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Western Force escape with Golden Point draw against Hurricanes
By AAP
The Western Force have escaped with a 17-17 Golden Point draw against the Hurricanes – and they had the post to thank for it.
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In a pulsating finish to Saturday night’s match in Perth, Force flyhalf Ben Donaldson nailed a 39m penalty in the 78th minute to level the scores and send it into a Super Point period.
Whichever team scored first in the 10-minutes of extra time would win the game, and Donaldson’s 51m penalty attempt in the third minute drifted out to the left.
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Donaldson had another crack a few minutes later, but his drop goal attempt from 30m was charged down.
But the most dramatic moment was saved for after the final siren, when Hurricanes flyhalf Ruben Love unleashed a drop-goal attempt from 25m out.
He struck it sweetly, but the ball struck the left post and bounced away, meaning both teams had to settle for a share of the spoils.
The Force would have gone up to fourth with a win, but the draw at least lifted them from sixth to fifth.
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And in an extra consolation, losses for the Blues, Waratahs, Moana and Highlanders over the weekend marked good news for their quest for a maiden finals berth.
The Hurricanes opened the scoring in the 11th minute when winger Fehi Fineanganofo avoided Harry Potter’s ankle tap and busted through Donaldson’s tackle to touch down in the corner.
The visitors’ joy was short lived, with comeback kid Bayley Kuenzle marking his first match of the season with a try four minutes later.
Kuenzle, who was cut down by a serious knee injury last July, was mobbed by his Force teammates upon scoring the try.
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Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano was causing all sorts of problems for the Hurricanes at the breakdown, and his sizzling run in the 36th minute gave the Force excellent field position.
The home side capitalised, tiring the Hurricanes out with phase after phase close to the line before Nic White fired out a double cut-out pass for fullback Mac Grealy to touch down in the corner.
The 14-5 half-time lead was a handy one, but the Force’s sloppy start to the second half cost them dearly.
Error after error gave the Hurricanes the field position they needed for fullback Callum Harkin to slice through two Force defenders and score in the 48th minute.
Harkin should have had a second try six minutes later, but his decision to pass – which failed to hit the target – instead of continuing his blazing run to the line meant the Force got out of jail.
Fineanganofo scored his second in the 63rd minute when he bounced off tacklers White and Grealy before racing to the line, giving the Hurricanes a 17-14 lead.
Force winger Harry Potter sent a scare through the camp when he cannoned into a big camera in his desperate bid to chase down his own kick.
Potter was able to recover from the heavy collision, and Donaldson kept his cool a short time later to level the scores and send it into Golden Point territory.
Both sides had a chance to win it, but the draw marked a fair result in what was an even contest.
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This game proved what I feared, which is that Love is not a 10. He was not directing the backline and off in his own world near the end of the match, leading to his blowup with Roigard. Cam was pretty much doing the work of two positions for the last twenty or so minutes.
Agreed, JW, fantastic game, with such brutal collisions. Mafileo must be on the AB radar, particularly with Ofa injured. He replaced Numia at loosehead and immediately reversed the scrum penalties Numia was giving away. He looks fit and has a high work rate. And, like Ofa, he plays both sides. Surely guys like him and Tosi should be looking at teams like the Blues and Highlanders (who both desperately need tight-heads) to get themselves more game time?
Wow what a clash, that was the best 80 minutes of full on rugby I’ve watched this season. Hurricanes brought that Crusaders game ferocity all over the park this game, not just from the leaders, and boy, did Love introduce some speed to game with his pass, also allowing Roigard to have his best game this season, a player who had obvious been bogged down before now.
The tenacity by the Force is just what the comp needs from the bottom sides as well, they were stuck into everything and having key games from their stars, will to take on the Canes with their limited attack and make it work somehow. I can see the Canes going up a gear on last seasons best form now though, now my favourite to win with is saying something for a 9th/10th place team. What a season!