Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Early-game Waratahs blitz too big a hurdle for Western Force

Alex Newsome. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

Video Spacer

Why rolling maul tries aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      Video Spacer

      Why rolling maul tries aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

      “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.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      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.

      Related

      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.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      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.

      Related

      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

      ADVERTISEMENT

      Classic Wallabies vs British & Irish Legends | First Match | Full Match Replay

      Did the Lions loosies get away with murder? And revisiting the Springboks lift | Whistle Watch

      The First Test, Visiting The Great Barrier Reef & Poetry with Pierre | Ep 6: The Ultimate Test

      KOKO Show | July 22nd | Full Throttle with Brisbane Test Review and Melbourne Preview

      New Zealand v South Africa | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

      USA vs England | Men's International | Full Match Replay

      France v Argentina | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

      Lions Share | Episode 4

      Trending on RugbyPass

      Comments

      0 Comments
      Be the first to comment...

      Join free and tell us what you really think!

      Sign up for free
      ADVERTISEMENT

      Latest Features

      Comments on RugbyPass

      J
      JW 41 minutes ago
      Leicester Fainga'anuku denied All Blacks eligibility for TRC

      I don’t get that. I got the opposite, this was something Lester really really wanted to do. NZR is not going to stop him doing that by putting ridiculous money in front of him (noted you were only asking for fair money).


      I wouldn’t say this was a Mo’unga or Frizell situation where there talent only was unlocked after they signed abroad, when Schmidt and Ryan came in respectively. LF was on a good trajectory, and he just decided he has the perfect window of opportunity to go abroad while he’s not first choice, learn and live in France to come back better and have a good shot at the perfect age. I think he recongised that.


      Agreed that our rotation has been off the the last decade, players have not been moved on when they should, but I wouldn’t include Rieko in that discussion, though I would accept he is more of a marketing than performance signing.


      Also agree it is a strange condunrum that results from the misalligned seasons, where Lester is straight into NPC in the same season almost. When really the ‘start’ of his contract is next year. Is he even going to be on the payroll at the moment? Could it be used as a double dip to encourage players back, a ‘bonus international season’ of match fees.


      But they also don’t want them to become anymore common. So perhaps everything is fine? Like I was alluding to with Toko, they would need multiple markers of their own in Top 14 for them to be able to gauge off. As I’ve said in previous articles I’d be comfortable to expand sabbaticals to 2 in every position (yes a huge change), so that the was a core group of 30 of the top players all aligned with the ABs and overseas at any one time. This would ensure there are good markers to correlate levels of performance amongst everyone. This is a very similar setup/size to South Africa. It is like the AB modem in a wider organism, the vets are shipped off much earlier, and the core of next cycle is brought through. No missing out on the JGPs or Aki’s, no the Antonio’s or young Patrick Tuifua’s to france, keeping the Chandler Cunningham-South’s or Roots brothers, evan this Dubious guy from the French team was playing rugby here in NZ and could have stayed with a more ground up focus on bringing players through, not paying them much etc lol

      45 Go to comments
      LONG READ
      LONG READ How the Lions' injury-dogged 'Jukebox' Tadhg Furlong is still producing great hits How the Lions' injury-dogged 'Jukebox' Tadhg Furlong is still producing great hits