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Today on http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ontentID=26137
Force bank on Henjak
16th April 2007, 8:15 WST
Matt Henjak will rejoin the Western Force in Sydney today to stave off an impending scrum-half crisis.
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Henjak, who missed the Force’s disastrous New Zealand tour with a knee injury, is almost over the problem and Force coach John Mitchell wants him in the team for Friday’s make-or-break Super 14 match against the Brumbies in Canberra.
Henjak’s deputy, Chris O’Young, was concussed during Saturday’s 64-36 loss to the Chiefs and will have cognitive tests later this week to determine if he will be available for selection for the Force’s last away game of the season. Although Henjak is not yet completely over strained knee ligaments, he is expected to be fit by Friday.
After conceding 117 points in two games in New Zealand and plunging from third to seventh, the Force must win all three remaining matches to have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals.
Their defence, particularly around the fringes of scrums and rucks, was pathetic against the Chiefs and this is an area in which Henjak normally excels.
“The physios in Perth are pretty happy with the way he’s gone and feel he’ll be able to play,” said team spokesman Tom Baddeley yesterday.
The Force will train in Sydney for the next few days and fly to Canberra late on Wednesday for the contest with the Brumbies, who will have Wallabies captain George Gregan at the base of the scrum.
New Zealand appears to have a dreadful psychological effect on the Force. In five games in Super 14’s eastern stronghold, the Force have haemorrhaged an appalling 210 points at an average of 42 points per game.
The character and attention to detail evident in their trips to South Africa dissolves when they cross the Tasman and the forwards, who held up so well against the vaunted Bulls pack, were monstered by the Crusaders and Chiefs.
The Force went to New Zealand with the best defensive record in the competition.
A fortnight later, with 117 points added to the 111 they had conceded in eight previous games, they return as the only team in the top half of the table with a negative for-and-against tally. Ouch!
Whatever respect they have built in other parts of the Super 14 circuit does not exist in New Zealand. Chiefs captain Jonno Gibbes gave a telling insight into the disregard New Zealand rugby has for the Force when, after the match, he assessed his side’s next match by saying: “The Sharks will be a big physical step up from today’s opposition.”
Gibbes felt the Chiefs’ defence “leaked like a sieve”. The Chiefs pack belted the Force forwards into submission and helped replacement scrum-half Brendon Leonard look like a world-beater with his uncontested snipes around the fringes.
Mitchell felt the physical toll exacted by the Crusaders still lingered. So, evidently did the mental damage.
“I probably underestimated the fact we had to make 200 tackles last week and that took a lot of juice out of the guys,” said the Force coach.
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