Western Force Take Down Crusaders
The Emirates Western Force has pulled off an incredible come from behind win to topple the top of the table Crusaders 24-16 at ME Bank Stadium and send their sell-out crowd home in raptures with a first ever victory over the mighty New Zealanders.
It was the perfect way to finish the home season in Perth with capacity ME Bank Stadium crowd reveling in every moment of the Force performance as they dominated the league leading Crusaders with three tries to nil in the second half.
“First half we were frenetic in attack early on and clearly didn’t get a lot out of that situation, we seemed to lack a bit of patience when the Crusaders got ahead,” Coach John Mitchell said following the match.
“However we held our composure and the boys kept their heads up and made their efforts count in the second half.
“We want a winning culture at the Emirates Western Force and this was an important scalp to take,” Mitchell said.
The Force fought back in general play after falling behind 7-0 after three minutes but still found themselves going into the break down by 13. The home side came out after the restart with plenty of endeavour and hooker Ben Whittaker got them going on the scoreboard when he crashed through for his first Super Rugby try.
That was soon followed with prop Pek Cowan benefitting from a great rolling maul from a lineout to cross the line before a miraculous length of the field try sent pulses racing throughout the stadium.
Replacement hooker Nathan Charles swooped to pick up the ball deep in their defensive half and sprinted up the sideline to the 22 where he off loaded to Cameron Shepherd before Matt Hodgson arrived in support and crossed for a brilliant five-pointer that will be remembered by the ‘sea of blue’ for a long time to come.
David Hill made the conversion and kicked a late penalty sealing the result for an impressive Force outfit who recorded their first victory against the star studded Crusaders in five attempts.
“It was a terrific performance by the guys, we all thought we were still in it even at half time being 13 – 0 down, it was a battle of patience and in the end we were able to secure the win,” said Mitchell.
The New Zealanders started strongly with a try after just three minutes to scrumhalf Kahn Fotuali'i, but the Force hit back with a quality display in attack that ended in a penalty goal attempt however returning halfback Brett Sheehan couldn’t nail the shot from long range in the 15th minute.
The home side continued to put pressure on the Crusaders' defence soon after and earned a second penalty within a couple of minutes. This one was closer and Hill took the responsibility, but also pushed it wide.
The Force continued to press hard and had the Crusaders' scrambling but two calls from the referee against Cowan handed the ball back to the Canterbury side. They capitalised with an ugly looking, but successful, drop goal to Fotuali'i and then earned another penalty which Dan Carter nailed to see them lead 13-0.
The Emirates Western Force came out of the sheds in the second half with plenty of intent and were rewarded for their patient approach when Whittaker was able to dive under the Kiwi’s defence to score. Hill converted to leave the Force trailing by just six.
That deficit was wiped away as the West Aussies hit the front in 51st minute thanks to an outstanding rolling maul from the lineout. Cowan found himself on the end of a great team effort to score and when Hill successfully converted, off the upright, the home side were in the lead 14-13.
Carter put the Crusaders back in front with a drop goal before Charles had everyone on their feet with a fantastic breakaway run that resulted in the Force scoring their third try of the match. Hill converted and the Force led 21-16.
With just over three minutes to go the home side earned another penalty and Hill nailed this one from straight in front to stretch the lead to eight and give them some breathing space with the Crusaders always a threat.
The Emirates Western Force now head to South Africa to finish the 2010 season with matches against the Lions in Johannesburg, Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and Sharks in Durban.
“We’ve still got three games to go, we’ll enjoy tonight, it was a magnificent moment, and look forward to the trip to South Africa,” Mitchell said.
“If we can utilise the next three weeks and get consistent performance I think it will allow us to take momentum into next year. Grabbing belief about the way we like playing and using this template to go forward will benefit us well.”
BY THE CLOCK
3rd min – Try for the Crusaders to Kahn Fotuali'i. Conversion by Dan Carter.
26th min - Drop goal for the Crusaders to Kahn Fotuali'i. Crusaders lead 10-0.
35th min - Penalty kick successful for the Crusaders to Dan Carter.
HALF TIME: Emirates Western Force 0 Crusaders 13
45th min – Try for the Emirates Western Force to Ben Whittaker. Conversion by David Hill and the score is 7-13.
51st min - Try for the Emirates Western Force to Pek Cowan. Conversion by David Hill and the Force lead 14-13.
52nd min - Matt Dunning replaces Tim Fairbrother for the Emirates Western Force.
58th min - Nathan Charles replaces Ben Whittaker and Justin Turner replaces Brett Sheehan for the Emirates Western Force.
69th min - Drop goal for the Crusaders to Dan Carter. The Crusaders lead 16-14.
71st min - Try for the Emirates Western Force to Matt Hodgson. David Hill converts and the Force lead 21-16.
72nd min - Sam Wykes replaces Ben McCalman for the Emirates Western Force.
77th min - David Hill penalty conversion for the Emirates Western Force. The Force lead 24-16.
FULL TIME: Emirates Western Force 24 Crusaders 16
