The Force made it five wins in a row with a tough win against the Waratahs in Perth tonight.
The Match
All the lead up to this game suggested that it would be tough, attritional footy and that proved to be the case. With the players out for the Tahs, they certainly lacked some attacking sparkle and the injuries sustained during the game for the Force didn’t help them either. Not that the game lacked any excitement, with that said.
The early exchanges were brutal, with two mean packs attempting to smash each other at every available opportunity. The collisions were very willing indeed and the Tahs pack had obviously come into the game with the intention of trying to establish early physical superiority before spreading the ball. The problem for them was that the Force pack had precisely the same idea. At times it was like watching two rocket powered D9 ‘dozers crashing into each other. It was actually great to watch, because there was no quarter given by either side and you could almost feel the hits from the stands.
The Force found themselves on the wrong side of the referee in the first quarter and gave up some points, as well a stern warning that any more would lead to someone going to the bin. During this phase of the game the Tahs were looking fairly dangerous on attack through the midfield and seemed to have all the possession. The Force, however, were able to scramble valiantly and constantly put pressure on at the breakdown. This in turn won them a number of penalties and got them on the score board.
From then until the half the pattern was fairly similar: the Tahs would mount an attack and the Force defence would smash them backwards. The big Tah forwards would try and impose themselves on the game and the Force would blunt them and then return with interest. It was gripping stuff, because it was your classic irresistible force (pardon the pun) meeting an immovable object.
At the end of one these epic clashes was match turning moment. The Tahs were hard on attack and looked likely to score at any moment, when Nick Phipps threw a wide pass that Nick Cummins intercepted to run the length of the field and dot down under the posts (bonus points for the hand shake of the spectator after scoring too I might add). It was touch and go for offside (and was indeed reviewed) but the TMO ruled it was OK and the try stood. That seemed to change the game entirely, because you felt it lifted the Force and gave them the belief that they could do better than just try and hang on. As it was, they scored off Ebersohn’s boot again and went into the half at 13-9 up.
The second half was just like the first, but if anything the defensive pressure was even greater. The Force started to get on top at the breakdown too. It might have been different, however, had the Tahs “try” not long after half time been allowed and not ruled as obstruction. I thought it was a fifty-fifty call and a great backline move, but not to be for the visitors. It was another one of those moments that the home side could have been under enormous pressure but somehow wriggled their way out of.
Not long after this incident, the Force scored their second try. A brilliant snipe from the ruck base by Alby Matthewson set up Cummins for his second and all of a sudden you could feel the tide turning. The Force stepped up the heat in the collisions and the Tahs just couldn’t get any fluidity in attack. Now part of this was a litany of handling errors on their part, but they were also be constantly harassed by the Force defence. There was absolutely no let up in the physical pressure. The home side just kept smashing into the visitors until they got sick of it. A few of the big boys in the Tahs pack started to walk a bit too. It wasn’t end to end stuff, but it would have been tiring. Every metre gained was hard earned and in spite of an alarming injury list, the Force were able to keep their defensive shape together.
Another wayward ball from a disappointing Kurtley Beale gifted Cummins his third try of the night. It typified the Tahs attack for most of the game. They had plenty of the pill but seemed to drop it at crucial moments, lose it in contact or pass it forward. I don’t know what the error rate was but it would have been high by their standards. They clearly missed trailing runners receiving short balls in the tackle and spent far too much of the night going laterally instead of forward. The pressure and mistakes just mounted and they were a frustrated and dispirited bunch by the end. I’d also suggest that they might want to think about how they handle the referee in the coming weeks, because they’ll do themselves no favours if they carry on like they did tonight.
For the home side, it was another gutsy and tradesmanlike performance. They play so hard for each other now and seem to run games out better than they used to. In previous seasons I think the Force would have lost a game like this, but tonight they just seemed to dig deeper a commit to smashing in even harder. There’s a lot to admire in an approach like that. They’re a pretty unfashionable bunch, the Force, but with every win they’ve built more belief in themselves and their systems and that makes them an even tougher proposition.
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The Game Changer
Without question the intercept try in the first half. The Tahs could easily have scored in that phase but the fact that they didn’t gave the home side some much needed momentum.
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The G&GR MotM
Gotta be the Honey Badger doesn’t it? Three big slabs of meat (off the bone) and a generally industrious performance. Special mention again to Matt Hodgson, who was heroic at the breakdown.
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Wallaby watch
I think the Badger might have answered a few critics tonight and firmed his chances of starting against the French.
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The Details
Force: 28 (Cummins 3 tries; Ebersohn 2 conv; Ebersohn 3 pens) defeated Waratahs: 16 (Beale try; Foley conv; Foley pen, Beale 2 pens)
Yellow cards: None
Refereee: Angus Gardner
