In a second week of disappointment, the Western Force have gone down to the new kids on the block the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.
The Match
It didn’t look too bad early on, as the Force played with purpose, some skill and intelligence. For most of the first half the visitors kept the ball in hand, moved it with relative accuracy and managed to get over the gain line on a regular basis. The Kings saw very little of the pill, though they did score a slightly fortunate try when a through-kick was partially charged down by Angus Cotterell and landed in the arms of Sergeal Petersen who ran almost untouched to the line.
The Force hit back with a couple of good tries to go ahead. The first came from sustained pressure through multiple phases of side-to-side ball movement and then the time-honoured method of a pick-and-drive in close, with Pek Cowan coming up with the chocolates. This was just reward for a fairly long period of retained possession and field position.
The second try came from some excellent coordinated forward play in the loose, with several phases of go-forward in the close channels followed by quick ruck ball and a couple of beautiful flat passes to put Alfie Mafi over in the corner. So far, so good. Had the Force kicked straight they could have been well in front at the break and for the second week in a row they came to rue their inaccuracy.
The second half saw the Kings get back into the game by applying pressure to the Force set pieces, and they won a number of penalties as a result. The accurate boot of Catrakilis kept the scoreboard ticking over and they eventually went ahead when when Petersen went over again. By contrast, the Force eschewed a number of opportunities to take shots at goal, as they appeared to have lost confidence in their kickers.
It has to be said that the Kings showed a good deal more composure and tactical nous than the Force in the second half as they got further ahead. The Force started to make some basic errors and lost their way bit, which has been a constant theme over the years. It must have been galling for Foley and co. to have a new team show them how to close out a tight game, because they were a lot smarter when it mattered.
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The Game Changer
The game changing moment was probably Hugh McMeniman’s yellow card. Not only did it cost the team points, but momentum. In the time he was off the paddock the Kings kept the scoreboard moving and the Force seemed to be a bit deflated. I didn’t think there was a lot wrong with the call from the referee either. The tackle Madness got binned for didn’t appear to be malicious, but it was at the very least clumsy. Having a tight forward off the field for any length of time is never a good thing and the team paid a fairly high price for it.
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The G&GR MotM
Sergeal Petersen was the official man of the match and that was probably fair enough, given his brace of tries, but I thought the young bloke playing five-eighth for the Kings, Demetri Catrakilis, had a great game. His goal kicking was accurate, but it was his field position game that stood out for me. The Kings spent long periods in Force territory in the second half and it was Catrakilis’s boot that really helped get them there.
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Wallaby watch
Not too many Force players stuck their hands up in this game, but certainly there would have been many eyes on Hugh McMeniman in his comeback and he was serviceable. Kyle Godwin was excellent in general play for the second week in a row, but he needs to work on his goal kicking.
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The Details
Kings: 22 (Petersen (2) tries; Catrakilis (4) pens) defeated Western Force: 10 (Cowan, Mafi tries)
Yellow cards: McMeniman (Western Force) – 53 min
Refereee: Lourens van der Merwe
