Force gives Foley a headache

Nick Taylor
February 23, 2015, 8:00 am


Western Force coach Michael Foley is among the best forwards set-piece coaches in Australia.

He will need to call on all his experience to transform his pack after it was embarrassed in Saturday night's 18-6 Super Rugby loss to Queensland Reds in Brisbane.

The Force were monstered by the Reds in the scrum and untidy at their own line-out.

The home side rubbed salt into Force wounds with a second-half penalty try as referee Nick Briant lost patience after a string of scrum penalties.

Foley said the Reds showed more hunger.

"They beat us in that area. We were off and we got punished for it," he said.

"It is important we remain honest in our assessments. We used a lot of energy early in the game trying to hang on and the longer the game went the harder it was for us to pull it back."

Adding to Foley's problems is the mounting injury toll.

Prop Francois van Wyk tore a pectoral muscle on Saturday and will miss the rest of the season.

While Pek Cowan is likely to return from a neck injury, openside flanker Chris Alcock (ankle) and Adam Coleman (hip) are battling issues.

Captain Matt Hodgson (hamstring) could miss another six weeks.

Winger Nick Cummins is back from Japan and will train today, but is not certain to play against the Hurricanes on Friday night.

The Hurricanes arrive in WA buoyant after wins against the Lions and Bulls in South Africa.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sp...ey-a-headache/

If van Wyk is out for the rest of the season does that mean we can sign another prop?

If so then who?

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Originally Posted by todd4

If van Wyk is out for the rest of the season does that mean we can sign another prop?

If so then who?

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Yes, the Force can replace him.

The question will be with whom. Australia is relatively short on front rowers and all decent SA and NZ props likely to be tied to franchises already. Japan coming off season but based on their game style unlikely many good props hanging around.

If any position was one that we did not need drama's it was certainly this one.

K-Bomb, why did you have to us??

Anyone want to explain how a penalty try can be given when one of the QLD Props is on his hands and knees?

Or the scrum before the same QLD Prop was boring in at a 45 degree angle?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Exile

Anyone want to explain how a penalty try can be given when one of the QLD Props is on his hands and knees?

Or the scrum before the same QLD Prop was boring in at a 45 degree angle?

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I would also like the yellow card explained.
Looked as though CH went to tackle Genia not making an attempt at the ball.

The mighty Force return home to the sunny side of the nation after a two week sojourn on the east coast, which raised as many questions about the team as it did answers.

An outstanding first up hit out against the Tahs lifted the hearts of Force fans everywhere and helped annul fears that 2014 was an oasis in the otherwise barren dessert of Super Rugby for the Sea of Blue. The Force displayed the characteristics every fan hopes for when their team crosses the white line for the contest. 23 men with resolve, dedicated to achieving a singular purpose. And through that effort, at the end of 80 minutes, the joyous realisation that great things can be achieved by teams with less talent but greater purpose, they can slay the dragon.

Unfortunately the lesson delivered by the Force in Week 1 was just as readily forgotten in Week 2 against an under-strength Reds team, seen to be in turmoil, on its last legs and ripe for the picking on a sodden Lang Park. In the space of a week, that precious gift of purpose, resolve and dedication was snatched from the Force like a thief in the night by the Reds, who went on to quench their supporters pain after a disastrous opening stanza to their 2015 campaign.

Enter week 3 and Force fans nervously countdown to Fridays big game against the All Black laden Wellingtonians at Force Field. After facing a cyclonic Reds the previous week the Canes present as a hurricane on the horizon packing plenty of firepower. Perenara, Barrett, Savea, Nonu, Smith, Jane and Woodward, all worthy names for the destructive storm about to descend on the western capital..only matched for intensity by some of the Canes more enthusiastic supporters inhabiting the Shed at the northern end of NIB Stadium.

The Sea of Blue will be sweating like a gypsy with a mortgage for the return of the Honey Badger, who is available for selection and would bring some much needed blonde bogan bravado and attacking nous to the backline. The Force await the results of scans to key players Chris Alcock and the the tall timber from Tassie Adam Coleman to determine their availability, prop Francois van Wyk seemingly lost for the foreseeable future. Lock Wilhelm Steenkamp could be set for a recall if Coleman is felled; bringing his experience to a lineout that was poached more often than an egg at Sunday breakfast. The scrum, so often a weapon for the Force will be hoping for the return of Perth’s own Fred Flintstone Pek Cowan, ready to deliver the Yabba Dabba Doo in the front row and solidify a unit that whipped up more turf at Suncorp than butter at the Devondale Dairy.


Like all Force fans we can’t wait for the official launch of Super Rugby here in Perth on a balmy Friday evening and keenly await a spirited Force outfit ready to step up in front of the loyal Sea of Blue and send the Hurricanes disappointed back home across the ‘ditch’.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Exile

Anyone want to explain how a penalty try can be given when one of the QLD Props is on his hands and knees?

Or the scrum before the same QLD Prop was boring in at a 45 degree angle?

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It can't be explained. It was a wrong call by the ref.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Exile

Anyone want to explain how a penalty try can be given when one of the QLD Props is on his hands and knees?

Or the scrum before the same QLD Prop was boring in at a 45 degree angle?

---

'Cos if they are wet enough to convince the ref they have the weak scrum, the opposition can pretty much get away with anything. Not the first time we should have learned that lesson.

I don't know about giving Foley a headache, but watching them nearly gave me a bloody aneurysm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Exile

Anyone want to explain how a penalty try can be given when one of the QLD Props is on his hands and knees?

Or the scrum before the same QLD Prop was boring in at a 45 degree angle?

---

The entire scrummaging debacle began with the missed knock-on by Adam Thomson during the contested high ball with Brache.

At that stage the score was 11:6 and the Force was very much in the game.

For about 15 minutes the Force then struggled to get more than 10m away from the Reds try line.

After that time the Ref could see no good in the WF scrum.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moono74

The mighty Force return home to the sunny side of the nation after a two week sojourn on the east coast, which raised as many questions about the team as it did answers.

An outstanding first up hit out against the Tahs lifted the hearts of Force fans everywhere and helped annul fears that 2014 was an oasis in the otherwise barren dessert of Super Rugby for the Sea of Blue. The Force displayed the characteristics every fan hopes for when their team crosses the white line for the contest. 23 men with resolve, dedicated to achieving a singular purpose. And through that effort, at the end of 80 minutes, the joyous realisation that great things can be achieved by teams with less talent but greater purpose, they can slay the dragon.

Unfortunately the lesson delivered by the Force in Week 1 was just as readily forgotten in Week 2 against an under-strength Reds team, seen to be in turmoil, on its last legs and ripe for the picking on a sodden Lang Park. In the space of a week, that precious gift of purpose, resolve and dedication was snatched from the Force like a thief in the night by the Reds, who went on to quench their supporters pain after a disastrous opening stanza to their 2015 campaign.

Enter week 3 and Force fans nervously countdown to Fridays big game against the All Black laden Wellingtonians at Force Field. After facing a cyclonic Reds the previous week the Canes present as a hurricane on the horizon packing plenty of firepower. Perenara, Barrett, Savea, Nonu, Smith, Jane and Woodward, all worthy names for the destructive storm about to descend on the western capital..only matched for intensity by some of the Canes more enthusiastic supporters inhabiting the Shed at the northern end of NIB Stadium.

The Sea of Blue will be sweating like a gypsy with a mortgage for the return of the Honey Badger, who is available for selection and would bring some much needed blonde bogan bravado and attacking nous to the backline. The Force await the results of scans to key players Chris Alcock and the the tall timber from Tassie Adam Coleman to determine their availability, prop Francois van Wyk seemingly lost for the foreseeable future. Lock Wilhelm Steenkamp could be set for a recall if Coleman is felled; bringing his experience to a lineout that was poached more often than an egg at Sunday breakfast. The scrum, so often a weapon for the Force will be hoping for the return of Perth’s own Fred Flintstone Pek Cowan, ready to deliver the Yabba Dabba Doo in the front row and solidify a unit that whipped up more turf at Suncorp than butter at the Devondale Dairy.


Like all Force fans we can’t wait for the official launch of Super Rugby here in Perth on a balmy Friday evening and keenly await a spirited Force outfit ready to step up in front of the loyal Sea of Blue and send the Hurricanes disappointed back home across the ‘ditch’.

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Outstanding post. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andrewg

The entire scrummaging debacle began with the missed knock-on by Adam Thomson during the contested high ball with Brache.

At that stage the score was 11:6 and the Force was very much in the game.

For about 15 minutes the Force then struggled to get more than 10m away from the Reds try line.

After that time the Ref could see no good in the WF scrum.

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We should have been awarded a penalty for not releasing soon after (on our 5m line) and probably one for offside (whoever tackled Godwin can't have been onside). We could go on about other stuff too, but in the end we didn't deserve to win.

The good news is that we were absolutely dire against the Waratahs and Brumbies last year before we went on to destroy the Rebels.

The boring in by the Reds prop was obvious, but missed by the ref because (I assume) he was focussing on the weaker scrum, as they almost always seem to do. Yes, it seemed bloody unfair to Force supporters and I was yelling at the screen about it. However, the answer is pretty straightforward, don't let your scrum get so weak that you get dominated by the opposition and then the ref!

We need to fix our set pieces damned quick and not be victims.

Hear hear macattack.

We need to take the ref out of the equation by being stronger and cleaner than the other teams. It was that way against the tahs and nobody had a problem with the bad calls, even tahs supporters weren't bleating about the ref.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Macattack

the answer is pretty straightforward

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The answer is straightforward. When the scrums become a mess, after one or two resets with no clear team at fault a FK should be given to the team with the scrum feed and that team should be told that they are not allowed to take a scrum. Problem solved.