Force attacked by Sharks
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The Emirates Western Force has ended their two game South African tour with a disappointing 53-11 loss at the hands of an unstoppable Sharks side in Durban this evening.
Emirates Western Force Defence and Skills coach Phil Blake said there were no excuses for the performance and the team were bitterly disappointed with the efforts.
“It was a performance that no one will be proud of and one that you don’t take too many positives from,” said Blake.
“Again our discipline was a major issue and you just can’t be giving away so many penalties in a game if you want to be competitive so that’s one of the things we need to address moving forward.
“With a performance like that we won’t sugar coat it, it is what it is and tonight every aspect of our game was exposed so we need to go back, assess and come up with some solutions which is vitally important in moving forward.”
The Emirates Western Force returns to Perth on Monday and will regroup and begin preparations for their upcoming home games.
“We’ve got three home games coming up with two of them before the break in the season so we’ll need to collectively make sure we maximise those three home games and maximise our season,” Blake said.
“We need to get something out of this season; we can’t just let it dwindle so we need to come up with solutions as a group that are going to put us in a position to win games so we can finish strong.”
The teams traded penalties to kick start the scoring but the Sharks took the lead when Steven Sykes barrelled through the Emirates Western Force defence to score under the cross bar. Patrick Lambie slotted the conversion to put the home side ahead 10-3.
A strong defensive effort from the Sharks left the Emirates Western Force unable to break through despite a number of attempts at reaching the try line. The Sharks were penalised at the break down and David Harvey slotted the penalty goal to put them within four points but the scoring opportunities ended there.
With eight minutes remaining on the clock Paul Jordaan pounced on a gap in the Force defence and he crossed for the try. Lambie added the conversion and another penalty goal on the half time buzzer to extend their lead 20-6.
The Sharks piled on five tries in the second half with the first scored in the very first minute when fullback Louis Ludik crossed under the posts.
The Perth side were their own worst enemy when lapses in concentration saw winger Lwazi Mvovo intercept an Emirates Western Force pass twice within five minutes and score himself a brace. Frederic Michalak missed the first but nailed the second conversion and the Sharks were up by 33 points.
Repeated infringements at the breakdown saw the Emirates Western Force lose Lachlan McCaffrey to the sin bin and the Sharks looked to have capitalised on the additional man when they crossed for a sixth try but the referee ruled a no-try after observing foul play in the lead up.
They didn’t have to wait long for their sixth try to be counted however as Craig Burden slid over just minutes later. Jacques Botes claimed their seventh try with seven minutes remaining on the clock and Michalak added the extras.
The Emirates Western Force fought until the very end and was rewarded when Sam Wara sprinted down the sideline to claim a consolation try in the corner to put the final score at 53-11.
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Originally Posted by jono
