Force 22 defeat Sharks 12
Force 22 defeat Sharks 12
Rick Boyd
Sportal
The Western Force came of age with a gritty 22-12 win over the Sharks in their Investec Super 14 match at Subiaco Oval on Friday night.
Man of the match, inside centre Matt Giteau, set up the only try of the game cutting the defence to ribbons with an electric run before offloading to wing Cameron Shepherd midway through the first half to give his side a 13-6 lead at half-time.
The Sharks didn't lie down and came within one point early in the second half when fullback Francois Steyn landed a spectacular 54-metre drop goal.
But the Force re-gathered momentum when the match game was balanced on a knife edge through blanket defence that forced the Sharks into debilitating errors and a game plan of often wayward kicking and ill discipline that saw them finish with a 13-man team after two late yellow cards.
Giteau, who took over the goal-kicking duties due to Shepherd's carrying a minor knee into the game, kicked the home side clear for the historic win that sees them catapult the South African team into second place on the Super 14 ladder.
The Sharks went into the game ranked second in the competition and dominated the scrum, battering the Force with take-no-prisoners defence. They were dominant early with high possession and a strategic kicking game but errors and a steady Force defence held them out.
In the sixth minute, the Sharks were penalised for not releasing and Giteau slotted a 40-metre goal from the middle of the pitch.
The Force lit up with a series of attacking phases but the Sharks' punishing defence knocked them back until 14 minutes in when the visitors conceded a penalty for offside. Giteau converted the 25-metre chance on an angle and the Force led 6-0.
The Sharks had a chance to catch up with a penalty shot for offside but Pienaar missed by centimetres after 21 minutes, and again nine minutes later when awarded a scrum penalty for incorrect binding.
The Force struck back immediately when Giteau carved up the defence up the middle and handed on to Shepherd to score beside the posts. Giteau added the extras with a simple goal kick and the Force leapt ahead 11-0.
In reply, Pienaar was successful with his third penalty kick when a Force player joined a ruck from the side with two minutes to play and added a second on half time when the Force were penalised for collapsing a rolling maul.
The Sharks drew close at 13-9 three minutes into the second spell when NZ referee Lyndon Bray ruled a marginal late tackle on Sharks wing JP Pietersen and Pienaar slotted the 30-metre kick on an angle.
Young Sharks fullback Francois Steyn settled a kicking duel four minutes later when he landed a huge 54-metre drop goal to bring the game back to one point at 13-12.
The kick fest continued with the Force hard on attack, Giteau missing a 35-metre penalty goal for offside after 12 minutes. The Sharks gave them a helping hand with a penalty for not binding correctly two minutes later and then moved it 10 metres closer with some unwanted advice to the referee, Giteau gladly accepting the gift.
The second half continued with kicks aplenty from both sides, little of it decisive, and more penalties as the game lost its rythym and neither side made headway.
Giteau added a 42-metre penalty for a dangerous tackle and the Force went ahead 19-12 after 23 minutes of the second spell.
Another penalty for yet another offside saw Giteau slot another goal and Sharks flanker Warren Britz leave the field with a yellow card with 11 minutes on the clock and what looked like a match-winning lead at 22-12 with a one-man advantage.
The Force threw everything at the Sharks in the closing stages and the visitors were reduced to professional fouls in response, reserve back Rory Kockett joining Britz on the sideline.
Giteau bounced the penalty kick off the posts but the Force stayed hard on attack until a relieving penalty moved the Sharks downfield to finish the game with desperate hammering of the Force line in search of a bonus point, but without success.
Force 22
Tries: Shepherd
Conversions: Giteau
Penalties: Giteau 5
Sharks 12
Penalties: Pienaar 3
Drop goals: Steyn
