Western Force coach Simon Cron says the side needs a cutting
edge to get a much-needed victory against the Chiefs in Saturday’s Swyftx
Super Rugby Pacific Round 7 clash at HBF Park.
The Force have fallen away in 20-minute spells this season
but Cron said they had gone a long way to rectifying the problem.
In key moments they let sides off the hook and Cron said
they had “tried different things” at half-time to fix drop-offs after
the break.
“It’s about sharpening our sword and making sure we get
better and better every game, ” Cron told reporters at Friday’s CD Dodd
Coaches’ Conference.
RugbyWA club members, use this link with club code, for your 30% off discount
“It’s all about trust, belief and staying in the system.
It all comes down to mindset, not skillset, understanding to trust the guy next
to you, not giving away simple penalties.
“It will never be perfect, you are always going to have
things that don’t go your way. It’s just about resetting and not
stressing.”
With wet and windy conditions for Saturday’s return to HBF
Park for the first time since Round 1, secure ball carries, decision making and
kicking become crucial. Cron said they had discussed different scenarios and
how to react.
“We’re all on the same page about how to play. We just
have to wait and see what it looks like,” he said.
“There are certain things the Chiefs do when its wet
and windy. They are powerful in the forwards and they have speed in the backs. They
have some big bodies, we do too.
“We’ve got a little bit of firepower that we can get into
it. For us it’s just another game of rugby. It’s about us playing our
game.”
All Blacks star Damian McKenzie will start at full-back for
the Chiefs having played fly-half all season, Josh Jacomb will wear the No.10
with international winger Leroy Carter moving to outside centre in a rejigged
backline.
But Cron said the changes did not change the game plan.
“They are still fast and skillful,” he said. “The
way we’ve prepped, guys in key positions are still there…won’t change too
much.”
Kurtley Beale play his 179th Super Rugby appearance to
become the seventh most Super capped player.
“You ride the wave with KB,” Cron said. “The
guys around him have confidence in him.”
Cron revealed star cross-code signing Zac Lomax could
debut in one of the two away games against the Reds and Fijian Drua
following the Chiefs clash.
He trained with the non-playing squad at the Captains Run on
Friday and Cron said:Â “He’s a good chance in the next couple of weeks
of getting game time.
“He’s still learning a lot around the breakdown,
kicking game, pendulum positional stuff, little bits of details, little things
of the game.
“His footwork at the line and strength in contact is
elite. It’s about building his load and making sure when he’s released, he’s
ready to go.
“It’s about him getting confident and then us getting
in a position where ideally we’re not going to injure him.”
Cron has made just one change to the starting side with No.8
Vaiolini Ekuasi’s returning from injury with Nick Champion de Crespigny moving
back to blindside flanker.
Argentine hooker Leonel Oviedo, Tongan tighthead prop
Misinale Epenisa and utility back Divad Palu return in the reserves
The contribution of local clubs will be recognised with the
match tagged as the Grass Roots Game.
There is a 30 per cent off tickets for all RugbyWA club
members and $8,000 worth of Gilbert Rugby vouchers for the three most attended
clubs.
Reigning Fortescue Premier Grade men’s and women’s champions
Wanneroo will make a lap of honour at half-time, while one junior and one
senior representative from all RugbyWA clubs will form a guard of honour for
the run-on.
RugbyWA club members, use this link with club code, for your 30% off discount
Western Force starting side: 1 Tom Robertson, 2
Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 4 Jeremy Williams (c), 5 Darcy
Swain, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny (vc), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 9
Henry Robertson, 10 Ben Donaldson (vc), 11 Bayley Kuenzle, 12 Kurtley Beale, 13
George Bridge, 14 Darby Lancaster, 15 Max Burey.
Reserves: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Misinale
Epenisa, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Will Harris, 21 Nathan Hastie, 22 Hamish Stewart,
23 Divad Palu.
Chiefs starting side: 1 Jared Proffit, 2 Brodie
McAlister, 3 George Dyer, 4 Josh Lord, 5 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 6 Samipeni
Finau, 7 Luke Jacobson (c), 8 Simon Parker, 9 Xavier Roe, 10 Josh Jacomb, 11
Etene Nanai-Seturo, 12 Quinn Tuapea, 13 Leroy Carter, 14 Emoni Narawa,15Â
Damian McKenzie.
Reserves: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Sione
Ahio, 19 Fiti Sa, 20 Kaylum Boshier, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Kyle Brown, 23 Kyren
Taumoefolau.
Game details
Western Force vs Chiefs
Saturday 28 March, 4:35pm WST
HBF Park, Perth
Live on Stan Sport (TV) & 91.3 SportFM (radio)