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Force unleash Rocket for Ballymore blitz
June 13, 2019
Australian Sevens representative and former Queensland Reds speedster, ‘Rocket’ Rod Davies, will be back in familiar territory on Saturday when he lines up on the wing for the Western Force as they tackle Kagifa Samoa at Ballymore.
Davies is a hero in his home state having helped the Reds claim the 2011 Super Rugby Championship and will be a key cog in the Western Force starting XV for Global Rapid Rugby’s first match in the sunshine state.
Davies was born in Rockhampton and played six seasons for the Reds, including the drought breaking 2011 title. After a two try effort from the bench against the Samoan’s in Perth a fortnight ago, Davies has been brought into the run-on side and will line up on the wing.
The capped former Wallaby will be playing opposite Fijian heavyweight Masivesi Dakuwaqa who’s fierce attacking style and speed proved to be a weapon against the tough-tackling Kagifa Samoa side in the club’s first meeting.
Another familiar face returning to his home state for the match is hooker Andrew Ready. After making the switch to join the Western Force in the off-season, Ready has been an important part of the club’s 2019 Showcase Series that has seen them claim the Asia Showcase title, while they are neck and neck with Fijian Latui in the race for the Pacific Series.
Ready makes his return to the match-day 23 after recovering from a groin injury. Coach Tim Sampson has made a number of changes to his front row with Feleti Kaitu’u and Kieran Longbottom returning to the run-on side.
Fan favourite Brynard Stander has swapped back into the starting position with Nedlands Tevin Ferris moving to reserves.
With Henry Taefu unavailable for selection with a rib injury, Samoan international, Rodney Iona, will hope to make an impactful display after being handed the opportunity to start at inside centre after having limited minutes so far this season.
Starting from bench, 21-year-old lock Ben Grant will add fresh energy to the forward pack and is expected to have a forceful impact on the game. UWA Rugby’s Rory O’Sullivan has once again been called up to the reserve bench to support playmaker Issak Fines at scrumhalf.
In: Andrew Ready, Ben Grant
Out: Heath Tessmann, Leon Power
Full Team:
1. Harrison Lloyd, 2. Feleti Kaitu’u, 3. Kieran Longbottom, 4. Johan Bardoul, 5. Fergus Lee-Warner, 6. Henry Stowers, 7. Chris Alcock, 8. Brynard Stander, 9. Issak Fines, 10. AJ Alatimu, 11. Rod Davies, 12. Rodney Iona, 13. Marcel Brache, 14. Masivesi Dakuwaqa, 15. Jack McGregor. RESERVES: 16. Andrew Ready, 17. Markus Vanzati, 18. Tom Sheminant, 19. Ben Grant, 20. Tevin Ferris, 21. Rory O’Sullivan, 22. Andrew Deegan, 23. Clay Uyen.
https://www.westernforce.com.au/forc...llymore-blitz/
Maybe time to start spruiking the game at Ballymore on Roar & GAGR?
Val, jokes are meant to be in the Public Bar thread....
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The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor
Is this on TV? Asking for a friend...
Considering your friend will blame me if people miss it, it's listed on SBS Viceland for 3:30 Saturday afternoon.
Note that I heard SBS is updating it's channels sometime soon, and Vice is only going to broadcast in HD (ch 31) and the SD version (ch 32) is being replaced with something else. Not sure if the change is this weekend or later.
Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon
Hi Valzc, I posted below comment on Roar under the story about Super Rugby Round 18. A few comments from TWF'ers to stir the pot would be good!
I will leave GAGR to somebody else. I dont have a login id on GAGR.
""Meanwhile the Western Force will be playing the Kagifa Samoa at Ballymore at 3.40pm on Saturday. I believe entrance is free, so those Roarers in Brisbane can see an exciting Global Rapid Rugby live for themselves. It is a Samoa home game, but their stadium is being rebuilt, thus the game at Ballymore.""
Battle lines drawn in Brisbane
June 14, 2019
The game is the penultimate clash in the Pacific Showcase and will have a major bearing on the race to the series crown. The Western Force are tied with Fijian Latui at the top of the table but have a match in hand. While their opponents this week, Kagifa Samoa, are out of the running for the title, a win over the Force will heap pressure on the West Aussies ahead of their final match against Fiji in a week’s time.
Kagifa Samoa needs no extra motivation however as they look to get one back on the Force. It is fair to say that the Pacific islanders were taught a lesson in precision execution the last time these sides met, however, the lopsided scoreline didn’t reflect the effort and opportunities the Samoan side created.
Head Coach Semo Sititi has been able to retain a relatively stable starting XV which will assist in the side’s ability to create chemistry. The bulk of the players have now played at least a few games together and will be buoyed by a stirring fightback last weekend in New Zealand that saw them fall just six points short of Fijian Latui. Hooker JP Sauni was a standout in that match as the front row general and his battle with Force rake Feleti Kaitu’u will be one to watch. Both players love getting physical, but also have an eye for the try line and will be keen to assert their dominance for their respective sides.
Injury hasn’t been kind to the Samoans, for the second week running Sititi has had to bring in a new flyhalf. Fortunately, they’ve been able to find a ready replacement with Davis Tavita drafted from Queensland Premier Rugby side GPS for his first match. Tavita previously played for the Perth Spirit in the National Rugby Championship, including their losing Grand Final in 2014 at Ballymore, and was part of the GPS team that won the Premier Rugby title there last year, snapping a 22-year drought.
He will be ably assisted in the playmaking role by scrumhalf and skipper Leon Fukofuka who has been a shining light for Kagifa Samoa throughout the series. Fukofuka and his opposite number, Issak Fines, control the tempo of their sides with aplomb and it will be another great contest for fans to look out for on Saturday. Fines has stepped up in the absence of regular Force halfback Ian Prior and has been making the most of the extra minutes on the park. He scored two tries and was a constant thorn in the side of Kagifa Samoa last time out.
The Force have added experience to their run on side with 2018 Nathan Sharpe Medallist Brynard Stander giving grunt to the forwards, while Queensland born speedster Rod Davies will start on the wing. Davies earned his stripes as a youngster playing at Ballymore before graduating to be a key member of the 2011 Super Rugby winning Queensland Reds side.
While past meetings count for little, there is one moment from the game a fortnight ago that supporters will be hoping is replicated on Saturday, when Kagifa Samoa scored arguably the best try of the 2019 Rapid Rugby tournament. See it again below!
Kagifa Samoa vs Western Force
Saturday, 15 June 2019 | Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane
Gates open: 2.00pm | Kick-off: 3.40pm
Free entry at the gate
Kagifa Samoa
Starting XV: 1.Andrew STOWERS, 2.JP SAUNI, 3.Sam AIONO, 4.Michael MCKEE, 5.Nili MOALA, 6.Callum ADAMS, 7.TBA, 8.Dylan LAM, 9.Leon FUKOFUKA, 10.Davis TAVITA, 11.David FELIUAI, 12.Sheldon TARAWA, 13.Tino MAFOE, 14.Ah Mu TUIMALEALIIFANO, 15.Kalione HALA
Reserves: 16.Frank MALU, 17.Misioka TIMOTEO, 18.Daniel ANAE, 19.Sione TU’IPULOTU, 20.Laga FASAVALU, 21.Tim SIPPEL, 22.Pakisonasi AFU, 23.Maui HAUSIA
Western Force
Starting XV: 1.Harrison LLOYD, 2.Feleti KAITU’U, 3.Kieran LONGBOTTOM, 4.Johan BARDOUL, 5.Fergus LEE WARNER, 6.Henry STOWERS, 7.Chris ALCOCK, 8.Brynard STANDER, 9.Issak FINES, 10.AJ ALATIMU, 11.Rod DAVIES, 12.Rodney IONA, 13.Marcel BRACHE (C), 14.Masivesi DAKUWAQA, 15.Jack McGREGOR
Reserves: 16.Andrew READY 17.Markus VANZATI, 18.Tom SHEMINANT, 19.Ben GRANT, 20.Tevin FERRIS, 21.Rory O’Sullivan, 22.Andrew DEEGAN, 23.Clay UYEN
Match Officials
Referee: Aaron Pook, AR1: Jordan Way, AR2: Andrew TWIST, TMO: Rohan Hoffmann
https://www.rapidrugby.com/battle-li...n-in-brisbane/
Oops - must have been looking up the East Coast TV schedule (or was I intentionally trying to make Spartan miss the match!)
However, have they changed the time of the match? I swear I was investigating going to see the match a while ago and was convinced the kick-off time was 5:30 Brisbane time. Maybe I got that off a NZ website!
Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon
Come on SBS! Few issues with the broadcast
Laugh and the world laughs with you.......
......cry and you'll weaken your beer
Stream itself is okay on SBS On Demand (but has been some annoying on-ground technical dropouts)
Smallish crowd in
Morgs on the commentary team
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7 - all after 13 mins