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The Western Force have stormed home to win an epic clash against the Pretoria and their first victory at home this season. The Perth boys had the better of the second half; scoring 14 points to 6. The final result was 26-21. What a fantastic effort from the Force teams. The home crowd is in a rapture and the Bulls are left with their championship defence in tatters.
Both sides showed that they had come to win in the first half, however a 17th minute yellow card to James O'Connor gifted the Bulls an advantage on the scoreboard that they have not relinquished.
Neither side were slow to come into this clash with the Bulls punishing defence neutralizing a fluent and composed Force attack. Pressure paid off for the Force in the 4th minute with a James O'Connor penalty goal.
The tables turned from the Bulls' kick off with the away side hot on attack and the Force putting on a display of aggressive defence. The Force were lucky to escape a Bulls try in the 11th minute after the final pass to an unmarked winger was judged to be forward. It didn't matter in the end as the Bulls turned over the resulting scrum and Chilliboy Ralepele rumbled over the line a few phases later. Sharpshooter Morne Steyn had an off kick leaving the away side with just a 5-3 lead.
James O'Connor then went from hero to villain as another penalty kick to regain the lead was followed up by a yellow card for a dangerous lifting tackle. O'Connor's 10 minutes in the bin hurt the Force with the Bulls scoring a try to Bjorn Basson after a textbook line-out maul. The conversion brought the score out to 12-6.
Both teams traded penalties from this point; both penalties awarded from scrums. The Force managed a final penalty late in the piece after a Bulls high tackle inside their own 22. This took the home team to just a 3 point deficit at the half.
The second half was a scrappy affair, as per usual with the Force, and it took until the 54th minute for either team to get on the board. Pinned in their half and unable to gain possession of the pill, the Force eventually cracked and gave a penalty. Morne Steyn happily converted to give the Bulls a 6 point lead.
The Force hit back quickly, and twice, with two O'Connor penalties in the space of 3 minutes a definite sign that the away team was starting to crack from fatigue and pressure.
A brilliant Cameron Shepherd try in the 67th minute looked to put the nail in the coffin, however the missed conversion left some doubt in the mind. Another successful O'Connor penalty in the 76th minute pretty much had the game wrapped up yet the Bulls hit back with one of their own in the 77th minute. 5 points behind with 2 minutes to go all the Force had to do was control those final minutes. They made it in the end but boy was it a heart stopper. They'll be fans walking home via the RPH cardiac ward tonight.
That's all she wrote sports fans... Sorry I've got to get down south. Coach offered to pay me quadruple my normal salary but it just wasn't worth it. I will leave you with one final thought though:
If you think that was great, how good will it be when Pocock and Hodgson are back. Go Force! Wooohoohohohoohohohohohohohooooooo!
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Originally Posted by Exile
