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Patience must become a virtue for Western Force if they are going to close out tight games.
Too often this season they have undone all the hard work by taking an option too early or making a wrong decision under pressure.
Timing will be all-important at nib Stadium on Saturday if they are to avenge their first-round defeat by Melbourne Rebels.
Force hooker Heath Tessmann, who will come up against his former side, said patience and discipline were keys to winning.
"We've got to be a little bit smarter, picking our opportunities better when we want to attack the ball," he said.
"We have to show a little bit more discipline as a team, we've got to have awareness of where we are on the field.
"We have to settle down, go that one more phase, have that little bit of extra patience with our system.
"In all of our games there's been those little moments where we've hopped off, taken the foot off the throat, and that's because we've gone away from our systems.
"As long as we have patience and take our time working through those situations, we'll get results."
Rebels coach Damien Hill said he was impressed with the Force.
"I watched the Force performance against the Waratahs and they were very close," he said.
"I thought the Force played very well, were probably a bit unlucky.
"They are a team that has come on. We've got a hard battle on our hands in a couple of days time."
Hill may choose to attack the flanks, after Tahs coach Michael Cheika accused them of "fouling" his side when they moved the ball wide and picked up penalties.
Hill said he grinned when he heard Cheika's criticism because he thought the Tahs did exactly the same to his side.
"Most teams, when they are going backwards against teams that are stretching them wide, will do everything they can to halt momentum," he said.
Rebels hooker Ged Robinson said the Force pack were much improved this season.
"The last three or four games they have shown the forward pack is one to be reckoned with. We've got to confront them and get on top of them," he said.
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Originally Posted by beige
