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Early-game Waratahs blitz too big a hurdle for Western Force

Alex Newsome. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

The NSW Waratahs have produced the hottest of starts to set up a 41-24 win over a depleted Western Force in their Super Rugby Pacific clash at Perth’s HBF Park.

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The Force trailed 22-0 in the 14th minute on Saturday night after conceding three quick tries.

It followed on from similar early flops against the Rebels and Brumbies in recent weeks – with both of those matches ending in one-point losses.

Force stand-in skipper Kyle Godwin said the team needed to fix their poor starts.

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Why rolling maul tries aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

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      Why rolling maul tries aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

      “It seems to be the same story for us unfortunately,” Godwin told Stan.

      NSW were forced to defend for long periods after their early onslaught, but the foundations they laid were enough to secure the six-tries-to-four victory.

      The Force were dealt several late blows before the match, with captain Feleti Kaitu’u (calf), Jeremy Thrush (soreness), Bayley Kuenzle (gastro), and Toni Pulu (concussion) all ruled out before kick-off.

      Their withdrawals compounded the losses of Wallabies enforcer Izack Rodda and scrumhalf Issak Fines-Leleiwasa to the Covid-19 health and safety protocols, with coach Tim Sampson also forced into isolation after being deemed a close contact.

      The Force certainly started the match like a team in disarray.

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      Waratahs winger Mark Nawaqanitawase picked off an attempted cut-out pass from Force scrumhalf Ian Prior before sprinting 58m to the line for the first try.

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      Inside centre Lalakai Foketi crossed for the team’s second try in the 10th minute following a smart break from Waratahs flyhalf Tane Edmed.

      And the Force’s ineptitude was clearly on display in the 14th minute when Waratahs flanker Michael Hooper picked the ball up from a breakdown and waltzed through two defenders for the easiest of tries.

      Trailing 24-0, the Force finally clicked into gear.

      A barging run from Force winger Manasa Mataele in which he took on three tacklers before popping up a pass while lying on the ground helped set up a try to flyhalf Reesjan Pasitoa in the 20th minute.

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      The Waratahs defended 26 consecutive phases during a tiring three-minute period to deny the Force a second try before half-time.

      But Force forward Tim Anstee crossed four minutes after the restart to reduce the margin to 12 points.

      The teams traded rolling maul tries, but a yellow card to Pasitoa for a cynical foul proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Force.

      Waratahs speedster Alex Newsome crossed twice in the space of four minutes while Pasitoa was off, extending the margin to 41-19.

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      NSW were reduced to 13 men when Mahe Vailanu and Foketi received yellow cards in quick succession, with a try to Pasitoa meaning the Waratahs needed to score another try themselves in order to regain the bonus point.

      Nawaqanitawase thought he achieved it after picking off a Force pass and racing towards the line after the final siren.

      The winger dropped the ball during the intercept, but instead of it hitting the ground, it struck his boot.

      However, the referee ruled it was a knock-on.

      “That’s tough for us, we thought it came off the foot,” Waratahs forward Charlie Gamble said.

      “We lost that crucial bonus point. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to bite us in the end.”

      – Justin Chadwick

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      IkeaBoy 45 minutes ago
      Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

      Very, very thoughtful piece!


      It’s far too much rugby for players as it stands and the new competitions - club world cup and Nations cup - are proposed on the basis it’s the best players competing who will usually be established test players.


      An established NH test player is in pre-season from August (at the latest) then going thorough until the following July. They likely will have carried niggles and some injuries into their pre-season. They would then have between 22-30 domestic games if their teams went far and contested finals in say the URC and CC. Although many would have stand down periods, they would still train and be squad ready for all of those games.


      Their test commitments across that same time would be 3/4 games (Nov series) then 5 games (6 Nations) with a rest for the July development tours. That rest would only now be once every 4 years with the Lions, Nations Cup and RWC warm-ups occupying the July window.


      A squad player at club level would potentially have a full run of games in any given season but run a greater risk of injury the more often they play. They would likely know that form alone wouldn’t get them to the next level and into a national squad. It would be their bodies and their ability to recover quickly and deal with elite level competition. They wouldn’t have the baseline of having played an 11 month season so how could they upsurge a 40 cap player?


      I think there will be a huge divide before long between solid club players, who are basically salary men, and the ringfenced test animals who will likely dwindle in numbers as their playing demands increase.

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