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28th April 2009, 16:30 WST
Western Force coach John Mitchell says that the lack of pressure on his side to perform in South Africa is the reason for their fantastic Super 14 record on the other side of the Indian Ocean.
Of the nine Australia- and New Zealand-based teams in Super rugby history, only the Force and the Crusaders have a better than 50 per cent record when visiting South Africa.
While the seven-time champions from Christchurch have won 16 of their 30 games in the Republic, the WA franchise has enjoyed a competition-best 62.5 per cent winning ratio away from home against the Bulls, Lions, Stormers, Cheetahs and Sharks.
That record in South Africa includes five wins and a draw from eight matches, and one win in as many attempts against the Bulls at high altitude at the feared Loftus Versfeld.
The Pretoria ground is the Force’s next port of call as the 2009 finals series draws nearer and they must win all of their remaining three games to stand a chance of finishing in the top four.
But Mitchell says they hold no fears ahead of their two-week tour of South Africa, with matches against the second-placed Bulls and the Cape Town-based Stormers to come before a final round clash with the Highlanders at Subiaco Oval.
“We’re not as far away as the Eastern States sides or the Kiwi teams, we don’t have to travel as far so jetlag’s not an issue,” Mitchell said.
“I don’t know what it is, it’s just the fact that for some reason we enjoy going to South Africa. We’re pretty excited about it and we’ve given ourselves another opportunity to stay alive in the competition. So I guess there’s extra excitement.
“We just don’t put huge expectations on ourselves, whereas other teams for some reason seem to worry about going to South Africa and get concerned about altitude, travel and all that sort of stuff. We just have to do it so it’s just part of our preparation.”
Mitchell will take a 26-man touring squad to South Africa knowing that a big win could see the Force leapfrog the Bulls on the table, but a loss would all but rule out their finals hopes.
The Force piled on 55 points, their biggest ever score in a match, against the Lions last week in Perth and will be on the front foot again in Pretoria.
“We’ve got to win, it’s as simple as that, so nothing changes,” he said.
“We’ll continue to be attack-focused in our approach. I’ve certainly enjoyed seeing the guys play some super rugby over the past few weeks.”
PERTH
SHAYNE HOPE
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ntentID=138759
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