Western Force secure vital bonus point against Reds
B]STATISTICIANS would have had to go back a long way to find the last time the Force kept a side scoreless in 40 minutes of Super rugby. Back to 2007, in fact.[/B]
The Force, then, beat the Cheetahs and Stormers 45-17 and 22-3 respectively.
More importantly the statisticians will be able to record that the Force grabbed a bonus point to keep their hopes alive in last night's 39-7 win over the Queensland Reds.
The previous three clashes between the two sides have resulted in the home team winning. The Force notched the comprehensive fourth win in that saga on Friday night.
The home side played some exciting rugby when it needed to, especially when little men Matt Giteau and James O'Connor opened up.
The Reds' much vaunted running game was halted by some strong defence and the visitors were forced to rumble the ball through the forwards or play in the Force half from kicks.
A late first period passing revival only led to more errors by the Reds after consistent pressure from the home side.
The Force, once nicknamed Queensland 'B' by former Reds coach Eddie Jones, had 10 players with Queensland links in the side.
But there was no happy homecoming to Perth for former Force favourite Digby Ioane, despite having plenty of attacking opportunities.
Within three minutes he showed what the Force lost when he walked out on them with a scything, stepping run that fortunately, for his former side, ended with a poor pass from the flying centre.
His second attempt at rounding the defence had him herded to the sideline and taken into touch by Nick Cummins who also pulled off a couple of try saving tackles on Reds winger Blair Connor in the second half.
Ioane looked sore after a midfield crunch by a couple of defenders and he was also involved in probably the key moment of the first half.
On the siren he jinked and jived in front of the try line but when he made his plunge was held up over the line to ironic cheers.
And while his handling may have improved, Ioane showed he is still not overly fond of passing.
Berrick Barnes went wide with a drop goal attempt after 10 minutes before Giteau put the Force ahead with a penalty on 18 minutes when the Reds were caught offside.
Ninety seconds later O'Connor exhibited a flash of brilliance, sending Ioane the wrong way, pushing off Mark McLinden and speeding through the gap. Giteau converted.
It was O'Connor's third try of the year and the first try the Force had scored in a first half for four games.
Force fans hoped the try would unlock the scoring door but it took until the 31st minute for Drew Mitchell to slice past a couple of defenders and touch down under the posts. Giteau added the two points.
Giteau slotted his second penalty after four minutes of the re-start and, while Scott Higginbotham was sent to the sin-bin, Tamaiti Horua crashed over after a break from David Pocock.
The vital fourth try for a bonus point came with eight minutes left through Ryan Cross who sprinted to the corner after being put away by Giteau who missed the conversion.
Reds winger Blair Connor grabbed a late consolation try with Brendan McKibbin converting but even that brought little relief with Haig Sare breaking three tackles for a try after the siren. O'Connor converted.
Force captain Nathan Sharpe said after the game his side had worked hard and got its just rewards.
"We put up our hands tonight...certainly enjoyed that one....disappointed we let them in for a try at the end but we'll take that," Sharpe said.
Force coach John Mitchell said his side's pressure and ability to capitalise on Reds errors led to the win.
"It was a great effort by the boys. Physically they were right up. You could see that in the defence," Mitchell said.
"They created an enormous amount of turnover and I thought we scrummed really well.
"The building blocks have been there all along. It was just the element of trying to finish.
"We were a bit annoyed with ourselves letting in the try.
"There was a lot of pride shown tonight in the Western Force jumper."
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...55-948,00.html
