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No Giteau, no force, no hope
Mark Ella | April 20, 2008
THE majority of the Western Force's senior players should be ashamed of themselves
That was the salient point in a crazy weekend for Australian rugby with the Force stumbling once again after a shocking loss to the Reds, the Waratahs securing their position in the top four while the Brumbies showed a lot of guts in their win against the Sharks.
The Reds have shown they still have something left after scoring three unanswered tries against a Force side that have lost their focus and structure without their little general Matt Giteau.
During the lead-up to Friday's night game in Brisbane the Force stated that they were not a one-man team and that were out to debunk the myth that they couldn't win without the injured Giteau.
Well after a fairly ordinary display we all now know that the Force are an ordinary team without Giteau.
I have never seen them so disorganised and disrespectful of the football and they should have lost by a greater margin than 29-12.
I have never seen many wayward passes, dropped ball and clumsy play which is in stark contract to what we have seen from the Force for much of the season. There was no structure to their game and they lacked any sense of maturity and composure which made them look like a second rate outfit.
I stupidly made a comment last week that most of our Wallabies will come from the Waratahs and Force but after Friday night I wouldn't bother picking too many Force players based on the meek surrender to the Reds.
The Force are now sitting in ninth position on the Super 14 ladder, one spot higher than the Reds on tenth and it is hard to imagine them improving much more this year.
Just like last year they were probably Australia's best Super 14 franchise for much of the season but they will once again fade into the west if they can't get their act together very quickly.
The Reds played much smarter rugby on Friday night and thoroughly deserved their victory. They had greater ball security and for once they didn't panic and allow the Force to make all the errors for a change.
They still have some mongrel left in them and they will prove to be handful to their opposition at the backend of the season including the Waratahs who can't afford to be as lethargic as they were last night against the Lions, who have won only one game all season.
The Waratahs had the perfect opportunity to get some valuable match practice against the lowly-placed Lions, particularly as they play the the Sharks next weekend.
A nil-all scoreline at half-time was a disgrace and while the Lions played with a great deal of commitment to keep the Waratahs scoreless it was another inept performance and I have no doubt that coach Ewen McKenzie would have given them a boot up the backside.
The Waratahs are a team that can't afford to go through the motions because their game quickly falls apart and this allowed the Lions to stay in the game for much longer than they deserved.
Sloppy execution, pushing passes, running across field, trying to score from every phase wasn't a great mixture especially when the rain and wind played their part.
The second half was better although I wouldn't be satisfied with the final score of 26-3 even with their bonus point from scoring four tries.
Waratahs halfback Luke Burgess is a bright spark and if he continues to improve his game like he is at the moment he may find himself in a Test jersey later this year.
The Brumbies are another team who refuse to lie down and their inspiring victory against the second placed Sharks 27-21 was fantastic.
The Sharks are a team that started the season like a house on fire but their charge home could be full of potholes and the Waratahs may again halt their momentum next week in Sydney.
The Brumbies have a difficult couple of matches ahead of them after next weekend. Although they look gone sitting in eighth position it's not the realms of possibility for them top make the finals.
There are only fours rounds remaining and as usual the congestion at the top of the ladder is building and it definitely is a time to test the nerves of players and coaches alike.
Playing sub-standard rugby like the Force did on the weekend won't help and without Giteau they are on a backward spiral.
The Waratahs will make the final four but they must still learn to play for eighty minutes rather than in patches whilst the Brumbies are at long odds and they will need all the like they can muster but their chances will improve when their captain Sterling Mortlock recovers from injury.
This is just over a week old but worth a read
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Originally Posted by chook
