FORCE NAME SQUAD FOR CLASH WITH HURRICANES

[The InnFORCEr]

Agreed! Who was that dipstick? Kearnsy etc arnt worried that their jobs are under threat.

Peter Playford was one of the comms, ex Tahs and Brumbies winger, and current Coach at Sydney Uni. I think he did some NRC games as well last year.

[andrewg]

Peter Playford was one of the comms, ex Tahs and Brumbies winger, and current Coach at Sydney Uni. I think he did some NRC games as well last year.

Peter continually tried to bring the commentary back onto the subject of rugby and the game.

[The InnFORCEr]

Western Force beat Hurricanes in Super Rugby preseason match

Last updated 02:27, February 4 2016



The Western Force have scored a convincing 28-0 victory over the Hurricanes in a Super Rugby trial at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford.

The Force showed great determination in defence on Wednesday night to hold the 2015 finalists scoreless.

It took the Force only five minutes to get on the board through Adam Coleman, after a series of impressive offloads from Steve Mafi and Ian Prior. Coleman crashed over near the posts for the first try to give them a 7-0 lead.

The Hurricanes then put together a number of solid phases, that placed them on the five-metre line, but the Force defence was exceptional, with Dane Haylett-Petty putting a huge shot on rival fullback Jason Woodward, which caused a knock-on.

With the match being played in 20-minute quarters, the Force went into the sheds at halftime still with a 7-0 lead.

In the second half, the Force made multiple changes to their 15, with Semisi Masirewa, Heath Tessmann, Ross Haylett-Petty and Kane Koteka all injected.

The home side had Mafi sent to the bin after repeat offences, followed by young flanker Kane Koteka, leaving them with 13 men on the pitch.

When Mafi came back on, he had an immediate impact, scoring off the back of a lineout on the stoke of three-quarter time. Jono Lance converted and the Force took a 14-point lead into the last quarter.

Four minutes into the last quarter and after a poor pass from the Hurricanes, Chris Alcock pounced on the loose ball and shot down the field. After an offload to first gamer Richard Hardwick, the Force flicked a pass wide to Masirewa, who stepped three Hurricanes players and crossed for a great team try and a 21-0 lead with 15 minutes to play.

The Force struck again in the 75th minute, after a strong line break from Alcock, who ran the ball very close to the line. The ball was quickly pushed out to the left and, after a superb offload from Lance to Ammon Matuauto, the Force went over for their fourth try.

The Western Force's final pre-season match is on Saturday, February 13 against the Asia Pacific Dragons at McGillivray Oval.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/s...reseason-match




I still can't believe this is from the NZ press

[MI5_Dog]

I still can't believe this is from the NZ press

It's not. It's the standard press release word for word.

and personally I'm taking all this with a grain of salt.
We thumped the ponys in the preseason last year and look where that got us.

[kipper_mckinnon]

So...we're great at defence and we're gonna get pinged by the refs. Wonder what happens when Canes are full strength

Glass half-empty blueandblack?

Before this game, I would have been happy with being close on the scoreline and playing expansively - to win 28-0, even in a warm up is a great result. I'm more of a glass half-full guy tho

[Jeansyjive]

Just watched the highlights. How good was the step by Maalonga Konelio.

[WFDom]

Great to keep a clean sheet. Very good for morale. All positives as far as I'm concerned,

2016 couldn't have started better for them. Onward and upward

[palitu]

http://www.theroar.com.au/tv/western...eo-leaderboard

[MI5_Dog]

Watching that makes me think they were a bit lucky.
If the 'canes had been running in support properly then those massive line breaks they made would have led to tries.

it's a nice score line but if the boys go into the season thinking that they are doing okay then they need to wake up to themselves a bit.
I'd rather seem them get hammered in the preseason games and go into the season proper knowing they have to step up a bit.

having said all that you can certainly see the benefit in having the NRC with the guys who had a run in the Spirit team not looking as out of sorts as the rest.

[The InnFORCEr]

Force Defeat Hurricanes in Gosford!


The Western Force have come away with a convincing 28-0 victory over the Wellington Hurricanes at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford last night.

The Force started with a bang and showed great persistence in defence holding the 2015 Asteron Life Super Rugby grand finalists scoreless throughout the match.

It took the Western Australian side five minutes to get on the score board through big man Adam Coleman, after a series of fantastic offloads from Steve Mafi and Ian Prior. Coleman crashed over just left of the posts for the first try of the game. Peter Grant made easy work of the conversion and the Force took an early 7-0 lead, which they would carry into quarter time.

The Hurricanes put together a number of solid phases, that placed them on the five-metre line, but the Force defence was exceptional, with Dane Haylett-Petty putting a huge shot on rival fullback Jason Woodward, which caused a knock on.

With the Hurricanes breaking the line and creating chances the Force defence stood up to maintain their 7-0 lead at halftime.

A relentless set of phase play from the Hurricanes in the first 10 minutes put the Force under immense pressure, resulting in Steve Mafi being sent to the bin after repeat offences. Not five minutes later young flanker Kane Koteka was also sent to the bin, leaving the Force with 13 men on the pitch.

The Force went on the attack despite the two-man deficit, controlling possession and pushing hard for the line. Mafi returned from the sin-bin and had an immediate impact scoring off the back of a Force lineout on the stroke of three-quarter time. Jono Lance converted and the Force took a 14-point lead into the last quarter.

In the 65th minute new recruit Semisi Masirewa showed his skills to step past three Hurricanes players and dotted down for the Force’s third try of the contest. Lance once again added the extras and the Force went 21-0 up with 15 minutes to play.

After Chris Alcock fell centimeters short of the line the ball was quickly recycled and Jono Lance found Ammon Matuauto with a superb offload as the Force went over for their fourth try. Lance had no trouble with the conversion, taking the score to 28-0.

Despite a last minute attack from the Hurricanes, the Force managed to withstand the assault and come away with a strong first up victory.


The Western Force’s next and final pre-season match is next Saturday, 13 February against the Asia Pacific Dragons at McGillivray Oval. Kicking off at 5pm (AWST), be sure you are there to fill the hill and get behind the Force as we prepare for a massive 2016 Asteron Life Super Rugby season!









Semisi Masirewa Shines in Pre-Season Debut

New Western Force recruit Semisi Masirewa looked right at home on debut yesterday in the Western Force’s 28-0 pre-season triumph over the Hurricanes at Central Coast Stadium, Gosford.

The Fijian-born outside back said it was great to run out for the Western Force for the first time along with a few other new faces and can’t wait for more opportunities.

“It was really good,” he said. “I had a lot of fun out there and I think a team performance like that was the perfect way to kick-off 2016 looking towards the (Asteron Life) Super Rugby season.”

“For a few of us it was our first time playing a real game together but with the chemistry we have built up at training it all worked pretty smoothly and helps us learn for next time.”

Masirewa came off the bench and made an immediate impact with his raw pace and brilliant footwork proving too much for the Hurricanes defensive line to handle, as he stepped his way through three Hurricanes defenders to score the try of the match.

“As soon as I got the ball in space I took the opportunity and backed myself and was able to step my way through to dot it down.”

After a hard pre-season with a focus on utilising their attacking weapons Masirewa said it was rewarding to see their efforts pay off as the Western Australian side ran in four tries.

“We have some real talent in our outside backs and we are really trying to use those strengths by getting the ball out wide and putting guys into space. Obviously it was far from perfect and we have some work to do before our next trial game and the start of the season, but I was pleased with what the boys put out yesterday.”

While the four try performance was impressive the Western Australian side’s effort on the defensive side of the ball was without a doubt the highlight of the clash with last season’s minor premiers.

The Force held the Hurricanes scoreless through the full 80-minutes courtesy of brilliant team defence and some bone-rattling tackles from Dane Haylett-Petty in the last line of defence.

“It was a pretty gutsy performance from the boys, especially when we went down to 13-men and still managed to hold them out so we can take a lot of confidence from that.”

[GIGS20]

Like some others, I think I might have preferred a brave loss in this match up. There's no telling what was on the agenda from the Canes and therefore the scoreline at the end of the day is meaningless, but there is a danger that the boys will think they've got it right and step off the throttle. If that happens, we'll be buggered!

That being said, Masiwera seemed to be commenting that the performance still needed to improve, so maybe the fragile mental state which has dogged us for the last several seasons is starting to weaken!.

[agrugger]

Like some others, I think I might have preferred a brave loss in this match up. There's no telling what was on the agenda from the Canes and therefore the scoreline at the end of the day is meaningless, but there is a danger that the boys will think they've got it right and step off the throttle. If that happens, we'll be buggered!

That being said, Masiwera seemed to be commenting that the performance still needed to improve, so maybe the fragile mental state which has dogged us for the last several seasons is starting to weaken!.

I disagree. Our team needs confidence boosters, not reality checks; so the win was great. A loss maybe good for a team like the Hurricanes who had a strong season last year. If the Force get a big head after one pre-season win after the year we had last year, then we have bigger problems. We need to build on the confidence gained.

[The InnFORCEr]

There is just no pleasing some people is there. They win and you want them to lose, if they lost it would be all "it's going to be another long season"

[beige]

Yeah I'm sick of brave losses - I'll just take it as a positive start regardless of how much/little you can read into it.

[GIGS20]

Point/s taken.

I guess it's just a little hard to be positive about anything this season after so many positive pre-seasons saw us getting kicked in the teeth in the first three weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be the optimist I have been in "the good old days" but I think that might take a few really convincing wins early in the season....sorry, but the last few years has just beaten all the "glass is half full" out of me.