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Got there quite late and missed alot of the pre game build up action but didnt mind really as I was there to see the Force in action. Enjoyed the Aboriginal war dance, thought it was fantastic.
Really enjoyed the game and the intensity of the Force. Felt the game started off really slowly though and was frustrated for the first 8 or so minutes with the stopages and the lack of urgency to form the scrum (hence the scrum clock didnt kick in, and on that note I think they should increase the scrum clock by 5 seconds but start it immediately after the ref blows his whistle, not once he calls for them to set. The scrums still felt slow at times.
The game itself was brilliant though, roaring pace by the Force and they smashed it up through the phases with one or two out passes to get the team moving forward before spreading the ball from side to side with ruthless pace. The rugby was incredible, a brilliant advertisement, Rugbys back!
Impressed by Tonga coming back in the first half to be within 4 points but they werent really in it. Too many mistakes and they couldnt seem to put together enough phases to be threatening. Too much reliance on individual brilliance or a counter attack.
I thought the Force played excellent in the second half and put the game out of reach with some really awesome attacking rugby. The handling was superb and they really seemed to have a feel for where their support players would be, some great offloads too, overall a great display of cohesion. Its fitting when your team plays highly entertaining Rugby when you watch the dribble being served up on the East Coast. Really impressed with the teams attacking attitude and just general basic skills. Its refreshing.
I went home and watched the game I recorded on my TV and was happy enough with the commentry. I though Chris Handy seemed to speak quite slow but I got used to him, thought they got the balance right in the second half when they introduced the 3rd commentator. Having Bray and Handy just isnt enough to be fulfilling. I also thought they should amplify the crowd noise and tone down the commentary a bit like what they do with some of the Soccer matches overseas, they should look into this because super rugby sounds dull on TV and has no appreciation for bringing the atmosphere into their broadcast, I dont want World Series Rugby to follow suit when it could definitely bring the crowd noise into the TV broadcast for people who dont have their TVs hooked up to high end amplifiers who can manually do this for the games they want.
Overall I am super impressed with it. Thought the kiss cam was done well. Music was good and entertaining during play. My two kids loved it and want to come back. I felt they knew how to keep their attention just enough to make then engage with the game.
Want to say a big thanks to Andrew Twiggy Forrest. Well done mate. Super impressive and look forward to more of it. Cant wait for next years edition. Will be back for every game this year. Can't wait.