Western Force failed to counter the first-half loss of playmaker Matt Giteau, going down 17-12 to the NSW Waratahs in their Super 14 rugby clash in Perth last night.
After the Wallaby playmaker was stretchered off following a sickening clash with Sam Norton-Knight, 18-year-old Waratahs centre Rob Horne took advantage to streak over for a try on debut.
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The visitors were 10-9 up at half time but suffered their own blow when captain Phil Waugh limped off midway through the second period with a knee injury.
Cameron Shepherd potted three penalties after taking over Giteau’s kicking duties to put the Force ahead but Lachie Turner’s late try elevated the Waratahs to third place on the Super 14 ladder.
With individual clashes of Wallaby significance all over the field, the first contribution of note came from Giteau’s flyhalf rival Kurtley Beale, whose kick and chase led to an early penalty which he converted himself.
After that setback, the Force dominated possession, battering the Waratahs’ defence for 17 successive phases at one stage before a knock on gave the visitors their first psychological win.
The next, on 20 minutes, was not of the Waratahs’ making – when Giteau’s night was ended by a brutal accidental collision with Norton-Knight’s hip bone in a tackle.
After being placed in the recovery position by Lote Tuqiri, Giteau did not move as the Waratahs hammered the Force line.
But while the Force did keep the Tahs out, their vice-captain was not able to return – the motorised cart wheeling off the superstar as he gave a thumbs up to relieve the fear of serious injury.
With Lachlan MacKay on as a replacement, the Waratahs immediately went for the throat and, after Tom Carter broke, Horne followed on his shoulder to make the perfect start to his Super 14 career.
After making a hash of his first penalty attempt, Shepherd made amends soon afterwards – and Carter’s departure with a shoulder injury was followed by Shepherd’s second penalty to bring the deficit back to one at half time.
Giteau’s groggy stroll up the touchline lifted the spirits of the Force fans further, with the second period starting with a Scott Staniforth intercept that could have led to a Nick Cummins break if not for a dropped pass.
After Shepherd’s penalty attempt for the lead rebounded off post and crossbar, the influential injuries were evened up by Waugh limping off on 53 minutes.
And with the Force dominating possession as they did in the first half another offside penalty – this time against Adam Freier – did allow Shepherd to put the home side in front.
With time running out, and the Force launching wave after wave of pressure, the Tahs much vaunted defence held firm.
And with seven minutes to go, the sucker punch was landed, a rare overlap finding its way to the impressive Tuqiri, whose chip kick rebounded off Shepherd’s boot into the arms of a grateful Turner.
Despite a desperate last push from the Force, Turner’s intercept under his own posts maintained the Waratahs unbeaten record against the Force – and their push for the semi-finals.
Waugh said the Waratahs had made the welcome win hard for themselves.
“We did well at (taking our chances) but field position was a worry and possession, but we got the win.
“We have got a tough back end of the tournament, so this is a big win in the context of the season.”
Force skipper Nathan Sharpe said it was another night of missed opportunities for his side.
“I though we were just going to get over the line there at the end, again,” Sharpe said.
“You never say any try is lucky, but (Turner’s) was against the run of play. Shep has chipped it forward and it has gone straight into his breadbasket.
“A disappointing night in terms of the result but we certainly executed the game plan for the majority.
“We just lacked a bit of finishing, we played well … but we will look at back at a lot of missed opportunities I think.”
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April 14th 2008 @ 11:23am
taya said | April 14th 2008 @ 11:23am | Report comment
hi
i thought this was a great game of rugby (first time in years i think for s14 aust teams) not just for tahs and force but for the future of australian rugby…
it was good to see both teams hold on under immense pressure and make few mistakes whilst in the red zone…(both missing both waugh and giteau)
and how good our are the young players coming through! i thought that jacobs and horne actually got the better of staniforth and cross – and perhaps it should have been the other way around – but that horne try off ben’s shoulder running straight was perfect ! text book stuff
sure beale may not have been spectular but he made minimal errors and did what he was meant too…so surely this is a good thing?
and i realise turners try was against run of play but it is not fair to say he was lucky (he could easily have dropped the ball!) this try was skillful as it took talent to catch this wayward kick then score !
i am neither a tahs nor force fan but the game was exciting to watch….it will just be interesting now to see if both teams can learn and develop from this !
April 14th 2008 @ 11:33am
Spiro Zavos said | April 14th 2008 @ 11:33am | Report comment
Ben C is right, in my view.The axing of Ewen McKenzie was done rather brutally, and against what was said at the beginning of the season. It was said then that the Waratahs had to make the final four for McKenzie’s job was safe. At the time he was sacked the Waratahs were right on the top-four mark. There was an element of bad faith, in my opinion, therefore in the sacking. And this is what Lachlan Turner was probably referring to.
Having said that, McKenzie’s time was probably up. He had to put systems into place when he came in for the Waratahs to fulfill their potential as the strongest Australian franchise. He believes, and I think he’s right, that he has done this with the move to the SFS, the academy and so on.
It needs to be remembered, though, thar sacking a coach during the season might work in the short term but not necessarily in the long term. David Nucifora was sacked during the 2004 camapign. The ACT Brumbies won the round-robin by 6 points and then the final against the Crusaders 47 – 38. Laurie Fisher came on board as the new coach in 2005 and the Brumbies haven’t been in a finals match since then.
uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Uneasy lies the head, too, of a crowned king, who doesn’t get results as good as his axed predecessor,
April 14th 2008 @ 3:29pm
DT said | April 14th 2008 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
Am I just being a one eyed Tahs supporter, or did it seem like the Force had the bounce of the ball and the luck pretty much from the time that Gits went off, through to the time Shepherd kicked the ball into Turner’s hands?
April 15th 2008 @ 2:40am
Greg2 said | April 15th 2008 @ 2:40am | Report comment
Ben, Spiro
I agree that Ewen deserved better, and better treatment should be mandatory when it comes to Wallaby legends, as he is. We can’t forget his part as a great forward in a Wallaby team which created a massive boost in the popularity of rugby in Australia.
I wonder how much the endless bitching in NSW has diminished the game in Australia – all that energy going into miserable politics instead of forging ahead. A rubbish situation.
Apart from this, there’s no doubt that E.M. had run out of ideas. The criticism of E.M. didn’t just come from the NSW board. The supporters lost patience. As I’ve alluded to above, seeing someone with Turner’s ability kicking the ball away is just exasperating. It’s old-style South African test rugby. We can talk about the NSW feather duster squabbles all we like, but a good coach creates their own reality – a positive psyche in the team. And one outcome of that is the attitude ‘stuff the politics, let’s play good rugby.’ There’s always going to be politics. Where there’s humans, there’s politics.
Nonetheless, I still wonder where the ARU heart is in all of this. Who’s saying to E.M ‘look, mate, the coaching didn’t go fantastic, but you’re a special part of our history, and will always be valued.’
Something’s missing.
G