By Justin Chadwick
February 6th 2010 @ 5:37am
Related coverage
Force spoil Cooper’s return with thumping win
Quade Cooper made a solid return to the field but the Queensland Reds suffered the first loss of their Super 14 pre-season campaign with a 31-12 defeat to a rampant Western Force in Perth on Friday night.
The Force forward pack was dominant and the backline clinical as the home side ran in three tries to two in front of 6,086 fans at their new home base of ME Bank Stadium.
Cooper made a few errors but also set up the Reds’ first try with a break and perfectly-weighted grubber kick in his first match since being charged with burglary last year.
The Force entered the game with many pundits predicting a season of doom and gloom after it was revealed star recruit Andre Pretorius would miss the entire campaign with a torn hamstring.
But they produced a barnstorming start, dominating possession and territory to race out to a 17-0 lead inside 13 minutes, with Pretorius’s flyhalf replacement Mark Bartholomeusz impressive.
Force fullback James O’Connor, who nailed three penalties and two conversions for the night, kicked off proceedings in the the fourth minute with a penalty before Matt Hodgson made the most of a wayward Reds line-out by driving over the line just two minutes later.
O’Connor played a major part in the Force’s second try of the match, with his deft chip helping Sam Harris cross in the 13th minute.
The scoreline read 20-0 when Shepherd nailed a penalty in the 21st minute but the Reds didn’t give up the fight, with winger Rod Davies making the most of a Cooper break and grubber kick to dive over in the 29th minute.
But the Force went into the break with a commanding 25-5 lead when a series of quick passes made its way to a surging No.8 Richard Brown six minutes before the break.
The Reds started the second half full of run and a scintillating 40m run by fullback Peter Hynes gave the visitors great field position early.
A Force knock-on on their defensive line-out then gifted Reds scrumhalf a try in the 42nd minute.
Cooper nailed the sideline conversion to make it 25-12 in the 42nd minute but two penalties from O’Connor put the result beyond doubt.
“I think we learned today that if we kick the ball away and give away silly penalties it’s hard work,” Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said.
“There’s a couple of lessons there but nothing mind shattering, it’s pretty much the basics of the game that we didn’t get right.
“It gives us something to work on this week.”
Force coach John Mitchell praised his forward pack.
“Really pleasing the way the forwards went about their work in the first 30 minutes,” Mitchell said.
“Even when we didn’t have momentum they were very constructive and created momentum for us as a team.”
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Brett McKay said | February 6th 2010 @ 10:18am | Report comment
Pretorious gone for the season, ouch…
Go_the_Wannabe's said | February 6th 2010 @ 11:51am | Report comment
I was at the game and you know, the Force remind me of the Wannabe’s at times………clinical and disciplined for 90% of the time and then it’s just the momentary lapses of reason (apologies to Pink Floyd) that let them down. A missed tackle here, a soft try there and all the ground work comes unstitched at the seams.
The Force really looked good in the first half and just pulverised the Scarlet Pimpernell Reds (with pink neon socks to boot….who is there fashion designer? The guy from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?). They even demolished a Reds scrum on their own line……a testament to a good pre-season on the scrum machine(Hats off, no, pants off, to the Force pack). In fact the Force forwards put in a highly commended performance all night against a supposedly superior Reds pack.
In the second half the Force just put the shutters up as if to say “oh well, we have a real game next week so nobody get injured OK?”. The Reds, to their credit also came out in the second half and had a red hot crack, but the game was won in the first 15 minutes.
Yes, Pretorius is going to be a major loss but I got the feeling Bartholomeuz revelled in the chance to be the no. 1 playmaker…….let him have a crack I say and make JOC his deputy…….who needs another high priced import that breaks down before the season begins?
Sheehan was close to Man of the Match for mine, but far too many predictable kicks to the box……..Genia was just camped behind the forwards waiting for them all night. Speaking of Genia, how quick is he? IIt’s the first time I’ve seen him live and I thought no, he’s not going to get through that gap and score that try…….but he did!
Cooper was Reds best player by far……pity about the larrikin in the crowd who yelled “Hey Cooper, got any cheap laptops for sale?” I think he’s going to get that a bit this season………..
Speaking of larrikins, how impressive was “Body by Dunning”? Geez he’s looking fit, only a hint of the former beer barrel that used to form his mid section. You should have heard “The Roar” go up from the crowd when he ran on (from all 10 of us at least)……and then in his first scrum, he splits the pack, gathers up the loose ball and lays it back with textbook precision…..the Force have found a new talisman me thinks.
The rest of the Force backs……Shep, JOC, DPH etc were solid but not spectacular…..what you would suspect this stage of the season I guess.
The Reds? Other than Hynes (who had a servicable if luckless game), Genia and Cooper, they looked bereft of ideas.
Overall an entertaining game, the field kicking was precise and meaningful at last……not the kick, kick, senseless kick we’ve come to expect. I thought the new rule worked OK and was properly enforced by the ref. Speaking of ref’s….why do they reset scrums just as the ball’s coming out the back? The ball has been won, let the bloody game flow!
It may seem like a long season coming up for the Force fans………but it’s going to feel like a longer one for the Reds.
reds fan said | February 6th 2010 @ 5:59pm | Report comment
i watched it too. very long season indeed. big wake up call for Link. last night had the same issue as last year. the softest defence around the ruck you’ve ever seen. the force made ground at will. the reds had no grunt or leg drive in defence and absolutely no presence at the breakdown. the force scrum was very strong. made the reds scrum look silly.
grrrrr……….
Jameswm said | February 8th 2010 @ 1:03pm | Report comment
I hope the Reds play like that in the 1st match of the season…The Tahs will torment them in the forwards.