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The Western Force have stormed home to win an epic clash against the Pretoria and their first victory at home this season. The Perth boys had the better of the second half; scoring 14 points to 6. The final result was 26-21. What a fantastic effort from the Force teams. The home crowd is in a rapture and the Bulls are left with their championship defence in tatters.
Both sides showed that they had come to win in the first half, however a 17th minute yellow card to James O'Connor gifted the Bulls an advantage on the scoreboard that they have not relinquished.
Neither side were slow to come into this clash with the Bulls punishing defence neutralizing a fluent and composed Force attack. Pressure paid off for the Force in the 4th minute with a James O'Connor penalty goal.
The tables turned from the Bulls' kick off with the away side hot on attack and the Force putting on a display of aggressive defence. The Force were lucky to escape a Bulls try in the 11th minute after the final pass to an unmarked winger was judged to be forward. It didn't matter in the end as the Bulls turned over the resulting scrum and Chilliboy Ralepele rumbled over the line a few phases later. Sharpshooter Morne Steyn had an off kick leaving the away side with just a 5-3 lead.
James O'Connor then went from hero to villain as another penalty kick to regain the lead was followed up by a yellow card for a dangerous lifting tackle. O'Connor's 10 minutes in the bin hurt the Force with the Bulls scoring a try to Bjorn Basson after a textbook line-out maul. The conversion brought the score out to 12-6.
Both teams traded penalties from this point; both penalties awarded from scrums. The Force managed a final penalty late in the piece after a Bulls high tackle inside their own 22. This took the home team to just a 3 point deficit at the half.
The second half was a scrappy affair, as per usual with the Force, and it took until the 54th minute for either team to get on the board. Pinned in their half and unable to gain possession of the pill, the Force eventually cracked and gave a penalty. Morne Steyn happily converted to give the Bulls a 6 point lead.
The Force hit back quickly, and twice, with two O'Connor penalties in the space of 3 minutes a definite sign that the away team was starting to crack from fatigue and pressure.
A brilliant Cameron Shepherd try in the 67th minute looked to put the nail in the coffin, however the missed conversion left some doubt in the mind. Another successful O'Connor penalty in the 76th minute pretty much had the game wrapped up yet the Bulls hit back with one of their own in the 77th minute. 5 points behind with 2 minutes to go all the Force had to do was control those final minutes. They made it in the end but boy was it a heart stopper. They'll be fans walking home via the RPH cardiac ward tonight.
That's all she wrote sports fans... Sorry I've got to get down south. Coach offered to pay me quadruple my normal salary but it just wasn't worth it. I will leave you with one final thought though:
If you think that was great, how good will it be when Pocock and Hodgson are back. Go Force! Wooohoohohohoohohohohohohohooooooo!
Last edited by James; 23-04-11 at 21:53.
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
Well done Force. I am quick to critisize when they are playing bad but am also happy to applaud a good performance too.
Well done K Bomb Held your own superbly.
You little beaaauuuty!!!!
Next week, leapfrog the Brumbies, week after leapfrog the Waratahs ...
I was just thinking the Force would be saying to O'Connor that why risk moving to another side if you are playing so well in Perth?
He played brilliantly tonight!
Looking forward to the Crusaders game.
Well done to the Forwards They stood their man against the big Bull forwards
PATTY DELLIT IS A KEEPER!!
well, the boys proved tonight that they can CONSISTENTLY put together a solid 80 minutes of hard slog footy. The Bulls were no pushovers tonight, they were confident and capable. Well done boys, the passion is rebuilding nicely! Can't wait till the saders game next week, they usually come to Perth underdone and we'll have our two superstar backrowers back BRING IT ON!
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Another gritty win.....I'll take a win anyway we can manage.Force might want to revise their tactics against the Crusaders though. Our attack is pretty limited to one on one pick and drives and "give the ball to James and pray for another miracle play". Id also hesitate playing the territory game unless you can regularly find touch or have some decent chasers putting on the pressure. Giving Dagg, Giuldford and Maitland plenty of room to counter attack isnt very intelligent. May have pulled off with Kirchner but wont work with the crusaders backline who prefer to run the ball back and very well I might add.
Surely our attack coach has come up with something by now??????
really happy with the minutes Dellit, Sidey and Jenkins are getting. Hopefully when we get the rest back from injury the coach has the confidence now to actually use them off the bench. The importance of being able to use the entire 22 was highlghted during the reds/tahds game.Patty Dellit is a keeper for sure! Jenkins has got some impressive guns on those arms of his. Another keeper imho.
Here is something to ponder - will O'Connor be out for a couple of weeks because of his Dangerous Tackle?
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop-woop-woop-woop-woop-woop-woop-woop...
Will the bulls Loosehead get reprimanded for the elbow strike to Brett Sheehan?(Sheehan probably asked for it though like any scrumhalf worth their salt would hahaha!)....although i enjoy the aggressive way Sheehan plays like he's an extra forward but he tends to get a bit carried away with the snipes and getting involved with the rucks.....needs to pull it back a bit and remember he's the halfback and not a flanker. Apart from that he put a heap of pressure on Dupreez and Spies and made some huge tackles.
JOC yellow card was a weak call.
Gotta say JOC defensive work with Dellit was a highlight for me!
Last edited by Hoolly Doolly; 23-04-11 at 22:53.
So good to see a force centre pairing hard to get past. Defence was awesome tonight- go you good things!!!!
[Beer & crisps......the pre-season diet of choice