It might be wet and wild, but Western Force coach Michael Foley is urging his team to maintain its no-fear approach in Saturday night’s Super Rugby clash with the Blues at nib Stadium.
Heavy winds, rain, and possible hail have been forecast for Perth on Saturday, with the treacherous conditions set to encourage more kicking and lots of bullocking work for the forwards.
The Force are well rested following last week’s bye, and hopes are high they can snare their second win on the trot after disposing of the Sunwolves in Tokyo a fortnight ago.
Before that win, the Force had lost seven games in a row.
But Foley said his team’s new no-fear approach had worked a charm, and he wants to see more of it – even if it buckets down.
“The attitude for us is a real aggressive attitude – rip in and not fear error,” Foley said on Friday.
“Matt Hodgson and I spoke about it a few weeks ago. We felt the team had got to the point where they were trying almost too hard.
“Every time something went wrong, we tended to get too disappointed about it.”
Foley said his team would need to make some subtle changes in response to the weather, with controlling the ball a critical component.
The Blues enter the match desperate to atone for last week’s 43-5 loss to the Lions – the second-largest defeat in franchise history.
Foley has already put his team on red alert for a fired-up Blues outfit.
“I think the Blues will be looking to come out and be very physical up front,” Foley said.
“They obviously play expansive rugby, but that physical battle early in the game will be a really critical one.
“When you hear teams start talking about one-on-one battles, there’s no getting away from the fact that that’s what they’re after.”
Foley has recalled former Wallabies centre Ben Tapuai, while prop Pek Cowan has been named on the bench after recovering from a broken arm.
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