0
![Not allowed!](images/buttons/down_dis.png)
![Not allowed!](images/buttons/up_dis.png)
Force fall to Rebels in high-scoring Super Round encounter
Fri, Mar 1, 2024, 6:58 PM
Nick Taylor
Western Force slipped to their second Super Rugby Pacific defeat, beaten 48-34 by the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Round at AAMI Park on Friday night.
They were hit by a second-half barrage from the Rebels who were down by 15 points at the 50-minute mark before running in 29 unanswered points.
Both teams were looking to rebound after first round losses and the Force went into the break with a five-point lead.
The Force opened up a 34-19 lead after Michael Wells' try early in the second half, but let in four tries in the next 10 minutes as the Rebels ran away with victory.
The result leaves the Force 0-2 ahead of their Round 3 clash away to the ACT Brumbies in Canberra next Saturday.
The Force were boosted by the return of captain Jeremy Williams while prop Ryan Coxon, the former Crusaders and Chiefs front-rower signed on an injury cover contract, was rushed straight into the starting side.
But their front-row woes continued when he was taken off on a stretcher after suffering a neck injury in a second-half tackle. He was later seen sitting on the bench.
Force scrum-half Nic White said the side could not wait to right the wrongs of last week, adding it would be a good party to crash. But they were not to be party-poopers.
The Force defence was tested early but scrambled well. Their pack was giving away almost 50kg to the Rebels who put them under early pressure but the Force were superior at the line-out and Williams stole two throws to launch their first multi-phase attack.
But they could not finish and Rebels winger Andrew Kellaway made the most of an error on eight minutes with an arcing 50-metre run to score. The Force hit straight back as they gained momentum.
A line-out win saw the ball moved across the backline where fly-half Ben Donaldson made a great break to feed Chase Tiatia in the corner. Donaldson converted.
And they stretched the lead after yet another line-out win, on their own throw, and a well organised rolling maul saw hooker Tom Horton force his way over. Donaldson converted.
Rebels second-rower Josh Canham was yellow carded at the maul.
After a tit-for-tat kicking duel, Harry Potter claimed his own high ball to get his side back on attack with an infringement giving Donaldson the chance to add a penalty.
Potter then made a sensational break but his pass to full-back Max Burey was ruled forward and his "try" ruled out.
At the other end desperate last-ditch defence from White saved what should have been a certain try but he could not stop Rebels No.10 Carter Gordon crossing five minutes before the break.
Again, the Force hit back, and with two minutes of the first-half remaining Burey broke two tackles to reach out and score. Donaldson converted.
As the clock went deep into the red the Rebels had repeated scrums and penalties on the Force line and finally winger Kellaway got on the outside of the defence to cross with Gordon's conversion closing the gap to 24-19 as the whistle went for the break.
Donaldson opened the second-half scoring with an early penalty and a frantic period of end-to-end, side-side play saw flanker Michael Wells go over in the corner. Donaldson added the extras.
But the Rebels crossed four times through Josh Kemeny, Gordon, and two from winger Filipo Daugunu - three converted. Strachan also added a penalty.
Western Force 34
Tries: Tiatia (10'), Horton (15'), Burey (38'), Wells (48')
Conversions: Donaldson 4/4
Penalties: Donaldson 2/2
Melbourne Rebels 48
Tries: Kellaway (8', 48), Gordon (35', 56'), Kemeny (54'), Daugunu (58', 73')
Conversions: Gordon 2/4, Strachan 3/3
Penalties: Strachan 1/1
Happy to report Ryan Coxon is feeling okay . He appreciates the messages of support
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
I've always had the impression (Stan and Fox), that the Australian commentators are very pro the Home Team, until the get to Perth where they suddenly feel they need to be "unbiased".
Strikes me that if commentary should bias one way it should be towards the Visitors as more of the Home audience should be at the ground...
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
fark. i dont think i can take another season of this...
scrw it, im moving to vanuatu.
Cron: 'We just gave them tries, just let them back in'
Fri, Mar 1, 2024, 9:47 PM
Nick Taylor
Western Force coach Simon Cron says the side needs a tougher mindset for the last quarter of the game after the Melbourne Rebels scored 29 unanswered points in Friday night's 48-34 loss AAMI Park.
And Cron has revealed the difficulty and frustration of finding replacement props to fill spots left by a long injury list.
Cron said the side went into their shell in the last 25 minutes of the Super Rugby Pacific Round 2 match.
"We just gave them tries, just let them back in the game," he said.
"The last 25 minutes was probably a mindset where guys went a bit quiet.
"We need to be able to flush that and move on.
"We took a couple of leaders off at that point because we had to sub them at that stage. We went into a shell a bit.
"We've got to look at our finishers, who comes off the bench, what we're doing there, the guys on the field and how they act when those changes are made.
"There's a few things we've got to work on. We've just got to be able to fire further in the second half."
Cron saw improvements in areas like the maul, line-out, line-out defence and attacking team play.
"A lot of our tries were team tries," he said.
"They (Rebels) scored a lot of individual tries, we threw an intercept, we didn't catch a high ball - there's two of them."
Captain Jeremy Williams said defence "came along well" but there were areas of improvement needed.
"That back end of that last 20 minutes both attack and defence line dropped off," he said. "For the most part, quite happy.
"The moments where the momentum shifts, we need to get back to our basics, our systems and structures so we can shift that momentum.
"At the start of the game we did quite well, we just struggled to wrestle that back in the last 20 minutes,"
Cron is hoping Ryan Coxon, the former Crusaders and Chiefs front-rower who signed an injury cover contract and was rushed straight into the starting side, will be fit for Saturday' clash with the Brumbies in Canberra.
Coxon was taken off on a stretcher out of precaution after suffering a neck injury in a second-half tackle but was back watching the game on the reserves bench.
Cron said Coxon had been cleared of serious injury.
"He seems OK. I think he's been cleared of anything serious which is pleasing," he said.
"Hopefully he comes through and is OK.
"I thought he did a really good job considering he's been with us seven days.
"I think at a wild guess his heart and lungs were pretty blown out too with pushing a bit long.
"He might have just decided to hop on the stretcher for that."
Cron is already without injured front-rowers Siosifa Amone, Harry Hoopert, and Angus Wagner.
Marley Pearce is suspended, former All Blacks prop Atu Moli is close to playing while Wallabies prop Tom Robertson is on a sabbatical at Oxford University.
"I messaged Tom Robertson and I said I think it's time to come home son," Cron said. "He said 'I won't be long'."
"We've been looking in Australia for the last four months for extra looseheads.
"We've got two in our academy and one who is with us training but they are not quite up to Super Rugby yet and if I put them out there, I'll hurt them or ruin their career.
"I can't do that. The good thing about Coxon is he came off a Super Rugby pre-season so therefore physically he's in a position where we're not going to hurt him, well hopefully not hurt him.
"You're playing three or four deep in every position but not this deep. This is a real challenge."
The Force face the ACT Brumbies in Canberra next Saturday 9 March from 11:35am WST.
Video of Media Conference in article- https://westernforce.rugby/news/cron...he-game-202431
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
Might be our last season but it's good to keep our domination of the force. #owntheforce
A tough watch, it changed on the scrum before half time... so many resets, without any cards!?
It's going to be another long season !..
Exactly. Well said.
Another tough day at the office but it does appear progress is being made and there are green stalks starting to show.
I am not sure what universe some people live in need but I need to state the bleeding obvious:
* These are not the same players that have played since 2006, therefore we need to stop saying they have been doing the same since then.
* Other franchises have not stayed static since 2006 so that we could catch up, they have also evolved.
To all supporters, those that are new, those that have been here a while, those that have been a here a while longer and those of us that have been here since the start, keep the faith.
The boys are trying hard, the coaching team is the best we have had for some time. We may never be the best but they will always be our team.
Simon Cron: “People talk about winning and losing all the time and they are critical, but there’s a process to get into and it’s the ability to stay present, do your job and execute skills under pressure.”
Defence stats first up.
Tizzano back to his best, Stewart again immense, Horton very busy and Coxon great first up effort:
![]()
Simon Cron: “People talk about winning and losing all the time and they are critical, but there’s a process to get into and it’s the ability to stay present, do your job and execute skills under pressure.”