I think you’d give it to one of the Bulls tight forwards, as they provided the grunt required in the key moments. Arno Botha would be my MOTM.
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Wallaby watch
It was good to see Madness smashing into blokes and returning to the kind of form that might see him come into Wallaby contention later in the year.
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The Details
Bulls: 36 (Steyn, Mastriet, Cook, Kruger tries; Steyn 2 cons; Steyn 4 pens) defeated Western Force: 26 (Cottrell, Lynn tries; Ebersohn 2 cons; Ebersohn 2 dg; Ebersohn 2 pen)
Yellow cards: None
Refereee: Jason Jaftha
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