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Force close to greatest Super upset
Richard Loe
23.04.06
The Force were robbed. I was at Subiaco Oval to see them draw with the Crusaders and the referee, touch judges and video official had a bit of a nightmare.
It looked as though the Force had scored with a couple of minutes to go but the 'try' by winger Haig Sare was ruled out after it went to the video ref. We were sitting quite close to the event and also watched it on the big screen at Subiaco. As near as I could see from the replay - and it was very difficult to tell - Sare did not cross the touchline.
But - and here's where the Force were robbed - the touch judge had already said the player wasn't out and the referee 'went upstairs' to check on the grounding of the ball, that's all. So if the video ref was satisfied the ball was grounded, then it must have been a try. They're not too dirty about it in Perth - but I'd certainly understand it if they were.
But how about that decision? There was a lot of fuss about Rua Tipoki last week and how he'd damaged the Force. Well, I'd say this decision damaged the Force just as much as anything Tipoki did.
Tipoki's out for 16 weeks and yet these four officials will get another job next week. Sometimes rugby just doesn't seem fair at all.
It wasn't the only beef I had with the refereeing. There were strange decisions all through that game - like in the first minutes when he penalised the Force for a tackle without arms. It was just a hard hit, that's all, where the player bounced off in the tackle. Ridiculous.
That try by Sare should have won the Force the match and it would have been deserved. It would also have been the biggest upset in the history of the competition and would have absolutely confirmed the Force's support for next year.
They are already buzzing about signing Wallaby back Matt Giteau for next year. A win would have underpinned the fantastic support they've had this year and make it even more forceful next year.
Actually, their support is good for this part of the world and will probably still grow next year anyway.
I don't think I've ever seen such a strong crowd of supporters and so many people wearing the gear of their team.
They played well, too. If they'd played like that against the Blues, they'd have beaten them. With Greg Somerville and Chris Jack missing, the Crusaders' front five lacked a bit of oomph. The scrum was much improved when Somerville came on.
There were a lot of mistakes but there was a bad shower before the game and it was very humid and slippery. However, when all is said and done, it looks like the Force will be more of a force next year.
They are recruiting aggressively - there are apparently more players than Giteau on the way - and they are organising a quadrangular tournament involving a Japanese side and South African teams to make sure they have a good bedrock of rugby below Super 14 level.
They might not have won a game yet but the Force seem here to stay.
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