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Its taken time but boys from the west show the Force is with them
Wayne Smith |
The Australian|
April 07, 201412:00AM
THE Waratahs literally made a spectacle of the Western Force when first they met this season but this time, Saturday night in Perth, it will be different.
Israel Folau scored the first of his three tries in only the second minute of play back on February 23 at Allianz Stadium, and even though the sun was shining brightly that afternoon, it was evident things were soon to turn gloomy for the team from the West.
The Force looked disorganised in defence, all too easily outflanked, and the Tahs didn't appear overly stressed in scoring six tries in a 45-21 thumping.
Still, there was something about the Force's scrappy grit that suggested they weren't doing themselves justice and if they could get their act together they might be capable of much better.
Matt Hodgson, now one full season out of the giant shadow of Nathan Sharpe, appeared to be developing into a inspirational captain, fellow flanker Angus Cotterell looked unrecognisably improved, No 8 Ben McCalman had a new maturity about his game, while young centre Kyle Godwin offered not much on the maturity front but a whole heap of zest and zip everywhere else.
None of that surfaced the following weekend in Perth in the first half against the Brumbies. It was a rout, 24-0 at the break.
None of the defensive shortcomings exposed by the Waratahs looked to have been addressed. But something happened in the second half. The Force finally settled into their patterns, nothing flashy, but solid.
It wasn't until an hour had elapsed that they made their first line break. Sias Ebersohn had come off the bench to relieve Zack Holmes at five-eighth and suddenly the home side looked threatening.
Fullback Jayden Hayward and McCalman crossed for tries in the final five minutes and while it was easy to dismiss these late scores as consolation prizes, the fact that the Force kept plugging away when all was lost spoke of a burgeoning warrior spirit.
Since then, the Force hasn't been beaten. Not by the Rebels, not by the Highlanders despite having to defend against them with only 13 men at the death not by the defending champions, the Chiefs, nor by the team that preceded them, the Reds.
Usually it sounds a little boastful when a winning coach claims his side didn't play anywhere near its best, but Michael Foley was only telling the truth after the Force dodged one final Quade Cooper bullet a field-goal *attempt after the full-time siren to beat Queensland 32-29 on Saturday night.
The fact was that they could have done a whole lot better, yet even their less-than-best was good enough to account for the Reds. That's ominous for the Reds but also ominous for the *Waratahs.
The evidence of the Brumbies' and Sharks' wins over the Tahs is that they can be flustered and thrown off their game by opponents who refused to be bullied and indeed are prepared to play the bully themselves and Foley insists the Force will be ready to rise to that physical challenge second time around against NSW.
It's a big ask. The Tahs monstered a Stormers pack equivalent in size to the Force, so the WA side will have to use its smarts as much as its muscle.
That's where a lock like Sam Wykes comes into the picture.
If it weren't for that dramatic peacock-like display on the top of his head, Wykes wouldn't naturally catch the eye.
His physical stats, 197cm, 111kg, read more like a blindside flanker's than a lock's, and in a sense that's how he plays the game, like he could easily be wearing six on his back.
He has a lot of touches in the course of a game, almost all of them useful. His ball sense is uncanny and for a biggish man, he bobs up in the right places an awful lot.
And while he might not hit quite as hard as Cotterell and McCalman, he'll make his contribution to the physicality Foley is demanding.
Let's not overlook Foley's astrophysics-defying role in causing the sun to rise in the West. He has in Perth what he never had in Sydney when he coached the Tahs a receptive audience.
The fans don't doubt him, the media, while professionally sceptical, isn't intent on tearing him down but most of all he has a playing group at his disposal that doesn't think it knows better.
He is now proving to the world what always was evident to those who worked closely with him, that he is a truly exceptional coach.
Difficult as it has been at times, he has always believed in himself. Now, at last, he's showing what is possible when others *believe in him as well.
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Originally Posted by WFDS
