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A courageous Emirates Western Force has held off a potent Crusaders outfit to win by two points at nib stadium in Perth tonight, 16-14.
Looking to respond following last weekend’s disappointment against the Rebels, a resilient defensive effort from the Force paved the way for the victory with the home side repelling countless waves of Crusader attack and holding its nerve in the final 25 minutes to maintain the eventual two-point advantage.
In an often brutal, physical contest, the Force was well served by the front-foot ball provided by man of the match Richard Brown, while newcomers Ed Stubbs, Junior Rasolea and Rory Walton made their presence known against a significantly more experienced opposition.
Emirates Western Force Head Coach Michael Foley said he was impressed with his side’s team performance and determination to respond following last weekend’s loss to the Rebels.
“We weren’t happy with what we put on the field last week and the players led the way in terms of critiquing themselves and making the decision that they wanted it to be a lot better this week,” he said.
“It’s a real testament to them to see that difference out there tonight – I thought they were fantastic.
“Every player that took part in the game, which was the whole 22, did very well. You can look at games in different ways but to me there was a real unity in terms of what the players did on the field and it didn’t matter who we put out there, they were aligned to that drive that the team had to get the result.”
In his first run-on appearance for the Emirates Western Force, flyhalf Sam Norton-Knight continually kept the visitors on the back foot by tucking the ball behind the defensive line, and ghosting between two Crusaders defenders to stretch out and score the opening try of the game in the third minute.
Fullback Jayden Hayward – also making his run-on debut for the Force – converted his playmaker’s five-pointer and added a 12th-minute penalty goal to give his side an early 10-0 lead.
Not to be forgotten, the seven-time Super Rugby champions edged their way back into the game; first through a Tyler Bleyendaal penalty goal before lock Luke Romano capitalised a burst down the left hand side to cross in the corner and bring the Cantabrians to within two points.
Another two Hayward penalty goals provided the Force with a 16-8 half-time buffer before a fired-up Crusaders team returned the field following the break and immediately began reducing the deficit through two penalty goals to Bleyendaal.
However, with 25 minutes to play, a two-point lead and wave after wave of vocal support storming in from the ‘Sea of Blue’, the Force combined in a steely defensive effort to hold the Crusaders at bay and seal an emphatic victory in front of an extremely appreciative home crowd.
The Emirates Western Force will head to New Zealand this week to take on the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday (19 April).
2013 Super Rugby – Week 9
Saturday, 13 April 2013 at nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 7.45pm (local)
Emirates Western Force 16*(Sam Norton-Knight try; Jayden Hayward 1/1 conversions; Jayden Hayward 3/4 penalties) defeated Crusaders 14 (Luke Romano try; Tyler Bleyendaal conversions; Tyler Bleyendaal 3/3 penalties)
Emirates Western Force*
1. Pek Cowan, 2. Heath Tessmann, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 4. Toby Lynn, 5. Sam Wykes, 6. Ben McCalman, 7. Matt Hodgson (c), 8. Richard Brown, 9. Alby Mathewson, 10. Sam Norton-Knight, 11. Alfie Mafi, 12. Kyle Godwin, 13. Junior Rasolea, 14. Ed Stubbs, 15. Jayden Hayward.*Res:*16. Ben Whittaker, 17. Tetera Faulkner, 18. Rory Walton, 19. Chris Alcock, 20. Mick Snowden, 21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Patrick Dellit
Coach:*Michael Foley
Crusaders
1. Wyatt Crockett, 2. Corey Flynn, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Luke Romano, 5. Tom Donnelly, 6. George Whitelock (c), 7. Shane Christie, 8. Luke Whitelock, 9. Andy Ellis, 10. Tyler Bleyendaal, 11. Tom Marshall, 12. Ryan Crotty, 13. Robbie Fruean, 14. Adam Whitelock, 15. Israel Dagg.*Res:*16. Benn Funnell, 17. Joe Moody, 18. Samuel Whitelock, 19. Jordan Taufua, 20. Willi Heinz, 21. Telusa Veainu, 22. Zac Guildford.
Coach:*Todd Blackadder
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Crowd: 15,758
WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!
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Great to see how much a win meant to the boys with rory walton in tears after the game.
Still need a lot of work when it comes to holding out the game - too many easy turnovers in the last 5 and serious work on the line out. Was a little lucky to win it, but for now Im just stoked to be on the winning side...FINALLY!
The miracle of NIB
The set piece imploded and somehow we survived 70+ % possession to the rampaging Crusaders.
The defence was magnificent.
Controversy corner
Picture from ESPNScrum:
The Force's Jayden Hayward (l) and Ed Stubbs tackle the Crusaders' Israel Dagg (if it appears for anyone!)
Last edited by Sheikh; 13-04-13 at 21:48. Reason: IT issues!
YOU FUCKING BEAUTY!
Must extend a whole-hearted thanks to the force. As the two wins so far this season have paid for my honeymoon. With a deposit on my wedding band to boot!!!
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Sensational win I thought another close loss was coming.
The backline changes worked, Brown and Hodgson awesome and Walton looks a goer
I'm just happy for the footage of how much the win meant to the boys. Epitomised by the footage of a hysterical Walton.
We needed that win, and I'm so glad we
Got it
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what a game! so happy for the boys.
I think some of them are coming to my school this week
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A lot of VERY quiet K1W1's in the Moon n Zac. Life's good right now.
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Well they held it together for the win.... awesome! Now to do it for the next match and onwards.
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Some really interesting performances!
Brownie played with mongrel but smart; Hodgo was his usual quiet achiever: Two Dads was a revelation at 10 and Hayward has a reliable boot, but the absolute bonus performances had to be Ed "Steam Train" Stubbs and then Rory "Dolph Lundgren" Walton.
Great team performance - lots of ticker!!
'God invented beer to prevent Props from taking over the world'
Just put in my votes for the Player Ratings...
HOW SWEET IT IS!