In a game that was in turns an attritional struggle, a scrappy mistake riddled affair and occasionally a bit exciting, the Tahs survived a late surge by the Force to get over the line 23-18.
The game opened up with both teams playing the kind of game we’ve come to expect this season: the Force kicking for field position and trying to play the game out of their half and the Tahs using their pack to gain metres around the fringes and spreading the ball a bit more in the later phases. It was the Tahs who scored first on something that is a bit of a rarity for them, in the form of a quick and lethal counter attack. Tom Kingston was on the end of a very well executed break from deep in their own half and he took his chance very well. He’s quietly developing into quite a player and one to watch for the future. Added to this was a period of sustained pressure right before half time when the Tahs really should have scored again, such was their dominance, especially as they had a numerical advantage due to Salesi Ma’afu being binned for dropping the scrum. They were all over the Force like an ill-fitting shirt and ought to have cashed in more.
The second half started well, however, when Dave Dennis scored a very soft try from a lineout, but more on that later. It was symptomatic of a couple of things that killed the Force tonight. They went to sleep on a couple of occasions, leading to a try in at least one case. The other was their handling. It was at times poor during crucial moments of the game when they were either hard on attack or attempting to make a break. Had they managed to hang on to the pill a bit more they could well have burgled this game. One interesting experiment, however, was the late change of Dave Harvey to five-eighth. I thought this was a good call by Richard Graham, as 10 is Harvey’s natural position. He did enough to suggest that this might be worth persevering with.
Another thing that was noticeable was the general superiority of the Tahs forward play, especially in the scrum. Now it’s not news that the Tahs have one of the more capable packs in the competition, but the way they beat the Force’s forwards in the tight stuff was particularly noteworthy. If they can do a bit more of that this season I suspect they will meet with some more success.
Something that will worry the Tahs management and conversely hearten the Force was 20 to 30 minute period of the second half when the Force appeared to get on top and indeed get in front. They played with greater urgency and more dynamism than had been the case in the first stanza. As with other times this season when they’ve threatened, they relied on quick ball from the breakdown and got it in the hands of Nick Cummins rapidly. He was a constant threat tonight and I thought comfortably won his battle with Rob Horne. Unfortunately, the effort couldn’t be sustained and the cool head of Berrick Barnes stepped up and steadied things for the visitors with a couple of penalties. The Tahs in the end played the smarter footy for most of the game and did the right things at the right moments.
It was another case of one that got away for the Force and one that the Tahs will be relieved to have won.
The Result
Waratahs 23 (Kingston, Dennis tries; McKibbin 2 convs; McKibbin 1, Barnes 2 pens) beat Force 18 (Sheehan, Mafi tries; Harvey conv; Harvey 2 pens)
Ref: Glen Jackson
The Damage
Nothing of any note that I could see. The substitutions were nearly all tactical.
The Moment
Dave Dennis scoring right after half time was the big moment in the game. The Force were napping and a man short in the lineout. The Tahs took full advantage and threw a short ball to their blindside and he galloped over untouched. That put them 17-3 and could have killed the game stone dead as a contest. Credit to the Force for clawing their way back, but this moment of inattention meant they were having to chase the game that much more for the rest of the half.
The Man
The ground announcer had Pocock as man of the match, but I didn’t think there were too many standout individual players tonight. If pushed I would have given the gong to Tatafu Polota-Nau, as he was part of a front row that frequently demolished the Force scrum and was generally good in the loose. He does a lot of work at the breakdown that probably goes a little unnoticed, as well as his more eye-catching roles as a tackler and ball runner. He was capable in all of those departments in this game.
The Talking Point
The breakdown again. It was a brawl for the most part and it wasn’t really one side in particular. The was the requisite entering from the side, flopping over the ball and not releasing the tackler. It really was a mess and many penalties were handed out. Eventually it led to Bernard Foley being binned, but there could well have been others too.
