FORCE FALL TO TAHS IN TRIAL
he Emirates Western Force will be better prepared for their round one clash against the Reds in just over a week after a tough trial match hit-out against the Waratahs in Nowra on Thursday night.
Coach Richard Graham praised the intensity and physicality shown by his side but also identified a number of areas to tidy up in their final week of preparations after going down 38-22 to the Tahs.
Coaching staff made a number of changes to the side that defeated the Barbarians a week earlier and the West Aussies started brightly with Nick Cummins and Cameron Shepherd registering tries in the opening 20 minutes. Cummins in particular looked dangerous every time he touched the ball and continually broke the NSW defensive line with his smart runs.
The set-piece though let the Perth side down with turnovers from line-outs allowing the Tahs breathing space and they made the most of the added ball-in-hand as they ran in three tries to take a 21-12 half time lead.
Two more tries to Waratahs winger Drew Mitchell after the break opened a handy lead for the home side however the Emirates Western Force hit back through young trial player Kieran Stringer and former Tahs centre Rory Sidey.
A last gasp try on the buzzer to the Tahs Greg Peterson pushed the margin back to 16 points however the final score line didn’t reflect the effort and opportunity created by the WA side and they will take some quality lessons from the encounter.
“I’m pleased with a number of things that came out of the game,” said Graham.
“It is evident that we’re going to ask questions of sides and we showed far greater physicality than we did last week coming up against a side that has spoken a lot about their physical preparation throughout the pre-season. I thought we matched that.
“Our set piece clearly at the start of the game wasn’t up to the mark. There were probably four or five possessions that you need to make the most of at Super Rugby to give you something to attack from and that was lacking but it improved throughout the game.
“The other area that we probably went away from that we were so good at last week, and throughout the preseason, was our catch-pass decision making. We had numerous opportunities to score tries that tonight we didn’t capitalise on.”
With youngster James O’Connor starting at flyhalf and several other combinations in and around the key playmaker area tried throughout the game it has given coaching staff plenty to digest as they formulate their strategy for the impending clash against the Reds.
“We made some changes but the important thing for us is that we control possession. We just got a little bit loose towards the end of the second half,” Graham said.
“Philosophically throughout the trials you want to put yourself under pressure and once or twice we would have probably kicked a little earlier but I think you find out a bit about yourself if you’re prepared to run the ball from your own 22.”
The club can also expect to have a host of experienced campaigners who missed this match available for the season opener including David Pocock and Willie Ripia while skipper Nathan Sharpe is set to step up his training following a hernia operation three weeks ago in a bid to prove his fitness for the Feb 20 clash.
Super Rugby Trial Match
Thursday 10 February at Shoalhaven Rugby Park, Nowra
Kick-off: 7:30pm (AEDT)
Crowd: 4500
Emirates Western Force 22 (Tries: Nick Cummins, Cameron Shepherd, Kieran Stringer, Rory Sidey; Conversions: James O’Connor)
NSW Waratahs 38 (Tries: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Carter, Wycliff Palu, Drew Mitchell 2, Greg Peterson; Conversions: Daniel Halangahu 4)
Emirates Western Force: 1.Pek Cowan, 2.Nathan Charles, 3.Tim Fairbrother, 4.Phoenix Battye, 5.Ben McCalman, 6.Matt Hodgson (c), 7.Jono Jenkins, 8.Richard Brown, 9.James Stannard, 10.James O’Connor, 11.Alfie Mafi, 12.Gene Fairbanks, 13.Rory Sidey, 14.Nick Cummins, 15.Cameron Shepherd
