FORCE EDGED OUT BY REBELS AT THE ‘FORCE FIELD’
The Western Force has gone down to the Melbourne Rebels, 21-17, at the ‘Force Field’ (nib Stadium) tonight.
The Rebels got off to the better start, scoring two first-half tries for a 15-0 lead, before an Alby Mathewson quick tap on half-time led to his opening try for the home side and reduced the deficit to eight points.
While the Force fought their way back into the match in the second half through a try to Tetera Faulkner and a perfect goal-kicking display from Luke Burton, Mike Harris’ ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over with two second half penalty goals was enough to give his side the four-point victory.
Force lock Steve Mafi was named Haigh & Hastings Man of the Match for his ability to break the line throughout the game, while Burton was also hungry for the ball and dangerous in attack from fullback.
The Force will travel to South Africa tomorrow ahead of their two-match tour against the Bulls (Saturday, 21 March) and Sharks (Saturday, 28 March).
Tickets to Western Force’s next home match against the Cheetahs on Saturday, 11 April are now available! Visit ticketmaster.com.au.
| WHAT THEY SAID… | Michael Foley, Western Force Head Coach |
| “We’re getting moments that are ‘good rugby’ and against a side [like the Rebels] that prides itself on its defence, they had a bye last week, they were fresh and I thought we finished over the top of them. But you’ve got to come into the game and fire from the start; you’ve got to win those early battles and we know that, but it’s where we fell down tonight. Coming back after half-time we fought our way back into the game and basically controlled the game, but being able to be accurate and also aggressive up front is going to make a difference for us.
“Early in the game there were a number of times when we had good possession and we were turned over at the breakdown because we were too slow to get there. We were a little bit inaccurate in that area. By contrast, in defence we weren’t getting off the line, we were soaking up the metres and they were getting momentum, and they made good at those opportunities.”
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| 2014 Asteron Life Super Rugby – Week Five | ||
| Friday, 13 March 2015 at the ‘Force Field’ (nib Stadium), Perth | Kick-off: 7pm | Crowd: 9,972 |
| Melbourne Rebels 21 (Mike Harris, Dom Shipperley tries; Mike Harris 1/2 conversions, 3/3 penalty goals) defeated Western Force 17 (Alby Mathewson, Tetera Faulkner tries; Luke Burton 2/2 conversions, 1/1 penalty goal)
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| Half time: Rebels 15-7 | ||
| Yellow Cards: Nil | ||
| Red Cards: Nil | ||
| Referee: Rohan Hoffmann | ||
| Western Force |
| Western Force: 1. Pekahou Cowan, 2. Nathan Charles, 3. Tetera Faulkner, 4. Sam Wykes (c), 5. Steve Mafi, 6. Brynard Stander, 7. Chris Alcock, 8. Ben McCalman, 9. Alby Mathewson, 10. Zack Holmes, 11.Nick Cummins, 12. Solomoni Jnr Rasolea, 13. Kyle Godwin, 14. Marcel Brache, 15. Luke Burton.
Reserves: 16. Heath Tessmann, 17. Chris Heiberg, 18. Oliver Hoskins, 19. Adam Coleman, 20. Kane Koteka, 21. Ian Prior, 22. Sias Ebersohn, 23. Mitchell Scott.
Head Coach: Michael Foley |
| Melbourne Rebels |
| 1. Toby Smith, 2. Pat Leafa, 3. Laurie Weeks, 4. Luke Jones, 5. Lopeti Timani, 6. Sean McMahon, 7. Scott Fuglistaller, 8. Scott Higginbotham, 9. Nick Stirzaker, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 11. Tom English, 12. Mitch Inman, 13. Tamati Ellison, 14. Dom Shipperley, 15. Mike Harris.
Reserves: 16. Tom Sexton, 17. Cruze Ah-Nau, 18. Paul Alo-Emile, 19. Steve Cummins, 20. Colby Fainga’a, 21. Luke Burgess, 22. Bryce Hegarty, 23. Sefanaia Naivalu.
Head Coach: Tony McGahan |
| BY THE CLOCK | ||
| Min | Score | |
| 5 | The Melbourne Rebels build pressure with repeat phases in their attacking 22m. Fullback Mike Harris finds some space at first receiver to skip through under the posts. He converts his own try. | 7-0 |
| 22 | From a scrum on halfway the Rebels find space from a Mitch Inman bust before offloading to Dom Shipperley to score. Harris misses the conversion. | 12-0 |
| 32 | Hooker Heath Tessmann is penalised for not releasing the Rebels player. Harris kicks the penalty. | 15-0 |
| 36 | After sustained pressure inside the attacking quarter, the Force receives a penalty when the Rebels are caught offside. Scrumhalf Alby Mathewson takes the quick tap from five metres out and scoots over next to the posts. Luke Burton converts. | 15-7 |
| HALF TIME | 15-7 | |
| 47 | The Rebels are penalised for being offside. Burton kicks the penalty. | 15-10 |
| 60 | Oliver Hoskins is penalised for being offside. Harris kicks the penalty. | 18-10 |
| 65 | The Force chasers are penalised for being in an offside position from the midfield kick. Harris kicks the penalty. | 21-10 |
| 74 | The Force wins their lineout five metres from the Rebels line. After grafting the ball forward for three phases, prop Tetera Faulkner burrows over for a try under the posts. Burton converts. | 21-17 |
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