‘They were world-class’: Two ex-Wallabies debate Western Force’s quality
Former Wallaby Justin Harrison has described the Western Force’s performance against the Brumbies in round three as “world-class” even though they fell to their third straight defeat.
With new recruits Nic White and Ben Donaldson bolstering the Force’s roster, the men from out west showed signs of promise during a decent run in a pre-season win over the Reds and a nail-biting defeat to the Brumbies.
But after a 30-point defeat to the Hurricanes in the opening round, followed by a tough defeat to the Rebels in Melbourne, the Force almost defied the odds on the road in Canberra.
Pitted up against Australia’s form Super Rugby side over the last few years, playmaker Ben Donaldson led the way as the Force ran up an early lead over their favoured opponents.
But it wasn’t to be in the end as the hosts rallied to record a 22-19 win at GIO Stadium which sees Stephen Larkham’s men ranked mid-table heading into the fourth round.
“They’re coming up against Moana who, they played well against the Fijian Drua,” ex-Wallaby Justin Harrison said on Stan Sports’ The Night Before Gameday.
“But the Force… the Western Force put together a very good gameplan to take on the Brumbies and upsetting them for large parts of that match. They were world-class.”
Second-half tries to Wallaby Rob Valetini and replacement Billy Pollard saw the Brumbies take a hard-fought lead, although the Force made things interesting late with a score in the 74th minute.
But when the full-time siren sounded, and the game was deemed over, it was the Brumbies who had escaped with a tough win – their second victory in three starts this season.
Dual international Mat Rogers, who was watching on the sidelines at the Canberra venue, offered a different point of view by saying the Force were “maybe a fraction” better than what their last-place ladder suggests.
“They were good but I look back at that game and I was sitting on the sideline, they were in the hunt,” Rogers said.
“I think I said to you, ‘these guys are right in this’ with 10 minutes to go.
“I looked across the field and I just didn’t see anyone really firing people up or getting the team motivated.
“Maybe a fraction, maybe a fraction,” when asked if they’re better than their last-place position suggests. “But you said it, losing is a habit.
“What I don’t want to see is a team that go, ‘Oh mate, we played well.’ Professional sport is black and white. You win or you lose.
“This game this weekend is very important for them to really go out, play well, get a good win, and take some confidence out of the last few weeks because if they don’t and they go out and lose this week, then all that three weeks of work is out the window.”
Latest Comments
All of these media pundits always miss the obvious whenever they analyse what is ailing or assisting the game. Rugby always has contentious points for debate when picking apart individual games and finding fault with itself. All this focus and scrutiny on “speeding up the game”, “high ball in play” etc is all contextual to the fan. As a tv viewer, if you’re absorbed into a game, regardless if your team is playing or not, more ball in play time and action are all byproducts of the contest. A good contest subliminally affects your memory in selectively remembering all the good aspects. A poor contest and your brain has switched off because its a blowout and the result is never in doubt or it’s a real chore to watch and remain engaged throughout. The URC, Top 14 and English premiership are all competitions that feel like there’s real jeopardy each week. The dominance of Super rugby by NZ teams was unhealthy from a sustainable interest perspective. You can’t fault those teams or the players, but the lack of competitions won by SA and Australian teams long term was always going to test the faith and patience of die-hard and casual fans from those regions. SANZAR took their eye off the fans and fans voted with their feet and subscriptions. They were so concerned about expanding their product they forgot the golden rule about broadcasting live sport. Viewers tune in more when there’s an atmosphere and a true contest. You need to fill stadiums to create one, host unions need to do more to service ticket buyers, and this year proves the other, there’s more interest in Super rugby this year only because more games are competitive with less foregone conclusions. All these micro statistics bandied about, only interest the bean counters and trainspotters.
Go to commentsIt’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
Go to comments