Scans for Force hooker McIsaac following concussion
WESTERN Force hooker Tai McIsaac had scans yesterday after suffering concussion in the shocking 31-13 loss to the Chiefs on Friday night.
The experienced McIsaac, who has played in all the Force's 43 Super 14 matches, went to ground midway through the second half but re-packed a scrum after treatment.
He was replaced in the 66th minute by Luke Holmes.
A Force spokesman said the scans were precautionary and it was hoped that McIsaac would line up for Saturday's important clash against the Crusaders.
Coach John Mitchell acknowledged that his side did not deserve a win against the Chiefs.
Mitchell thought the Force was still in with a chance after Tamaiti Horua's 56th-minute try and the coach believed a tough decision against Ryan Cross, penalised for taking out a player in the air, was the turning point of the game.
"At 21-13 we had given ourselves a real shot, but I thought the penalty against Crossy was probably a turning point," he said.
"We had got back into the game and had a real chance, but were unable to build on it.
"If we had the Chiefs would have got the jitters, but it wasn't our night. We didn't turn up. You only have to be a little bit off your game and you get put away.
"We missed too many one-on-one tackles to give the Chiefs long range tries.
"You can't afford to miss those. Maybe we didn't work hard enough for each other."
Force skipper Nathan Sharpe said the side would use the crushing loss as motivation for the Crusaders clash.
Sharpe said the team's pride had been shattered in the four-tries-to-one loss, which leaves the Force with a 2-2 record ahead of its trip to Christchurch.
"We will bounce back and play well against the Crusaders, I've got no doubt about that," Sharpe said. "That's going to be a big focus for us.
"I know everyone's stinging from the loss and it's always a good rallying point for teams playing the next week.
"We are just disappointed because we know we can play a lot better than we did against the Chiefs. We missed some crucial tackles in the first half and you can't do that against a Chiefs side that's prepared to throw the ball.
"Clearly the guys who missed the tackles can tackle well.
"Hopefully it was just an off-night for us.
"The Chiefs are renowned for having one of the most potent backlines in the competition. Those guys individually are very good and hard to tackle."
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