Early-game Waratahs blitz too big a hurdle for Western Force
The NSW Waratahs have produced the hottest of starts to set up a 41-24 win over a depleted Western Force in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at Perth’s HBF Park.
The Force trailed 22-0 in the 14th minute on Saturday night after conceding three quick tries.
It followed on from similar early flops against the Rebels and Brumbies in recent weeks – with both of those matches ending in one-point losses.
Force stand-in skipper Kyle Godwin said the team needed to fix their poor starts.
“It seems to be the same story for us unfortunately,” Godwin told Stan.
NSW were forced to defend for long periods after their early onslaught, but the foundations they laid were enough to secure the six-tries-to-four victory.
The Force were dealt several late blows before the match, with captain Feleti Kaitu’u (calf), Jeremy Thrush (soreness), Bayley Kuenzle (gastro), and Toni Pulu (concussion) all ruled out before kick-off.
Their withdrawals compounded the losses of Wallabies enforcer Izack Rodda and scrumhalf Issak Fines-Leleiwasa to the Covid-19 health and safety protocols, with coach Tim Sampson also forced into isolation after being deemed a close contact.
The Force certainly started the match like a team in disarray.
Waratahs winger Mark Nawaqanitawase picked off an attempted cut-out pass from Force scrumhalf Ian Prior before sprinting 58m to the line for the first try.
Inside centre Lalakai Foketi crossed for the team’s second try in the 10th minute following a smart break from Waratahs flyhalf Tane Edmed.
And the Force’s ineptitude was clearly on display in the 14th minute when Waratahs flanker Michael Hooper picked the ball up from a breakdown and waltzed through two defenders for the easiest of tries.
Trailing 24-0, the Force finally clicked into gear.
A barging run from Force winger Manasa Mataele in which he took on three tacklers before popping up a pass while lying on the ground helped set up a try to flyhalf Reesjan Pasitoa in the 20th minute.
The Waratahs defended 26 consecutive phases during a tiring three-minute period to deny the Force a second try before half-time.
But Force forward Tim Anstee crossed four minutes after the restart to reduce the margin to 12 points.
The teams traded rolling maul tries, but a yellow card to Pasitoa for a cynical foul proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Force.
Waratahs speedster Alex Newsome crossed twice in the space of four minutes while Pasitoa was off, extending the margin to 41-19.
NSW were reduced to 13 men when Mahe Vailanu and Foketi received yellow cards in quick succession, with a try to Pasitoa meaning the Waratahs needed to score another try themselves in order to regain the bonus point.
Nawaqanitawase thought he achieved it after picking off a Force pass and racing towards the line after the final siren.
The winger dropped the ball during the intercept, but instead of it hitting the ground, it struck his boot.
However, the referee ruled it was a knock-on.
“That’s tough for us, we thought it came off the foot,” Waratahs forward Charlie Gamble said.
“We lost that crucial bonus point. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to bite us in the end.”
– Justin Chadwick
Comments on RugbyPass
ABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
225 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
225 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to comments