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Game 1, Western Force v Brumbies:
At Subiaco Oval
Crowd: 37,037.
Loss 10-25.
The Western Force entered Super 14 to the massive roar of a passionate Western Australian, Subiaco Oval crowd.
With numbers down a little from the projected record, the 37,037 present certainly made up for it with good voice and generally knowledgeable support.
Captain Nathan Sharpe was later quoted to say “Yes, we concentrate when we have to but it would be impossible to shut out a din like that our fans generated at Subiaco Oval last Friday night.”
Coach John Mitchell further commended the efforts of the crowd by stating it to be greater than he’d ever seen in New Zealand.
The match started with some promising signs for the Force with decent wins throughout the full lineout, with good variation of jumpers and lifters.
Young 5/8 Scott Daruda had a confidence settling 22 to beyond halfway clearance kick to relax some of the consistent Brumbies pressure.
Some of the excitement was relieved a little with a massive tackle by Captain Nathan Sharpe and the impressive Gareth Hardy on Brumbies Fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper which was unfortunately deemed to be illegal to undo the earlier good work.
The experienced warhorse John Welborn soon came to the fore to ensure George Smith was well aware that the Force would not be taking a backward step in the aggression department. The short scuffle went largely unnoticed by the crowd and officials however it was a sure indication that Welborn is not playing out a retirement plan and is playing for keeps on home turf.
Several phases latter a chip kick from Outside Centre, Junior Pelesasa, showed the first signs of the promised expansive Mitchell game plan.
The game halted briefly when Jeremy Paul showed the first signs of a reoccurrence to his damaged right calf. This would inevitably lead to his early substitution and resultant lay off for several weeks to come.
The first of several lost opportunities occurred when good ball was crashed up by Pelesasa rather than flicked on to his waiting Winger. This would become somewhat of a theme on the night and Mitchell will be sure to be addressing this issue in the next few weeks.
On this occasion the second phase ball was swung back to the right for Sharpe to give away a penalty for not releasing. Small turnovers like this would inevitably demonstrate the difference between the two teams on the night.
Winger Digby Ioane showed some signs of commendable strength during the night and no more so than in milking a penalty deep in defence through pure leg strength and dogged determination.
Another turnover from a Pelesasa hit up provided the Brumbies with their first open attacking move which broke down only a few meters short of the Force try line.
Finally the moment that many of us were waiting for had come, the first Western Force scrum in Super 14!
In a huge win for Force Tighthead David Fitter, after several resets, he forced ex team mate Bill Young to give away a penalty for collapsing the scrum.
The Force showed in this first engagement and throughout the night good body height and position and as forecast this should prove a valuable tool this season.
While the penalty kick gave some respite the quick lineout proved a killer on this and several other occasions for the bigger Force forwards.
The match appeared to be going through the motions for a period until Force Number 8, Scott Fava, made a strong hit up from a penalty tap catching the Brumbies defence by surprise. Half Back Matt Henjak kept the movement flowing with a decent chip kick through the line and soon after Pelesasa came very to busting through with a strong fend on Brumbies legend Stephen Larkham, only to lose his footing as the field opened up in front.
Again, around the fifteen minute mark Force Full Back, James Hilgendorf, gave an impressive chip and chase only to have the movement closed down by the seasoned Brumbies defence.
Ioane was continuing to be strong in defence and attack with some timely tackles and passes.
Unfortunately Henjak had what could only be described as a forgettable ten to fifteen minutes with a shotgun array of passes to Daruda stymieing any chance of keeping the Force on the front foot.
During this period Daruda attempted a long range penalty goal which was a commendable effort that just faded to the right at the sticks.
Henjaks’ woes continued and was only highlighted a couple of slick passes from the ruck base by the lurking Hardy!
A wide pass from Henjak was well read by former teammate and Brumbies Second Rower Mark Chisholm who re-gathered his tap forward and sprinted to the line for the first points of the match. Unfortunately Hilgendorf tripped over the fallen Brumbies debutant Daniel Heenan and was not able to assist Inside Centre Lachlan McKay in felling the rampaging Chisholm.
Brumbies 5-0.
Brumbies kicker Stirling Mortlock missed the conversion.
Sharpe had some good impact in the lineout throughout the match however he was also unfortunately fairly expensive in getting caught to often.
Several of the following Force backline moves were disrupted by a “fast” Brumbies rush defence and not allowing enough room to execute the moves across the park.
An interesting aspect to observe was the amount of time that Henjak spent covering on either of the Wings. Unfortunately he was found out on at least one occasion when he absolutely choked an easy mark to continue to mount pressure on the Force line.
The Force rallied to some fantastic resolve in repelling a Jeremy Paul penalty tap rush on their own line. The ball traveled right across the field and following a few Force mistakes Mortlock had the opportunity to put the Brumbies further ahead.
Brumbies 8-0.
The next few minutes were highlighted by some crashing Staniforth tackles but an apparent inability to get the ball to the Wings in attack.
With the deafening noise from the supportive crowd continuing some were left to ponder if the calls just weren’t getting through?
Some respite came with an opportunity for Daruda to open the scoring for the Force which he converted with a strong kick to go into the record books.
Brumbies 8-3.
Ioane continued his strong match following the restart and Daruda seemed to be more at ease with his pivotal role.
In the phases following the Yellow Carding of Brumbies Julian Salvi, the Force builds momentum and the end result is great kick through the line for touch providing the first real opportunity in the Brumbies twenty two.
Unfortunately the basics let the Force down again by having too many people in the lineout to give away a short arm penalty to allow the Brumbies to clear the red zone.
The Force then had a sloppy lineout with George Smith taking it uncontested at the back and charging forward to set up a slick series of Brumbies back line moves.
A desperate Hilgendorf tackle stopped the flow right on the Force try line and a two meter pick and drive by Welborn supported by Cannon secured the ball for the touch finder by Pelesasa.
Much of the time during the extra man advantage was spent stuck within our own twenty two Scott Staniforth toed a loose ball through the Brumbies line with a Brumby knock on allowing the Force a rare attacking scrum.
The momentum kept the Force moving forward although the advantage was given away by a stab kick into touch.
Meanwhile in back play MacKay was down having sustained a probable season ending torn medial ligament in his right knee.
MacKay was replaced by League convert Josh Graham and Richard Brown came on for Fava who spent the final minutes of the half in the blood bin.
On the restart a rare mistake from Larkham gave the Force a final use of the ball however the acting half had his arm slapped on the pass from the ruck and Brumbies went back on the offensive.
The half concluded with a last ditch burst from Ioane but eventuated in a turnover to end the period.
Half Time: Brumbies 8- Force 3.
With Fava back from the blood bin, the second half started out badly with another turnover from a Sharpe hit up however, there was some very commendable work from Force Blindside Luke Doherty, Staniforth and Hardy.
Salvi returned from his yellow carding without the Force having done any damage to the Brumbies lead.
And then the moment the Subiaco masses had been waiting for, after several minutes of pressure on the Brumbies defence Hilgendorf made the break with a slicing dash through the Brumbies line on a Henjak pass from the third phase, having started with a lineout on the halfway line.
On the Brumbies ten meter line Hilgendorf delivered the pass to Ioane in the tackle. Ioane in turn crashed up another ten meters and popped the pass in the tackle to Hodgson who immediately passed further out to Henjak. Henjak found Fava storming through on the inside and Scott Fava sprinted untouched till the tryline to be the first official try scorer for the Western Force.
From the original lineout on half way there were thirteen Force players who handled the ball and by any measure it was a great try, coming from general team pressure over several minutes.
The key, compared to the many other attacks through the night, was that on this occasion the Force players were able to keep their arms free in the tackle and were prepared to off load as they went to ground. Hodgson’s role was possibly the most crucial, receiving the ball, getting tackled and giving a bullet like off load to Henjak in the space of two seconds! Prior to where the highlights footage started there are also some vital pick and drives by the tight five following the lineout to keep the momentum going and Fava showed just what a danger he is at this level to be in the right place with the speed to finish it off.
A final observation would be that compared to last years competition average of three phases per try, this was a five phase try not counting the passes in the tackle and came from first phase on half way. I would see this to be very promising for the future once the basics are a given for the team.
Force-8, Brumbies- 8
Daruda stepped up to the plate and quickly converted the try to get the Force to a lead and with the potential to create an upset. The crowd went berserk and you would think the stadium will be in peril when the Force wins a home game!
Force- 10-8
From the restart things started to go off the rails for the Force as the experienced core group of the Brumbies began to take charge.
In the 49th minute Josh Graham was knocked out before hitting the ground from a massive tackle on Mark Gerrard.
With two big men (102kg v 97kg!) hitting at full speed something had to give and unfortunately for Graham and the Force backline he had to be carried from the ground.
The long delay while the medical staff did their job was quoted by players after the game as having taken their mind off the job as they worried for their friend.
This will be a valuable lesson for the players and team leaders as, unfortunately, it is bound to happen again in this brutal competition.
Given his time over I’m sure Captain Sharpe would have gathered his team together much more quickly to ensure that all the players stayed focused on the task at hand. As it was the team was left largely to their own devices and to ponder if it could be them getting loaded onto the meat wagon next.
Cameron Shepherd came on to replace Graham.
Really, the rest of the match had few highlights for the Force to take away to build on.
An opportunity was again missed when Blindside Flanker Luke Doherty swooped on a loose ball from a Brumbies lineout but the ball was again coughed up ten meters short and the Brumbies back was able to clear effectively.
Also notable was a strong Henjak tackle on the impressive Brumbies replacement Jone Tewake.
Deep in defence of a Larkham cross kick Hilgendorf rushed his decision and chipped the ball into touch, unfortunately if he had roosted it down field the Force would have found the Brumbies in all sorts of defensive trouble and quite possibly could have gone over for their second in ten minutes.
As it was, soon after the Force gained the lead the Brumbies fired back with two quick converted tries to take the initiative away from the home side.
Brumbies 15-10, Joel Wilson Try, Mortlock Conversion.
Te Moana for Fitter
McIsaac for Cannon.
Brumbies 22-10, Matt Giteau Try, Mortlock Conversion.
Basically inexperience resulted in Mortlock taking the final penalty shot on goal to see the game end as a contest.
Brumbies 25-10.
There were some small windows of opportunity of the Force in the final minutes as a few gaps opened up in the tiring defence of the Brumbies but none were capitalised on.
Richard Brown for Hodgson.
The final opportunity to get back in the match with enough time on the clock was five metres out from the Brumbies line when Smith got away with a deliberate penalty to help relieve the pressure for the visitors yet again.
Brown ended the match with some promising work and Staniforth was the standout for the finals minutes.
Chris O’Young for Henjak.
Ironically the Force ended with one of their best periods of play after the final siren had sounded and for an ounce of the luck that had alluded them all night should have been over in the corner after several phases of strong work.
Alas, it was not to be and the Western Force went down in their first match in Super 14.
Full Time: Brumbies 25-10
In summary, the Force made far too many soft turnovers and mistakes for this level of rugby. At times when things worked they worked very well however, unfortunately this was far too rarely to ever be a serious threat to the Brumbies.
In fairness, the loss of their two Inside Centres proved to be a big blow and mentally the image of Josh Graham lying prone on the ground did not help matters at all.
Possibly the biggest concern was the regular failure to make the gain line and was compounded by the erratic service by Henjak at Halfback.
I’m a strong believer in “you make your own luck” however throughout the match the Force just could not take a trick.
Positives to take from the match for the Force were, a strong first pick scrum platform with a couple of issues once the reserves came on, good work in many of the lineouts including some disruption on the Brumbies throw, the spark of Ioane, Hilgendorf and Fava to break the line and poise of Daruda at this level even when presented with some very ordinary ball.
The defensive patterns on multi phase ball, especially in the Centres, needs a great deal of work and too many tackles were broken in that area as well.
All in all it was a match that could have been closer however the Brumbies basically always had the result covered and certainly finished the stronger of the two teams.
For the Force the entire twenty two have now experienced rugby at this level and it is now onward and upward from here.
With all the pressures of the inaugural match out of the way the Force now head of to face the Hurricanes in New Zealand.
On paper, considering the player loses from this match, the Force will be in for a torrid time against one of the favourites for the season.
Inaugural Western Force Squad
10th February, 2006.
v Brumbies.
1. Gareth Hardy
2. Brendan Cannon
3. David Fitter
4. John Welborn
5. Nathan Sharpe (c).
6. Luke Doherty
7. Matt Hodgson
8. Scott Fava (vc)
9. Matt Henjak
10. Scott Daruda
11. Digby Ioane
12. Lachlan MacKay
13. Junior Pelesasa
14. Scott Staniforth
15. James Hilgendorf
16. Tai McIsaac
17. David Te Moana
18. David Pusey
19. Richard Brown
20. Chris O'Young
21. Josh Graham
22. Cameron Shepherd
Best Players:
5 Gareth Hardy
4 Digby Ioane
3 Scott Fava
2 James Hilgendorf
1 Scott Staniforth
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