It may be the final game of the season for the Western
Force, but even with no finals spot on the line against the Waratahs on
Saturday at HBF Park, there is still plenty at stake.
Team pride, personal accountability, the final appearance in
Force blue for some and, for others, the last chance to impress for a Wallabies
jumper.
The Force are still carrying the weight of disappointment at
not qualifying for the finals, but a Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific win over their
Australian rivals could help ease some of the pain.
The Force have won four of their last five matches but Coach
Simon Cron told reporters at Friday’s CD Dodd Coaches’ Conference that the
disappointment still hurt and they needed no extra motivation.
“It will take some time around that but the boys are
laser focused on the importance of this game,” Cron said.
“It’s a big game. It’s a key one for our season. Our
vision from the start of the year was crystal clear. Part of that was to
be consistently performing every week.
“These guys are hungry, hungry for rugby, hungry to
play. They are really supportive of each other so every opportunity they get to
play next to each other is a privilege. That’s a big art of motivating.”
It is the last time the squad will be together with some
players moving on including fan favourite, flanker Kane Koteka, the first
member of the Future Force Foundation academy to debut in Super Rugby.
He has played 44 times since 2015 and won the Nathan Sharpe
medal in 2021.
Cron said the past week had been one for players to stay
connected and enjoy their time together.
“There’s a couple of guys obviously leaving us, key
people,” he said. “There will be (time) post-game for that, pre-game
we will be laser focused on what they need to do.
“It’s playing the type of rugby we want to play and
controlling the game the way we want it to pan out.”
Cron said every time a player took the field or the training paddock was a
chance to impress and strive for a Wallabies jumper.
“All of that gets watched but I don’t think they feel
that pressure. It’s more about playing for each other and playing well,”
he said.
“All we can do is give them their best chance. Every
week’s a learning. If you’re not learning, it’s not enjoyable.
“Fun comes from learning. Each week there’s something
new to learn, even from training.
“The key for us is to give them as many of those
learnings as we can so when they do get the opportunity in a Wallabies jersey,
they are successful.”
One of those pushing for more international honours is
playmaker Ben Donaldson who returns to the starting line-up after missing the
last two games with a quad injury.
“Having Donno back is a big asset,” Cron said.
“He’s excited too. He’s grown massively round the
contact zone. He’s grown in his confidence in the air.
“They are all parts of the game the Wallabies are
looking for and rightly so.”
The last time the Force ended on the right side of the
season ledger was 2014 with a 9-7 win-loss record.
A win on Saturday night will take them to 7 and 7 win-loss
and jump the Waratahs into seventh spot.
They will be looking for a season double over the Waratahs
following the 20-17 victory at Allianz Stadium in Round 12. It would be just
the third time they have done the double since 2021 and 2015.
Cron said: “Every win is important. It’s about stacking
wins and stacking moments and getting an understanding of how to do that. It’s
important for the boys.”
The only other change to the run-on side that beat Fijian
Drua in the last round is the return of outside centre George Bridge
The Waratahs are fully loaded, coach Dan McKellar bringing
in Jamie Adamson, Pete Samu, Jake Gordon, Andrew Kellaway, Joey Walton and
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii,
But Cron said: “It’s team versus team.”
The match is Members Game and Cron said: “The Sea of
Blue are a big part of us and what we do. You can see it from the team song the
boys have put around our supporters.
“We love seeing them at the games and we love hearing
them at the games. Big night.”
Western Force starting side: 1 Harry Johnson-Holmes,
2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3 Misinale Epenisa, 4 Jeremy Williams (c), 5 Darcy
Swain, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny (vc), 7 Carlo Tizzano’ 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 9
Nathan Hastie. 10 Ben Donaldson (vc), 11 Dylan Pietsch, 12 Hamish Stewart, 13
George Bridge, 14 Zac Lomax, 15 Mac Grealy.
Reserves: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Marley Pearce, 18 Sef Fa’agase,
19 Franco Molina, 20 Will Harris, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Boston Fakafanua, 23
Kurtley Beale.
Waratahs starting side: 1Jack Barrett, 2 Ioane
Moananu, 3 Dan Botha, 4 Matt Philip (c), 5 Miles Amatosero, 6 Angus
Scott-Young, 7 Jamie Adamson, 8 Pete Samu, 9 Jake Gordon, 10 Jack Bowen, 11
Andrew Kellaway, 12 Joey Walton, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Harry Potter, 15
Max Jorgensen.
Reserves: 16 Oniti Finau, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Apolosi
Ranawai, 19 Ben Grant, 20 Clem Halaholo, 21 Teddy Wilson, 22 Jack Debreczeni,
23 Triston Reilly.
Game details
Western Force vs NSW Waratahs
Saturday 30 May, 5:35pm WST
HBF Park, Perth
Live on Stan Sport (TV) & 91.3 SportFM (radio)