10th April 2009, 13:45 WST
Western Force coach John Mitchell said his side will need to start with intensity if they are to stand a chance against the Hurricanes at Subiaco Oval tonight.
If the Force can withstand the Hurricanes’ early gusts, particularly up front, they will also expect to finish strongly.
Coach John Mitchell acknowledges his side has to start with the necessary intensity or they’ll spend a lot of the game trying to dig themselves out of a hole.
“The Hurricanes have threats all over the park and we’ll have to be at our very best,” said Mitchell.
Loosehead prop Pek Cowan admits he’s in for the biggest test of his rugby career tonight.
The 23-year-old will do battle with Hurricanes and All Blacks tighthead Neemia Tialata knowing he needs to hold up his side of the scrum if the Western Force’s bid for the Super 14 finals is to continue.
At 116kg, Cowan will concede 11kg and years of experience to his front-row rival, but Force coaches believe he will continue to confound physics and make up with aggression what he lacks in mass.
Gareth Hardy’s knee injury in round two established Cowan as the Force’s premier loosehead and he has got the job done in a year in which the scrum has made major advances.
At worst, it has held its own and on occasion, most recently against the Reds, it provided home fans with the rare sight of a Force scrum dominating their opponents.
Cowan, Ben Castle and Tai McIsaac know they will be put under the cosh by the Wellington side’s all-Test front row of Tialata, Andrew Hore and John Schwalger, who had their Sharks counterparts struggling during the first half of last weekend’s match in Durban.
As they did in Perth, the Sharks withstood the pressure and capitalised on mistakes and fatigue in the second half to win.
Cowan, too, is steeling himself for a Friday on which the Force need to be great rather than good.
“They’re unpredictable and everyone from 1 to 15 likes to carry the ball,” he said.
“We’ve got to shut them down quickly.” Cowan himself is a No. 1 who loves to carry the ball and he was prominent last weekend with his carries and his tackling.
“Yea, that part of my game is improving,” he said.
“I can get around the field and make tackles but it all gets judged on the scrums. “First things first — we’ve got to get that right against the Hurricanes.”
Defence will be critical for the Force, especially in the back line where Ma’a Nonu will target the smaller James O’Connor and Rodney So’oialo will run at Matt Giteau.
Kick-off is at 5.40pm.
DAVE HUGHES
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