The Western Force have finally gotten on the board at home in a tight one against the Crusaders
The Match
It was close and fairly tense contest all game and there were never more than a few points in it. The Force got off to a great start when they turned over a Crusaders ball and strung together a number of phases of direct forward play. Sam Norton-Knight scored under the posts, duly converted and it was 7-0 early on. They went 10-0 up not long afterwards from a penalty.
In the first quarter of the game the Force were actually fairly dominant in terms of field position and had plenty of the ball. They probed the Crusaders defence constantly, but were unable to break the line consistently.
The Crusaders gradually started to get back in the game and were rewarded for their sustained pressure in the 21st minute with a try to Luke Romano. Towards the end of the half they really stepped it up in attack and although the Force defence was up to the task, they were a constant threat.
The Force, however, did play with a directness, energy and verve that we’ve not seen from them in nearly any first half this season. They consistently got over the gain line, were enthusiastic in defence and accurate at the breakdown. There was a noticeable difference in game plan over previous weeks, in that they looked to kick in behind the defence quite a bit and look to secure field position. It didn’t always work, but there was at least the intent to play out of their own half.
Even with all that, they were a little lucky to be in front at the half. Some slick handling from the Crusaders opened up an opportunity for Israel Dagg to go over and it was only a monumental hit from Ed Stubbs that stopped him. That shut the movement down and there was a collective sigh of relief around the ground.
The second half was considerably more attritional, but the Force didn’t do themselves any favours by imploding several times in the set pieces. The scrum got worse over the course of the game and they were under constant pressure on their own feed. Referee Kaplan pinged them on a number of occasions and could have on a number of others too. The even more concerning part was the loss of some crucial ball and field position on their own lineout. It was a constant struggle for them to win clean first phase possession and this only made the job tougher.
The Crusaders, on the other hand, seemed to lift a gear and were piling on the pressure against the Force defence. I don’t have the stats handy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they won upwards of sixty percent of the ball in the second half, such was their dominance. They looked likely to score at any moment, given how quickly and accurately they were moving the ball.
The Force, however, scrapped hard and defended as though their lives depended on it. One thing they did well was to neutralise the main attacking weapons of the Crusaders in the form of Dagg and Fruen. Both players got their hands on the ball plenty of times, but were closely marked for the most part.
In the end it came down to a battle of wills and composure. For the first time this season (at home anyway) it was the Force who won that contest. They harassed and got up in the faces of the Crusaders and forced them into mistakes. There were some crucial hits made and contests at the breakdown that won the day for them. It’s not often you see a team tackle their way to victory, but tonight was one of those occasions.
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The Game Changer
Rory Walton’s injection into the game paid dividends, especially in the loose, and none more so than the penalty he won at the breakdown with about 10 minutes to go. The Force defence was on the rack and the Crusaders looked likely to score any minute. The penalty allowed momentary relief from the onslaught and probably instilled a bit of self-belief that they could close the game out.
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The G&GR MotM
The streakers! But seriously, there were several heroic performances on the night and Richard Brown was official man of the match, but I also thought Luke Romano would have been worthy. He had a very strong game in the set pieces and the loose.
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Wallaby watch
With no Force players making the initial 30 man Wallaby squad, you’d be forgiven for not thinking there was much to watch, but Kyle Godwin again showed excellent promise. He really has risen to the occasion this year.
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The Details
Force: 16 (Norton-Knight try; Hayward conv; Hayward 3 pens) defeated Crusaders: 14 (Romano try; Bleyendaal 3 pens)
Yellow cards: None
Refereee: Jonathan Kaplan
