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A heroic second half defensive effort has allowed the Emirates Western Force to hold the Queensland Reds to an 11-all draw at Perth’s nib stadium tonight.
While the Western Australians skipped out to an 11-3 advantage early in the second half, it was the side’s defence that rose to the challenge with the Force required to make double the tackles of their counterparts across the match.
Emirates Western Force Head Coach Michael Foley said his side’s work rate was crucial in denying the Reds the win.
“We were playing a side that scored three tries against the Brumbies – they’re a very, very good attacking side and I thought the defence was the cornerstone of our performance,” he said.
“Defence and the breakdown are the two things you measure character by and we were very strong in that area tonight.”
The Emirates Western Force opened the scoring on the 20-minute mark when winger Nick Cummins, in his return match from injury, charged onto an Alby Mathewson box kick to put his side on the attack inside the Reds’ quarter. A Queensland hand in the ruck in the ensuing passage of play gifted flyhalf Sias Ebersohn a penalty goal inside the Reds’ quarter with the playmaker doubling the lead with a second penalty five minutes later.
The Reds responded with a penalty goal of their own through Quade Cooper to draw back the half-time deficit to 6-3.
The Force extended their half-time lead 12 minutes into the new term when Cummins capitalised on an opportunity to counter attack, bursting down the left wing before offloading to Ben McCalman, who bounced over for his first try of the season.
Another Quade Cooper penalty bridged the gap to five points with the Force call upon to repel wave after wave of Queensland attack with the Reds entrenching themselves in the attacking half.
The Reds broke even when TMO Peter Marshall awarded Reds replacement Chris Feauai-Sautia with the side’s first try of the evening to draw the scores level – and finalise the scoring – with six minutes remaining.
Foley said that the performance augured well for the development of his young side.
“I thought that [performance] was outstanding character,” he said. “A lot of teams – through the disappointment of last week and having to travel back – wouldn’t have bounced back as well as we did.
“This team keeps working, keeps doing what it’s doing and reinforcing those things around character and what it means to play with each other and they’re in a good position pushing forward over the next couple of years.”
The Emirates Western Force will travel to New Zealand on Monday before taking on the Chiefs in Pukekohe on Friday (10 May).
2013 Super Rugby – Week 12
Saturday, 4 May 2013 at nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 5.40pm (AWST)
Emirates Western Force: 1. Pek Cowan, 2. Heath Tessmann, 3. Kieran Longbottom, 4. Toby Lynn, 5. Sam Wykes, 6. Matt Hodgson (c), 7.Chris Alcock, 8. Ben McCalman, 9. Alby Mathewson, 10. Sias Ebersohn, 11. Nick Cummins, 12. Kyle Godwin, 13. Ben Jacobs, 14. Patrick Dellit, 15. Sam Norton-Knight. Res: 16. James Hilterbrand, 17. Tetera Faulkner, 18. Rory Walton, 19. Richard Brown, 20. Brett Sheehan, 21. Junior Rasolea, 22. Jayden Hayward.
Coach: Michael Foley
Queensland Reds: 1. Albert Anae, 2. Saia Faingaa, 3. Greg Holmes, 4. Rob Simmons, 5. James Horwill (c), 6. Eddie Quirk, 7. Liam Gill, 8. Jake Schatz, 9. Will Genia, 10. Quade Cooper, 11. Digby Ioane, 12. Ben Tapuai, 13. Anthony Faingaa, 14. Dom Shipperley, 15. Jono Lance. Res: 16. James Hanson, 17. James Slipper, 18. Ed O’Donoghue, 19. Jarrad Butler, 20. Beau Robinson, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Chris Feauai-Sautia.
Coach: Ewen McKenzie
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Referee: Rohan Hoffman
Crowd: 11, 972
By the clock
Min Details Score
22 Sias Ebersohn Penalty Goal 3-0
26 Sias Ebersohn Penalty Goal 6-0
34 Quade Cooper Penalty Goal 6-0
45 Sias Ebersohn Missed PG 6-3
49 Quade Cooper Missed PG 6-3
52 Ben McCalman Try 11-3
53 Sias Ebersohn Missed Con 11-3
61 Quade Cooper Penalty Goal 11-6
73 Chris Feauai-Sautia Try 11-11
75 Quade Cooper Missed Con 11-11
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