LESSONS FOR THE FORCE IN OPENING TRIAL
A youthful Emirates Western Force side has succumbed to a full-strength Stormers outfit 54-12 in the first of their Neo Africa Tri-series trial matches at Newlands in Cape Town.
Seven of the Emirates Western Force run on side made their debut for the club, four of those playing their first Super 14 match. Coach John Mitchell sticking with his plan to blood the club’s new talent and allow his entire touring party at least 80 minutes of football over the two matches.
The Stormers enjoyed the rub of the green from the opening whistle and took full advantage by running in six tries to nil in the opening 40 minutes. Full back Joe Pietersen crossed twice, slotted four successful conversions and booted a penalty goal in a dominant first half.
The Emirates Western Force hit back after half time with tries to debutants Joelin Rapana and Mark Swanepoel but were unable to peg back the home side after their barnstorming opening.
In past season’s the Force had started their trial phase with a game against local Academy players in Perth but Mitchell said the opportunity to face a hardened Super 14 opponent has produced some valuable outcomes.
“We wanted our players to be under no illusions, certainly our new players, our young players, of what Super 14 takes,” Mitchell said following the match.
“The reality is they’ve had great learning during that situation.
“We want to come out of South Africa with every player having 80 minutes under their belt before we go into our third trial (at home against the Reds in a fortnight).”
While the score line might have reflected a lopsided affair Mitchell was happy to have the first stage of the trial phase complete and to give the club’s developing talent a run.
“Clearly in that first quarter we were undone by kick receipt, second quarter we were undone by general play maul and line-out maul so that kind of thing you can fix. Second half it was a much more even contest,” Mitchell said.
“We’ve come for eight lots of 20minutes (drinks breaks are taken midway through each half) and want to get learning out of those quarters but credit to the Stormers, they look a very good side.”
The club’s Wallaby contingent looked on from the pine for most of the match but was introduced from 60 minutes onwards. Skipper Nathan Sharpe and winger Cameron Shepherd enjoyed their first outings following off-season surgery while internationals David Pocock, James O’Connor and Ryan Cross also enjoyed a run late in the match. All will receive more time on Tuesday night against the Sharks, the match again to be played at Newlands.
“What you saw at the end of the match, most of that group will play (against the Sharks), we want everyone getting 80 minutes. We have a lot of the internationals coming back so it is important to get a stretch of 50 to 60 minutes for them,” said Mitchell.
Sharpe entered the fray with 20 minutes remaining and his presence added impetus to the Force line-out which had found it tough going against an experienced Stormers crew.
“We have a lot of new guys that are cutting their teeth. You can throw as many balls and jump in as many uncontested line-outs as you like (at training) but you don’t get a lot of practice until you put it to the test,” Sharpe said.
“The Stormers have a very good line-out and it was a great acid test for us to come into and I think it is going to stand us in good stead. By the looks of it the Stormers fielded their number one side straight up and it’s not always a bad thing coming out of trial matches knowing where you need to improve.”
New Force recruit Matt Dunning played just a short burst in his debut before being shown red by the referee. The Stormers Jacque Potgieter also sitting out the final five minutes and both players will be required to front the judiciary in Cape Town on Monday.
“The situation will be dealt with properly and as I understand it the incident was quite minor,” Mitchell said following the match.
Neo Africa Tri-series – Match 1
Saturday, 23 January 2010 at Newlands, Cape Town
Vodacom Stormers 54
Emirates Western Force 12
Crowd: 18,000 (approx)
Emirates Western Force XV: 15.Dane Haylett-Petty, 14.Joelin Rapana, 13.Mitch Inman, 12.Josh Tatupu, 11.Mark Swanepoel, 10.Mark Bartholomeusz, 9.Chris O’Young, 8.Sam Wykes, 7.Matt Hodgson, 6.Ben McCalman, 5.Tom Hockings, 4.Richard Stanford, 3.Tim Fairbrother, 2.Ben Whittaker, 1.Nic Henderson
Substitutes: 16.Ryan Tyrrell, 17.Kieran Longbottom, 18. Nathan Sharpe, 19. David Pocock, 20.Brett Sheehan, 22.Cameron Shepherd, 23.James O’Connor, 24.Ryan Cross, 25.Sam Harris, 26.Matt Dunning
By the clock: (*score – home side mentioned first)
2min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Joe Pietersen. Converted by Joe Pietersen. (7-0)
9min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Andries Bekker. Converted by Joe Pietersen. (14-0)
12min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Tiaan Liebenberg. Converted by Joe Pietersen. (21-0)
16min: Penalty goal to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Joe Pietersen. (24-0)
28min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Joe Pietersen. Converted by Joe Pietersen. (31-0)
30min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Peter Grant. Not converted by Joe Pietersen. (36-0)
37min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Bryan Habana. Not converted by Joe Pietersen. (41-0)
HALF TIME: Vodacom Stormers 41 – 0 Emirates Western Force
43min: Penalty goal to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Joe Pietersen. (44-0)
44min: Try to the Emirates Western Force scored by Joelin Rapana. Not Converted by Mark Bartholomeusz (44-5)
63min: Try to the Emirates Western Force scored by Mark Swanepoel. Converted by James O’Connor(44-12)
71min: Try to the Vodacom Stormers scored by JJ Engelbrecht. Converted by Peter Grant. (51-12)
79min: Penalty goal to the Vodacom Stormers scored by Peter Grant. (54-12)
Replacements –
60min: Nathan Sharpe replaces Tom Hockings
60min: David Pocock replaces Matt Hodgson
60min: Kieran Longbottom replaces Nic Henderson
60min: James O’Connor replaces Dane Haylett-Petty
60min: Ryan Cross replaces Chris O’Young
60min: Ryan Tyrrell replaces Ben Whittaker
60min: Matt Dunning replaces Tim Fairbrother
70min: Cameron Shepherd replaces Mitch Inman
70min: Sam Harris replaces Josh Tatupu
70min: Brett Sheehan replaces Mark Swanepoel
75min: Tim Fairbrother replaces Richard Stanford (following a red card to Matt Dunning)
Neo Africa Tri-series - Next Match
Sharks v Emirates Western Force
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 at Newlands, Cape Town
http://rugbywa.com.au/news/article,57121.html
Force thrashed, Dunning sent off
January 24, 2010 - 8:36AM
The Western Force have been thrashed 54-12 by the Stormers in their first Super 14 trial in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Stormers scored seven tries to two against an inexperienced Force side, most of whose Wallaby stars started on the bench.
Skipper and lock Nathan Sharpe made his return from a shoulder injury in the second half, but recruit and Wallabies prop Matt Dunning was sent off on his debut for the Force.
He will face a judiciary on Monday after allegedly punching a Stormers player late in the game.:verysad:
The Force will play another South African side, the Sharks, on Tuesday in their last match of the three-team pre-season competition.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...0124-mryp.html
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http://sport.iafrica.com/news/2182300.htm Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:36
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenhage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Pieter Myburgh, 5 Andries Bekker (captain), 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements - from: Deon Fourie, JC Kritzinger, JD Moller, Anton van Zyl, Jacques Potgieter, Pieter Louw, Bolla Conradie, Lionel Cronjé, Sireli Naqelevuki, JJ Engelbrecht.
Western Force squad: Mark Bartholomeusz, Richard Brown, Ryan Cross, Matt Dunning, Tim Fairbrother, Sam Harris, Dane Haylett-Petty, Nic Henderson, Tom Hockings, Matthew Hodgson, Mitch Inman, Kieran Longbottom, Ben McCalman, James O'Connor, Chris O'Young, Andre Pretorius, David Pocock, Nathan Sharpe, Brett Sheehan, Cameron Shepherd, Richard Stanford, Mark Swanepoel, Joshua Tatupu, Ryan Tyrrell, Ben Whittaker, Sam Wykes, Joelin Rapana.
The scorers:
For the Stormers:
Tries: Pietersen 2, Bekker, Liebenberg, Grant, Habana, Engelbrecht
Cons: Pietersen 4, Grant
Pens: Pietersen 2, Grant
For the Western Force:
Tries: Rapana, Swanepoel
Con: O'Connor
New recruit Bryan Habana scored one of the Stormers' seven tries as they routed the Western Force 54-12 in a Super 14 pre-season outing at Newlands on Saturday.
It was hot at windless, midsummer Newlands. It was hot walking to the ground. It was hot sitting in the ground. Heaven know how hot it must have been playing the ground. It was hardly surprising that the game, ended as a competition in aide a quarter of an hour, petered out in the long-drawn out, stop-start second half when the brightest moment was a heated exchange just before the end which saw veteran prop Matt Dunning and neophyte loose forward Jacques Potgieter sent from the field for fighting, Dunning punched and Potgieter for running in to attack Dunning. Both were replacements, both recent "acquisitions" for their teams.
The Western Force had most of their big-name players on the bench for most of the match, possibly to conserve them for Tuesday night's match with the Sharks. They even had a scrumhalf, teenager Mark Swanepoel on the left wing and clearly all at sea, which suited the Stormers who scored their first three tries down his side of the field. He did get a brief spell at scrumhalf and celebrated the opportunity with a try. But it was probably an afternoon he would rather forget, which may well be the feelings, too, of fullback Dane Haylett-Petty.
The Force had more ball than the Stormers - more line-outs, more scrums and more penalties but the Stormers had too much speed for the visitors - speed on the outside and speed to the breakdown. They won the turnover count hands down, something winning turnovers when the Force was close, sometimes to turn turnovers into tries, of which they scored seven.
Of concern to the home team must be their penalty count. They were penalised nine times at the tackle and three times at the scrum.
The organisation was slightly different. For the first half it seemed that both teams were playing identical outfits - jerseys with a lot of white and clue and some stripes and black shorts. This ridiculous problem was solved after half-time when the Stormers came out in different jerseys.
There were waterbreaks in each half, lots of substitutes used in the second half - 10 by each side. There was more of the feel of a match practice in the second half as the referee tried to help the players with explanations.
All of this, plus the one-sided scoreline, robbed the game of impetus.
Before the match the crowd of 18 000 was encouraged to welcome two new stars to the Stormers - Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie.
It took the Stormers two minutes to start winning. The Force kicked off and the Stormers kicked out. The Stormers won the Force's line-out and Dewaldt Duvenhage lobbed a kick down the right. The ball bounced high and chasing Gio Aplon got the ball. It went left where Fourie threaded through a grubber which Haylett-Petty missed. Joe Pietersen ran passed him scored. Pietersen converted. 7-0.
Hooker Tiaan Liebenberg, a great favourite at Newlands, burst down the right and chipped ahead. Haylett-Petty lost the ball which Duane Vermeulen picked up. Tackled the No.8 gave to tall Andries Bekker who ran over with a gesture of triumph and scored. 14-0 after 10 minutes. Mark Bartholomeusz kicked ahead. The Stormers fielded the ball and drove the maul downfield. They got quick ball and went right. Aplon beat two defenders and gave to Liebenberg who also signalled his triumph with a try which Pietersen converted from far out. 21-0 after 13 minutes.
When the Force were penalised at a tackle, Pietersen made it 24-0 after 176 minutes.
Two penalties and three scrums set the Force attacking but at no stage did they look like scoring, be they ever so close. Instead the Stormers counterrucked and Duvenhage cleared.
Another turnover produced a try. Haylett-Petty suffered a heavy tackle and the Stormers turned the ball over, going left. Fourie gave to Pietersen who ran 55 metres to score with Habana free on his outside., 31-0 after 28 minutes.
From the kick-off the Stormers secured and went right where Pietersen sent Peter Grant racing over for a try. 36-0 after 31 minutes.
The Stormers threw to Bekker in the line-out - which was no surprise - and formed a maul which they rushed downfield till Pieter Myburgh broke away. He was tackled at the line but the ball came back to Habana who had only to dive the score. It must be the shortest try the great wing has ever scored. 41-0, which was the half-time score.
The Stormers kicked penalties at goal regardless of the score. The Force, despite the score, opted for scrums and line-outs. So when the Force were offside, Pietersen made it 44-0 after 42 minutes.
The first Force try came from a penalty in their own half. They tapped and kicked across to the right where Joshua Tatupu got the high bounce and gave to Joelin Rapana who raced away to score. 44-5 after 44 minutes.
It was at this stage that the match became stodgy, but the Force scored their second try. They turned a penalty into a line-out. The ball came to the backs and there was a tackle in front of the posts, Swanepoel, gratefully at scrumhalf, picked up and darted through a massive gap to score at the posts, which encourage his team-mates to mob him. 44-12 after 64 minutes.
The Stormers had a penalty and replacement flyhalf Lionel Cronjé kicked a long kick with great accuracy for a line-out five metres from the Force line on their left. They spun the ball right and suddenly big, fast JJ Engelbrecht came cutting through - straight through to the posts. It was an excellent try. 51-12 with 9 minutes to play.
Just after this Dunning and Potgieter were sent off.
With a minute to go, the Force were penalised at a tackle and - sad to say - the Stormers kicked the penalty goal.
In the Force side are a Swanepoel and a Pretorius. Mark Swanepoel was born in South Africa but grew up in Queensland and played for Australian Schools and Australia Under-20. What happened to him at Newlands seemed cruel to a 19-year-old. André Pretorius has moved from the Lions to the Force but did not play in this match.
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant referees: Joey Salmans, Marc van Zyl
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http://www.keo.co.za/2010/01/23/bok-...-for-stormers/
Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana showed their class in the Stormers’ 54-12 smashing of the Western Force at Newlands.
Force coach John Mitchell picked his second-string for this encounter with Andre Pretorius and Richard Brown not even named on the bench. Nathan Sharpe and David Pocock were also omitted, and as a result, the tourists were often exposed in areas such as the lineout and breakdown.
The Stormers scored three tries inside the first 15 minutes thanks to a combination of brilliant finishing and sloppy defence. After a sustained assault on the Force line, the ball flew to Fourie who grubbered through the advancing defenders. The ball bounced away from the hapless Dane Haylett-Petty and into the grasp of opposite number Joe Pietersen.
Haylett-Petty missed the ball again when Stormers hooker Tiaan Liebenberg, on the breakaway, chipped into space. The Force fullback dived but failed to secure the mark, and an alert Duane Vermeulen scooped the loose ball and offloaded to the ever-present Andries Bekker.
Gio Aplon was next to embarrass the opposition, dancing his way around several would-be tacklers before popping the perfect pass to Liebenberg on the far touchline. At 21-0 down, the Force dirt-trackers were in danger of a complete thumping.
The Stormers scrum wobbled on occasion but they bossed the lineouts both on their own and opposition throw. They were the hungrier side at the breakdown, even though inaccuracy did see them concede the odd penalty. Apart from fantastic line defence, their performance on the deck resulted in several important steals, one that led to Pietersen’s second try.
The ball was drifted wide by Brok Harris of all people, but it was Fourie that delivered the pass that put Pietersen away. Peter Grant then fended the shattered Haylett to score a try of his own, and a patient build culminated in Habana’s first try for the Cape franchise from short range. The 18 000-strong crowd cheered Habana from his first touch, and judging by the response to his first try, he’s set to become a firm favourite at Newlands.
Pietersen kicked six from eight and looks set to assume the goal-kicking responsibility in the opening Super 14 match against the Lions. The Stormers blew hot and cold with their kicking strategy, Grant often mistiming his garryowens. The good news is that Habana and Aplon did trouble the defence when Grant got it right, and could be a handful when the kick-chase tactic is employed later in the season.
The low point of the match saw Force prop Matt Dunning red carded for a punch in the dying minutes. Stormers loose forward Jacques Potgieter was also given his marching orders after he flew into the scuffle after the referee’s whistle.
There was no television coverage to capture Dunning’s punch, but the fact that referee Mark Lawrence saw it could lead to the player’s suspension.
The Stormers must be credited for their finishing, but it was to be expected against the Force’s second team. The win will give them confidence, but there’s plenty of food for thought ahead of the Super 14 proper. Apart from the inconsistency at scrum time, the attack will also need to be sharper and their intensity higher when coming up against an organised defence.
In the curtain raiser, Western Province XV beat Stellenbosch 59-26. The match was loose with Maties’ regular lapses allowing the hosts to punish them out wide in the first half.
Flyhalf Conrad Hoffmann was solid without being spectacular, kicking 15 points in all, while replacement Lionel Cronje sparked some exciting play in the final quarter of both matches. His offload to JJ Englebrecht in the 72nd minute of the Force match gifted the reserve winger a try and underlined his attacking threat.
By Jon Cardinelli, at Newlands