Force coach heaps praise on backline after big win
Nick Taylor, rugby writer
April 25, 2009 06:30pm
THERE is an old rugby saying: forwards win matches, backs decide by how much.
It's an adage that rings true, especially when coupled with "momentum", which is one of Western Force coach John Mitchell's favourite words.
When the pack is on the front foot and can - to use another of Mitchell's favourite coaching phrases - "win the collision", it will present good ball for the backline.
And when there is as much talent in the backline as the Force has it will be exploited.
And exploited it was on Friday night as the Force carved out a record-breaking 55-14 win over the Lions from Johannesburg.
Mitchell echoed that old rugby line after the game.
"A backline's only as good as a forward pack and our forward pack's pretty under-rated," he said.
"They are providing a fantastic platform at the minute and the backs are certainly feeding off forward momentum. Our scrum has been progressing all year.
"It's a key area and with a good scrum you can get to the advantage line quickly."
But he was quick to spread praise to all his players.
"The team were terrific. We've played good football all year. We've been pretty consistent," he said.
"This side has never been dead and buried. They're strong characters and they've been through a lot together."
He said the backline played very well but added: "Let's not focus on individuals. Let's go back to the team performance.
"Let's go back to the teamwork that was delivered by the group, that's the most important and vital ingredient in this game and we achieved that tonight."
How he must be wishing he could keep his all-Wallaby backline together for future seasons.
As he looked ahead to the crucial two-game road trip - South Africa against the Bulls in Pretoria and Stormers in Cape Town - Mitchell said: "It's another week. We are back in contention. It's a phenomenal experience, just to stay alive week by week.
"The pressure remains. We enjoy travelling to South Africa. We have deposits of belief. We have been successful there before."
After the huge win captain Nathan Sharpe said the side would soon be back to earth, preparing for the South African challenge.
"We've got big games ahead of us and that's a challenge we're looking forward to," he said.
"We'll get over this performance. The reality is we've got three very hard matches to finish the season to get to the finals.
"There's no doubt the Lions and the Bulls are completely different sides and we've already started thinking about the way we can attack the Bulls."
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...005403,00.html
