EMIRATES WESTERN FORCE TASTE OVERNIGHT SUCCESS IN ENGLAND
Saturday, 9 August 2008 1:25pm
RugbyWA Media Release
Slippery conditions played in the favour of the Emirates Western Force securing their first win on English soil with a 25-15 win over the Newcastle Falcons last night.
In front of an energetic ‘Geordie’ crowd of 3,469, it took the visitors a little while to click into gear due to a soggy pitch.
With Newcastle kicking off and taking advantage of a dropped ball by Captain David Pocock, a penalty was awarded and Newcastle’s Rob Miller got first points on the board.
Poor kicking by the Force in the first 20 minutes saw Newcastle take advantage of good passing on the outside resulting in a try to centre Tom Dillon. With the conversion being successful, the home side had raced to an 8-0 lead.
With the Force desperate not to go scoreless into the half-time break, clever kicking by James O’Connor and a break by World Cup Wallaby Scott Staniforth resulted in Matt Hodgson crossing the line for the WA side's first try.
Highlights of the first half included strong defence and some big hits from the Force pack including a couple of specials from centre Junior Pelesasa. Pocock and Hodgson dominated the breakdown. Elsewhere, Luke Holmes left an impressive mark and some strong touches from Scott Staniforth who later succumbed to a minor knee injury.
Down 8-5 at the break, the second half looked brighter when the Force started spreading the ball out evenly.
A brilliant back-hand flick pass from scrumhalf Chris O'Young to his halves partner James O’Connor provided the highlight of the night.
O'Connor took a freakish ball from O'Young before grubbering it behind the Newcastle defensive line, where fullback Alex Tait misread the ball to allow Pelesasa to scoop it up with one hand and race 30 metres downfield for a try.
It gave the visitors a lead which they would never surrender. In the 10th minute, the Perth side won an important line-out 40 metres from the try-line when Pocock flat passed it to Pelesasa.
The powerful centre caused the Newcastle defence to split mid-field allowing him to sprint 25 metres for his second five-pointer and what was ultimately the match-winner. O’Connor again added the extras to stretch the lead to 19-8.
Mid-way through the second half, controversy erupted when referee Rob Debney sent prop AJ Whalley to the sin bin for 10 minutes after a collapsed scrum, gifting Newcastle a penalty try to close in at 19-15.
The home side's luck was short lived however, with O’Connor calmly slotting two penalty goals to seal a comfortable 10-point victory as the visitors finished the contest bravely.
Bench players Valeni Tia Tia and Filipe Manu, who both made their debut in the ocean blue jersey, showed plenty of promise with the match wearing on, both making an impact in their first outing in front of the Force coaching staff.
Coach John Mitchell was impressed with the first hit-out on the six-match development tour, but was slightly concerned about the first half performance.
“We started off slowly, the ground was heavy and there was no pressure for the first 20 minutes. The pressure then started to build which paid dividends for us,” he said.
“We had a great youthful team out there which leaves me with hope. I wanted to look at new combinations and everyone was enthusiastic.“
The more games we play here the harder it will get, so there will need to be improvement all-round.”
Mitchell believes the tour to England is beneficial to get combinations and playing styles 100% right before the start of the Super 14 season.
“The level of rugby here is good. The game of Rugby here is different to what we play in the Southern Hemisphere. A lot more physicality and I think that we met that with Newcastle,” he said.
“Obviously the one main difference is the weather. It became a bit challenging for the guys out there and they lost their footing quite a few times.”
One man who rose to the challenge making his debut as captain was Australian Under 20s flanker David Pocock.
The 20-year-old said he enjoyed the extra responsibility of leading the team.
“I enjoyed it out there. It was a tough game. They dominated in the first half but we took control in the second half.” Pocock said.
“The new guys really stepped up tonight and we have a good squad and hopefully we come away with some more good results whilst we are here in England.
“The one thing that we do have on our side is knowing the new rules already. You can tell that with certain parts of Newcastle’s game that they struggled with the new rules.”
Emirates Western Force 25 (Junior Pelesasa 2, Matt Hodgson tries; James O'Connor 2 conversions, 2 penalty goals) defeated Newcastle Falcons 15 at KIngston Park, Newcastle, England.
