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Thread: Emirates Western Force Suffer Narrow Defeat In Opening Trial

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    Emirates Western Force Suffer Narrow Defeat In Opening Trial

    The Emirates Western Force have gone down 12-7 to the Crusaders in their opening trial match at Olympic Park in Melbourne tonight.

    In perfect conditions and in front of a healthy crowd, the WA side took an early 7-0 lead when Ryan Cross's try was converted by Matt Giteau.

    The build up work by AJ Whalley led to the try, as the giant prop galloped 30 metres into Crusaders territory before offloading to Giteau. Some fancy footwork by Giteau gave Cross a straightforward run to the line.

    The score remained 7-0 until the break.

    Emirates Western Force coach John Mitchell brought on many of his rookies for the second half, and despite breaking even around the ground, the younger squad members couldn't keep the Crusaders off the scoreboard.

    Tries to All Black full back Leon MacDonald and Nasi Manu, and a conversion from Hamish Gard, gave the Crusaders a 12-7 lead.

    Sam Wykes had a chance to snatch victory right on full time, but his kick ahead rolled over the dead ball line.

    The Emirates Western Force will host the Queensland Reds in a second trial this Thursday at Members Equity Stadium in Perth (kick off at 7.05pm local), before heading to South Africa for the start of the 2008 Investec Super 14 season.

    Emirates Western Force 7 (Ryan Cross try, Matt Giteau con)

    Crusaders 12 (Leon MacDonald, Nasi Manu tries, Hamish Gard conv)

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    Legend Contributor Thequeerone's Avatar
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    What a debut for Sam - he won't forget that in a hurry

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    Crusaders beat Force 12-7
    February 2, 2008 - 9:35PM

    Perennial Super 14 powerhouse the Crusaders dominated the second half to beat the Western Force 12-7 in the rugby trial match at Olympic Park on Saturday night.

    With Matt Giteau playing a prominent role at flyhalf, the Force had the better of the opening 40 minutes.

    But the Crusaders, who are once again likely to be the team to beat in the Super 14 competition this year, were deserving victors in a game where both sides would have been pleased with their defensive efforts.

    The Force opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a spectacular try.

    Impressive prop AJ Whalley made the initial midfield burst before passing to Scott Daruda.

    The centre got the ball to Giteau, who looked certain to score in the right corner, only to be stopped by a last-ditch tackle from Crusaders' fullback Leon MacDonald.

    But Giteau had the composure to slip a clever pass to centre Ryan Cross, who scored the try.

    Giteau converted the try from near the sideline.

    The Force were deserving 7-0 leaders after having the better of an enterprising first half.

    But the Crusaders were right back in the contest only three minutes after the halftime break.

    Following a sustained spell of pressure, MacDonald barged over from close range in the right corner.

    Flyhalf Steven Brett's conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

    The Force took off several of their biggest names early in the second half, including Giteau and skipper Nathan Sharpe, to give their fringe players the chance to make an impression.

    Ali Williams looked certain to give the New Zealanders the lead in the 67th minute, only to be knocked just into touch after a powerhouse run.

    MacDonald was also held up over the line minutes later.

    But the Crusaders finally hit the lead in the 73rd minute when No.8 Nasi Manu crossed, with the try converted by Hamish Gard.

    Backrower Sam Wykes had a chance to steal the game for the Force with the final play of the match, but with the try-line beckoning, he made the wrong decision to toe the ball forward rather than picking it up.

    The Crusaders' squad included 10 All Blacks, although five-eighth Dan Carter (calf) and hooker Corey Flynn (thumb) were absentees.

    The Force were without Scott Staniforth, Scott Fava and Lachlan MacKay.

    The tightness of Saturday night's match was in stark contrast to the Crusaders' opening trial match last weekend, when they thrashed the Hurricanes 55-33.

    The Crusaders open the Super 14 competition on February 15 with a home clash against the Brumbies in Christchurch, while the Force are away to the Sharks in Durban.

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    Deans flags Force as contenders

    February 02, 2008 NEW Australia coach Robbie Deans tipped the Western Force to be genuine Super 14 finals contenders this year after the Crusaders edged to a 12-7 win in a rugby trial match.

    Deans is serving one final season as Crusaders coach before taking over the top job in Australian rugby.

    The Crusaders, who are once again likely to be the team to beat in the Super 14 competition, trailed for much of the night at Olympic Park before No.8 Nasi Manu scored the match-winning try in the 73rd minute.

    "The Force looked really well drilled," said Deans.

    "They are obviously working hard, conditioning-wise.

    "They were tough and they were physical and I would suggest they mean business this year.

    "They play a good brand of football and if you look back to last year's campaign they were knocking on the door of the playoffs.

    "And that performance there today was significantly better than this time last year so they are going to be a handful."

    Deans also got a good look at Matt Giteau, who will settle at five-eighth for the Force this year and is also the leading contender to replace Stephen Larkham in the Wallabies' No.10 jumper


    "It was always going to be a battle of strength and conditioning as both teams were getting started," said Force coach John Mitchell.

    "We got match fitness out of it.

    "Our response to the new rules and our adaptation to them was quite good."

    The Crusaders' squad included 10 All Blacks, although five-eighth Dan Carter (calf) and hooker Corey Flynn (thumb) were absentees.

    The Force were without Scott Staniforth, Scott Fava and Lachlan MacKay.

    The Crusaders open the Super 14 competition on February 15 with a home clash against the Brumbies in Christchurch, while the Force are away to the Sharks in Durban.

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    Veteran Jess's Avatar
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    Sounds pretty promising! Would have loved to have seen it but I'm chuffed with the live updates and the kind words from Deans!

    Can't wait for March 9th!

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    I made Happy sad...

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    Quote Originally Posted by RugbyWA View Post
    The build up work by AJ Whalley led to the try, as the giant prop galloped 30 metres into Crusaders territory before offloading to Giteau.
    Is there anything AJ can't do?

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    "Pain heels. Chicks dig scars and Glory lasts forever." Shane Falco

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    Quote Originally Posted by Exile View Post
    Is there anything AJ can't do?
    cant wait to see the footage of the try

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    Veteran Contributor frontrow's Avatar
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    I reckon, AJ is gonna be the new poster boy for props, as if he wasn't already...Move over boof...

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    Champion Shaun's Avatar
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    A few questions...

    Giteau took the conversion, does this mean that he will be doing so instead of Sheps in the Super 14?

    Did Sheps play?

    Where was Stanners?

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    Every forwards dream is to become a back...

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by travelling_gerry View Post
    Impressive prop AJ Whalley made the initial midfield burst before passing to Scott Daruda.

    That's some pretty handy company to be compared with and found to be IMPRESSIVE!

    Onya AJ! AJ and Boof will rampage this year. I'll have to find a way to get both of them on the park in my fantasy team!

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    C'mon the

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    Isnt it so refreshing to see a balanced report without the vile - from our friends across the ditch the Crusdaders web site.



    Crusaders close out the Force
    February 3, 2008

    For the second week running, the Crusaders have come from behind to wrap up a pre-season trial win, edging out the Western Force 12-7 during a fast-paced but occasionally erratic match at Olympic Park in Melbourne last night.

    After trailing from the 19th minute mark in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 7000, the Crusaders finally found the front in the game with just seven minutes remaining, when 20-year-old loose forward Nasi Manu bulldozed his way across the Force goal-line from close range.

    The rookie No 8, who appears to have grown in confidence on the back of his maiden Air New Zealand Cup campaign for Canterbury last year, landed the decisive blow after a concerted period of Crusaders’ pressure as the clock ticked towards the finish.

    In the five minutes before Manu finally scored, firstly lock Ali Williams was taken out by the corner post after some desperate Force defence, then Leon MacDonald was held up after going quickly against a back-peddling defensive line from a free kick.

    That the Crusaders held their composure to finally crack the resilient Australians was a credit, although skipper Richard McCaw was quick to acknowledge that his side had been a bit anxious at times.

    “It got a bit frantic there for a bit. We were probably all trying a bit too hard, but that does happen a bit at this time of the year [pre-season] and they [the Force] would probably say the same thing of the way they played,” McCaw said.

    “In that regard, it was a good hit-out for both sides. It was certainly physical and a step up in terms of its intensity on what we’d had the previous week [against the Hurricanes].”

    McCaw’s coach, Robbie Deans, agreed.

    “The physical nature was just what we needed as a group at this stage of our preparation,” Deans said.

    “The Force asked plenty of questions. They’re a good side, and are going to trouble a few on the evidence of what they showed here.”

    After the frenetic nature of the Crusaders’ 55-33 win over the Hurricanes at Motueka, Deans had expected Australian opposition to provide a different playing style applying the new experimental law variations.

    He wasn’t disappointed.

    While the game was still played at a lightening pace, with both sides guilty of failing to temper their adventurous instincts on occasion; the contact in the collision area was a significant step up on the previous week.

    The Force also gave the Crusaders usually excellent defense a severe working over during the opening quarter when, fielding close to a full strength combination against what was an experimental Crusaders starting XV, the Australians were almost totally dominant.

    By the time of the first break after 20 minutes, the Force led 7-0, having monopolized territory and possession.

    If anything, the Australian side probably should have fashioned an even greater advantage, such was the authority it exhibited during this period, but it would be churlish to criticize the approach as coach John Mitchell had clearly asked his side to press for tries at every opportunity.

    So total was the Force’s dominance, it took 10 minutes for the Crusaders to enter their opposition’s half, and this only came after they’d twice held out when the Force kicked attacking penalties for the sideline.

    Ironically, after all of the Crusaders’ resilience in defence to blunt the close quarters Force attack; they then yielded a try just before the first stoppage – with the score starting 60 metres out.

    A solid bust by Force prop AJ Whalley, who overpowered a smaller Crusaders backline opponent, allowed the Western Australians to get in behind the Crusaders backline.

    They quickly capitalized, and while a superb tackle on Matt Giteau by MacDonald nearly stalled the raid, centre Ryan Cross was on hand to match his feat from the corresponding game last season when he also posted a try.

    Giteau, who caused the Crusaders major problems running wild from first-five-eighths, converted from the sideline to consolidate his side’s early advantage.

    The tight nature of the contest continued through the second quarter, which finished score-less despite plenty of movement at both ends of the field.

    While the Crusaders enjoyed a greater share of the field position in the second period, they were generally well contained by the Force.

    The best opportunity of the period saw Kieran Read break through before floating a wide pass to Sean Maitland, who kicked through to the goal-line but the Force got back to cover.

    The injection of a number of fresh legs at halftime, including skipper Richard McCaw, provided an immediate dividend after the break when MacDonald smashed his way across in the corner in the 43rd minute.

    MacDonald started at fullback, and finished at second-five-eighths, but was playing at first-five-eighths when he scored to get the Crusaders rolling.

    Stephen Brett, who switched to fullback for the second half, failed to convert from touch, but the score changed the tone of the game, with the Crusaders growing more assertive.

    The try was immediately followed by another Crusaders raid which only ended when a penalty for obstruction was awarded against the attacking side.

    Unfortunately this took the wind out of the Crusaders sails and the game then meandered for the rest of the period, being punctuated by mistakes from both sides as they endeavoured to force the issue.

    Even when the Crusaders finally cracked the Force to take the lead, the Australians refused to throw in the towel, nearly stealing the game at the end with a high kick that bounced around in the in-goal before being forced dead.

    “It’s another important step for us as we head towards the first competition game,” Deans said.

    “We’ve banked a little bit more time in the saddle together as a unit. Now we’ve got to get over this quickly, recover and get ready for the next one – against the Waratahs on Thursday night.”

    The Waratahs will be the Crusaders final test prior to kicking off the Rebel Sport Super 14 against the ACT Brumbies, who provided an interested spectator on Saturday night in the form of its coach Laurie Fisher, who watched the Melbourne action from the Olympic Park stands

    The 13th Crusade now moves on to Sydney and the annual pre-season Rotomahana Challenge match against the NSW Waratahs at Aussie Stadium.

    The team relocates to Sydney today and will be based at Manly in the lead-up to the tie.

    Hooker Corey Flynn (hand) and first-five-eighths Daniel Carter (calf) are expected to make their returns to playing duty in the game, although winger Caleb Ralph is likely to be rested after suffering whiplash in a solid tackle against the Force. His was the only injury of significance to come out of the Melbourne match.

    Halfback Andrew Ellis and flanker Reuben Thorne are also on the mend, and expected to return to the field shortly, although lock Ross Filipo is likely to be out for at least four weeks and possibly longer after sustaining a neck injury.

    Last year’s All Black second row was a late withdrawal from the Hurricanes match due to the irritation. Subsequent examinations revealed the need for a short break from the game to receive treatment, which ruled out his participation in the rest of the pre-season campaign.

    A likely return date for Filipo is still to be fixed and will depend on how the injury responds to treatment.

    Crusaders 12, Western Force 7

    At Olympic Park, Melbourne, February 2

    For the Crusaders: Tries by Leon MacDonald and Nasi Manu; conversion by Hamish Gard.

    For the Western Force: Try by Ryan Cross; conversion by Matt Giteau.

    Quarter-time: Western Force 7, Crusaders 0

    Halftime: Western Force 7, Crusaders 0

    Three-quarter time: Western Force 7, Crusaders 5

    The Crusaders team was: Leon MacDonald, Sean Maitland, Casey Laulala, Tim Bateman, Caleb Ralph, Stephen Brett, Steve Alfeld, Nasi Manu, George Whitelock, Kieran Read, Michael Paterson, Brad Thorn, Ben Franks, Ti’i Paulo, Wyatt Crockett.

    Replacements Used: Scott Hamilton, Kade Poki, Hamish Gard, Kahn Fotuali’i, Lualua Vailoaloa, Mose Tuiali’i, Richard McCaw, Ali Williams, James Broadhurst, Greg Somerville, Campbell Johnstone, Steve Fualau.

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    Crusaders close out the Force - Canterbury Rugby Football Union

    Copyright © Canterbury RFU 2008

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    Champion Contributor no.8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    A few questions...

    Giteau took the conversion, does this mean that he will be doing so instead of Sheps in the Super 14? He did for some of last year when Shep hurt his leg. I reckon this year Shep will kick long and Gitts will kick short.

    Did Sheps play? Yes

    Where was Stanners? Karrinyup Shopping Centre.
    Just heard from a mate that there we're 8,000 plus at the game. There was no official figure was taken, but there could have been as many as 10,000!!!
    The Crusaders attracted 10,500 at their first warm up match against Wellington.

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    Last edited by no.8; 03-02-08 at 13:43.
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    Champion Shaun's Avatar
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    Ok thanks.

    I need to know who's going to be kicking for the sharks...

    Ruan or Steyn?

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    Every forwards dream is to become a back...

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    Champion Contributor no.8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    Ok thanks.

    I need to know who's going to be kicking for the sharks...

    Ruan or Steyn?
    Why? Your going to lose to us anyway!!!
    Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!! Force!!

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    Brother Gallagher I hear you

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    Champion Shaun's Avatar
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    I support the Force 100%

    Sharks are my 2nd side.

    Anyways It's a very important question, if you want to do well in the fantasy game.

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    Every forwards dream is to become a back...

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