The House of Pain on Friday was not kind to the Highlanders. A win would have given them a boost to their finals run and had them edging the Top 6, on equal points with the Bulls.
It was the last ever Super Rugby game to be played at the famous Carisbrook venue and they finished it with a loss. It seems the Clan are the Force’s bogey bitch!
This was their fourth consecutive win against the Highlanders. And what about that friggin’ awful lime green snot jumper? I think I’m gonna puke….
In a weekend of a few upsets (think Chiefs v. Blues and Brumbies v. Reds), the Force were down 3–14 at halftime but burst back in the second half scoring eighteen unanswered points for a 21–14 win.
This win was extra gutsy for a variety of reasons. First, the injury toll has been heavy with O’Connor, Ripia, Sheehan and Fairbanks out of action. Second, Cameron Shepherd was a late withdrawal, which forced Paddy Dellit to switch to fullback and brought Mitch Inman off the bench to outside centre.
Third, James Stannard received a yellow card in the first half for holding back Siale Piutau without the ball. Fortunately, the only detriment incurred whilst he was languishing in the naughty chair was a three point penalty goal. And fourth, they really weren’t expected to win against a side that is (or was) Top 6 material.
The turning point to this game was probably early in the second half, when a Highlanders ball close to the Force line was projected back from Matt Hodgson’s scone after a Piutau pass, and No. 8 Nasi Manu did a Paris Hilton (i.e. scored). The referee called it a knock-on and the Force got off the hook.
It was round about this time that the Force started to gain some dominance and the Big Mo’. In fact, in the last 20 minutes of the match it was effectively all Force.
This is when David Smith scored two successive tries. The first came about after the Force hammered at the Clan goal line with Smith entering from the opposite wing to outpace Adam Thomson to score.
The second was a brilliant individual dash to the line from 55 metres out. He bamboozled them with pace and deception, running around a few forwards and the fullback. Probably one of the best tries of their season.
The other good piece of news was that James Stannard had his kicking boots on and slotted 4 out of 5 (goals and conversions). In the last two matches Stannard has looked to be the best five-eighth they’ve got. He takes on the line, is evasive and seems to know how to run a game. I’d keep him there.
His insider, Mark Swanepoel, provides clean and fast service (most of the time) and if I was the coach, there could be a changing of the guard. This is one of the elements that’s been missing.
Actually, I’d probably give Willie Ripia a go at fullback, where he’s played before, when he’s back from injury or if he’s still around next year.
The Highlanders’ only try was scored in the first half by Ben Smith. It was created from a beautiful Jimmy Cowan kick well inside his own territory that forced David Smith to kick out 5 metres from his own line. The resultant lineout win by the Highlanders had Smith gliding through to score.
The defensive effort put in by the Force was terrific. Both Matt Hodgson and Bam Pocock were the pick of the bunch (18 and 17 tackles respectively). Hodgo topped the run count as well with 17.
Another to impress was one who just normally goes about his business in a workmanlike way, but Kieran Longbottom probably had his finest Force game to date and isn’t that great for a local product? In the backs, Rory Sidey worked his backside off in addition to the halves.
I thought that Richard Brown and the Honey Badger both injected plenty of grunt off the banch when it was needed.
For the Highlanders, Adam Thomson and Jared Hoeata both made 20-plus tackles and the former was his usual nuisance self. For Ben Smith at fullback, his form this year has been outstanding and you’d think he’ll be back in the All Black squad.
“It was nice to come here and not play like schoolboys” quipped Captain Nathan Sharpe after the match.
“We certainly showed wonderful character, I don’t think that has ever been brought into question amongst this group, but tonight they were rewarded for their efforts,” coach Woody Graham said. “I’m incredibly proud of this group,” he added.
I think that after the past two games the Force might consider themselves a chance now against a potentially vulnerable Reds in Perth next weekend.
Western Force 21 (Tries: David Smith 2; Conv: James Stannard; Pen: Stannard 3) Highlanders 14 (Tries: Ben Smith; Pen: Lima Sopoaga 3)
