2024 Round 13 Force v Waratahs

[GIGS20]

A wee bit concerned on watching the wings ie Reilly/ Pietsch as mentioned. Swinton likes to charge headlong at opposition as hard as he can or throw himself on top of the ruck. Hopefully the ref controls the flying over the rucks issue - is really an annoying tactic which Kiwi teams seem to do a lot.

I don't think you'll see that tolerated by a Queensland ref in quite the same way as a Kiwi ref.

I was worried last week when we had Mabey (NZ) reffing and Fiji playing, Fiji do like to play on the edge and are usually pretty inaccurate but enthusiastic, so will end up on the floor on the wrong side of the ruck a lot more often that the Force would want.

Mabey wasn't calling it and the Force still handled it, it was one of my points of praise last week.

This week I'd reckon it'll be called.

[shasta]

Going to be mixed emotions seeing FLW rumble out onto the paddock

I'll also be clapping him onto the pitch. Such a great competitor for us.

Anyone know the ground announcer? Would be brilliant if he introduced him as "Ex Western Force" F L-W. Hoiles would have an apoplexy.

[Leo86]

I'll also be clapping him onto the pitch. Such a great competitor for us.

Anyone know the ground announcer? Would be brilliant if he introduced him as "Ex Western Force" F L-W. Hoiles would have an apoplexy.

"That found a home" at the Tahs

[Kernow]

I'll also be clapping him onto the pitch. Such a great competitor for us.

Anyone know the ground announcer? Would be brilliant if he introduced him as "Ex Western Force" F L-W. Hoiles would have an apoplexy.

Love that idea!

[Kernow]

"That found a home" at the Tahs

Ugh, I know - so pleased for him personally but he was one of those characters that every home needs

[Leo86]

Ugh, I know - so pleased for him personally but he was one of those characters that every home needs

That was a quote fron Maloney I think regarding Tizzano. Referred to him as an ex- Tah who found a home over here. Not to mention that he came from here as it won't fit the narrative.

I'm a big fan of FLW. As much as I hate the tahs I hope he now gets looked at for higher honours instead of not even being looked when he was here.

[Burgs]

Just noticed in the walking wounded Slack-Smith out with Concussion for the Season, that's a worry that it would be automatically called that long.
Haven't watched all the Tahs time so not sure if in match or training?

[Tazzmania]

He has not played any matches for the Tahs in Super rugby.

I think he played in the first pre season game and was on the bench for the second. Not sure how and when the injury occurred.

[Tazzmania]

The Junior Wallaby with shades of 'BOD' who was snapped up after four tries in five games
By Finn Morton

Former Ireland and British & Irish Lions centre Brian O’Driscoll is one of the greatest rugby union players of all time. The man known globally as ‘BOD’ played a then-record 141 Test matches, including more than 80 as captain of the Irish.

For many, including even this writer, O’Driscoll was considered the man. Whether it was with Leinster, Ireland or in the famous red strip of the touring Lions, O’Driscoll often showed stunning skills to pull off the incredible while others watched on in awe.

Australian Henry O’Donnell also looked up to the legendary centre. The self-identified “absolute footy tragic” would watch game after game of rugby, but especially enjoyed watching the memorising work of master O’Driscoll from the other side of the world.

It’s no wonder that as a young man on the rise through Australia’s rugby ranks that O’Donnell looked up to the World Rugby Hall of Famer as an inspiration. O’Donnell, just like O’Driscoll, wanted to be O’good enough to play professional rugby.

“Like myself, he’s got no absolutely crazy physical attribute. He’s not 115 kilos heavy or 195 centimetres tall,” O’Donnell told RugbyPass in February before the Super Rugby Pacific season.

“It’s just a good footy brain, smart, fast and just a good work ethic.

“I’m not the biggest body but I love throwing myself into the contact, but I think just shaping myself as an all-round player that can attack from all different angles and (is a) really high IQ defensive player.

“That’s probably watching other people and trying to shape my game off people who are good at those attributes.”

O’Donnell is a Sydney boy and had dreamed of one day pulling on the Sky Blue jersey of the NSW Waratahs. The backline utility impressed in Riverview’s First XV during his high school days and was also part of the Waratahs’ junior pathways.

Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction for the youngster, but O’Donnell’s opportunity at Super Rugby Pacific level wouldn’t come with the New South Welshman. Instead, the Aussie made the move from one coast to another.

With Wallabies Izaia Perese and Lalakai Foketi holding down the fort in the Waratahs’ midfield, the Sydneysider considered multiple factors before putting pen to paper with the Western Force. For a young man, “It was actually super hard.”

“It was very hard but moving over here, (I’ve) been welcomed by the boys pretty well. I knew a few boys over here that I’ve played in 20s with or who are from Sydney as well.

“But the thing is best about Perth is all of the boys are actually from the east coast, we all live together over here. We all live pretty much in the same suburb.

“It’s a bit like a little family over here because we don’t have our friends outside of footy, we only kind of really have each other.

“There was a big dream for me to play for the Tahs. Growing up, that was obviously the team I rooted for and I really wanted to play for them,” he added.

“I was just looking at obviously the opportunity for me, the coaching staff, it’s also a good chance to live out of home, lots of life experience. That was probably the big decision in terms of opportunity.

“I feel like I’m ready to get into the Super environment. I thought the Force was probably the club heading in the right direction and would have the most opportunity for me to reach my goals.

“As every young kid has to do, they have to bide their time and I’m completely happy to do that.

“But I thought just the opportunities over at Force for me getting game time, develop my career, develop my skills… I thought that was the right move for me at the time.”

O’Donnell was unveiled as one of the Western Force’s newest signings on the morning of September 5. It was big news for the club.

The hard-running centre had just come off an impressive U20s campaign with the best young players in the country, who had come up against their peers from around the world.

Coach Nathan Grey picked O’Donnell in the Australia U20 squad for the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa. While the Junior Wallabies didn’t win that tournament, there were plenty of positives for the future of Aussie rugby.

Now-NSW Waratahs halfback and SVNS Series debutant Teddy Wilson captained the team, the Reds’ playmaking duo of Tom Lynagh and Harry McLaughlin-Philips also got a run, and 2024 captain Toby MacPherson also made an impact.

Then there are the likes of former SVNS star Darby Lancaster, the Melbourne Rebels’ Mason Gordon, Reds prop Massimo De Lutiis, midfielder Ronan Leahy and so many others. This was a squad oozing with both talent and potential.

When the squad was initially unveiled on June 7, O’Donnell was listed under the ‘Waratahs’ playing group. The utility would go on to star over in South Africa by scoring four tries in five appearances in Aussie gold, which included a double against Wales.

It was an experience that O’Donnell considered “an essential part (of getting) Super ready.” The Western Force’s signing told this website towards the end of pre-season that he’d learnt “heaps of stuff” from that experience with the U20 national team.

“I thought the 20s campaign was absolutely unreal. Honestly, it was probably the best month of footy I’ve… just enjoyed being around the boys.

“I’ve played heaps of footy with Teddy (Wilson), played footy since I was 12 years old with Jack Bowen as well. Ned Slack-Smith, I played with all those boys.

“I absolutely enjoyed my time. I loved the coaching staff in (Nathan) Greysie and Shannon Fraser, and I thought we played a really great brand of footy that I thought we were actually all really proud of and really enjoyed playing.

“I thought we only got better as the tournament went on. I don’t think coming fifth in the tournament did us any justice.

“Tournament footy is hard – losing to Ireland in that one game. It was a hard one to cop on the chin because I thought we were a lot better than fifth but I learned so much from that time and I also had so much fun.

“I thought it was such a great experience for all the boys.”

After making the more than four-hour plane trip west, O’Donnell started with training with the Force in November. This was a group that had also brought the likes of Ben Donaldson and Nic White into the mix ahead of the 2024 season.

Three months after speaking with RugbyPass, O’Donnell has found a home in the Force’s matchday side. The Junior Wallaby has played five matches already off the pine since debuting against the Blues and Auckland, and he’s set to take the field again on Saturday.

After dreaming of one day wearing the Sky Blue jersey, O’Donnell will take on the Waratahs for the first time in his career at Perth’s HBF Park. O’Donnell will wear the No. 23 jumper as the Force looks to take a big step towards a once-unlikely finals spot.

[The InnFORCEr]

Cron calls on Sea of Blue support for crunch Waratahs clash
Thu, May 16, 2024, 4:30 PM
by Ben Somerford


Western Force head coach Simon Cron wants the Sea of Blue to turn out in numbers ahead of another critical clash with the NSW Waratahs as both sides push for the Super Rugby Pacific finals.

The Force produced an exhilarating 48-10 bonus-point victory over the Fijian Drua last Saturday night at HBF Park in front of just under 5,000 fans.

The result lifted the Force into ninth spot on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, just two points outside the top eight with three rounds to play.

The Force have won nine of their last 12 Super Rugby games at HBF Park, making the venue a fortress, and Cron called on the fans’ support for a crunch game, that will be followed by Fans on Field.

“We love it here,” Cron told reporters after training on Thursday.

“We love having the supporters. You saw them after the game on Saturday night and they hung around for quite a while.

“We get to have everyone on the field again and that’s exciting. Get them out on field around the boys. Before that, we’ve got to do a job.”

And that job was big in Cron’s eyes, echoing scrum-half Nic White’s sentiment ahead of the Drua game last week about being a double-pointer.

“Double points, double points,” Cron simply said. “It counts, it’s big.”

The Waratahs may be sitting at the foot of the Super Rugby ladder but Cron said they weren’t taking them lightly.

“The Waratahs have a lot of Wallabies, so there’s a lot of talent in their squad,” he said.

“A lot of Wallaby talent on their bench. We’re expecting a pretty good match against a good side.”

When asked about the Force being favourites, Cron said that would play no part.

“Let’s be realistic, favourites means nothing,” he said. “For us it’s about consistency of performance.

“What we did against the Drua was some positive rugby. We did the basics well. I think we’ve got to go into this game doing the same thing, basics over brilliance. Do what we do well, control contact zone and just let the game unfold.”

Cron was delighted to be able to field a stable side, with only one change to the 23-man team list, with Issak Fines-Leleiwasa returning from an ankle issue as White’s back-up scrum-half with injury cover Henry Robertson unfortunate to miss out.

“Finesy comes back in now ready to do a job,” Cron said. “Henry Robertson was outstanding for us for two weeks, he’s a guy we’re really proud of.”

Saturday’s game also marks the 50th Super Rugby games for fly-half Ben Donaldson and prop Harry Hoopert, who both joined the Force ahead of this campaign.

“They’re a big part of our team and our culture,” Cron said. “We’ve got a tight knit group here, they’re really good boys and those two are right in the mix.

“They add a lot to our team. If you look at some of these guys, they really do like playing for each other. There’s a lot of trust and respect on the field between those boys. It’s exciting for them to have their 50ths here.”

Kick-off is 5:35pm WST with tickets available through Ticketmaster, along with the Force’s Flexi Membership, with four tickets to any of the remaining two games for only $75.

The game will be broadcast live on 9GEM and streamed on Stan Sport, with regular updates @WesternForce on social media. It will be preceded by a Fortescue WA Premier Grade curtain-raiser between Wanneroo and Associates from 3:05pm.

Head to our Game Day Hub to see what's happening at the ground to celebrate Members Round.

https://www.rugby.com.au/news/cron-w...review-2024516

[Burgs]

Week-to-week focus rather than ladder predictions for Williams

Fri, May 17, 2024, 3:20 PM
Ben Somerford
Play Video- https://www.rugby.com.au/news/wester...ratahs-2024517

Western Force captain Jeremy Williams isn’t playing ladder predictor as the club chases a Super Rugby Pacific finals berth, preferring to keep things simple with a week-to-week focus.

The Force climbed up to ninth on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder with last Saturday’s 48-10 bonus-point victory over the Fijian Drua, leaving them only two points outside the top eight with three rounds to play.

The next assignment for the Force is a clash against the NSW Waratahs from 5:35pm Saturday at HBF Park, in another crucial double-pointer with both sides in top-eight contention.

There’s a multitude of scenarios for all the sides joisting for finals spots, with the Force having the Tahs, followed by the Queensland Reds (away) and the ACT Brumbies (home) in their final three games.

But ex-Waratahs lock Williams was avoiding the calculations or ladder predictors.

“I’m actually not too sure,” Williams said when asked on Friday if winning two of the side’s remaining three games would be enough to make finals.

“We’re aiming for three wins. That’s the plan. Like I said, we’re just focusing week to week.

“It’s about keeping our focus week to week only on the opposition team for that week, so you’re not looking at the ladder.”

That first focus is the Waratahs who have copped their fair share of injuries this season, but Williams said they wouldn’t underestimate their opponents.

“I guess they do have a lot of injuries but you can’t take them lightly,” he said.

“They’ve still got multiple Wallabies in the team. They’re a serious side, so we’re not taking them lightly at all.

“You’ve got to be wary of every team in Super Rugby, they all have their threats and strengths. You can’t take any teams lightly.

“We’ve got a lot of must-win games coming up. There’s pressure on both sides.”

Williams said the team had moved on from last weekend’s outstanding win over the Drua, as the side aims to win back-to-back games for the first time this campaign.

“It’s back to business pretty quick,” he said. “We know what position we’re in.

“We can celebrate it for a short while but it’s back to the next job, next focus, the next game. That’s what we’ve done next week.”

Force pair Harry Hoopert and Ben Donaldson will reach their 50th Super Rugby game milestones this weekend.

Williams, who is housemates with Donaldson, was delighted to see the fly-half reach 50 having debuted alongside him at the Tahs against the Force at the SCG in 2020.

“It’s pretty crazy how that happens,” Williams said. “He debuted for the Tahs a couple of years ago against the Force and now he’s playing his 50th game against us. Stoked for him.”

Kick-off is 5:35pm WST with tickets available through Ticketmaster, along with the Force’s Flexi Membership, with four tickets to any of the remaining two games for only $75.

The game will be broadcast live on 9GEM and streamed on Stan Sport, with regular updates @WesternForce on social media. It will be preceded by a Fortescue WA Premier Grade curtain-raiser between Wanneroo and Associates from 3:05pm.

[WFDom]

Bonus point win tonight please boys!

Fast start! Put them to the fu@king sword!!! No complacency, no let up!

And someone please smash Swinton for Jake!!!

[Kiap]

That's better!

[WFDom]

Cut them clean open!!!

[Kiap]

Kuenzle needs a bit more education on that boot.