Week 2
Week 3
Emirates Western Force v Cheetahs
Emirates Western Force v Brumbies
Friday 20 February, 2009 Subiaco Oval, Perth
Conditions Hot Referee James Leckie (Aus)
Emirates Western Force 16 (J O’Connor try; Giteau con, 2 pens, dg)
Cheetahs 10 (Demas try; Potgieter con, pen)
Half time 13-7 Man of the Match David Pocock (Force) The heat was on the Emirates Western Force when they returned to Subiaco for the week two clash with the Cheetahs. With the thermometer still hovering above 30 degrees at kick-off, and after a disappointing opening round defeat, the home side was desperate to register their first win and maintain their unbeaten record over the visitors. Coach John Mitchell had rung the changes during the week; calling on a fit Josh Valentine and handing marquee kiwi import Ben Castle the number 3 jersey to make him the 50th player to represent the Emirates Western Force in Super rugby.
Emirates Western Force 1. Gareth Hardy 2. Tai McIsaac 3. Ben Castle 4. Pat O’Connor 5. Nathan Sharpe (c) 6. Tamaiti Horua 7. David Pocock 8. Richard Brown 9. Josh Valentine 10. Matt Giteau (vc) 11. Nick Cummins 12. James O’Connor 13. Ryan Cross 14. Haig Sare 15. Drew Mitchell
Reserves 16. Luke Holmes (rep McIsaac at 54 mins) 17. Kieran Longbottom (rep Hardy at 58 mins) 18. Tom Hockings (rep P O’Connor at 65 mins) 19. Matt Hodgson (rep Horua at 52 mins) 20. Chris O’Young (rep Valentine at 75 mins) 21. Josh Tatupu (rep J O’Connor at 55 mins) 22. Scott Staniforth (rep Cummins at 68 mins)
In a dour and often scrappy affair, the dynamic 10-12 combination of Matt Giteau and James O’Connor provided the winning spark, with the Wallabies flyhalf putting his young apprentice over for the WA side’s lone try in the 32nd minute. A pair of penalty goals, a conversion and a masterful drop goal late in the second half from Giteau was enough to seal the win for the home team, but the team’s opening 2009 victory did not come without cost. Prop Gareth Hardy suffering a major knee injury to join a host of names on the sidelines, including regular fullback Cameron Shepherd who had been ruled out of the match with an ankle complaint.
Saturday 28 February, 2009 Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Conditions Hot Referee Matt Goddard (Aus)
Emirates Western Force 25 (Shepherd 3, Brown tries; Giteau con, pen)
Brumbies 16 (Penalty try; Mortlock con, Gerrard 3 pens) Half time 8-9 Man of the Match Cameron Shepherd (Force) The Emirates Western Force took their first step towards securing the ‘Australian slam’ with an outstanding bonus-point victory in the nation’s capital. The return of Cameron Shepherd from an ankle injury paid immediate dividends when the left winger scored the opening try of the game, after being put into a yawning gap by successive cutout passes from Matt Giteau and Ryan Cross. Three first half penalties from Brumbies fullback Mark Gerrard gave the home side a 9-8 advantage at the break, but the champagne rugby from the men in blue flowed after referee Matt Goddard blew time on in the second stanza.
Emirates Western Force 1. Pek Cowan 2. Tai McIsaac 3. Ben Castle 4. Tom Hockings 5. Nathan Sharpe (c) 6. Matt Hodgson 7. David Pocock 8. Richard Brown 9. Josh Valentine 10. Matt Giteau (vc) 11. Cameron Shepherd 12. Junior Pelesasa 13. Ryan Cross 14. Nick Cummins 15. Drew Mitchell
Reserves 16. Luke Holmes (rep McIsaac at 59 mins) 17. Kieran Longbottom (rep Cowan at 66 mins) 18. Richard Stanford (rep Hockings at 78 mins) 19. Tamaiti Horua (rep Brown at 54 mins) 20. Chris O’Young (rep Valentine at 78 mins) 21. James O’Connor (DNP) 22. Haig Sare (DNP)
Brown over just seven minutes later to open up 20-9 lead. A penalty try was awarded to the Brumbies after the Force were repeatedly penalized for infringements at the breakdown, cutting the gap to 20-16 with 15 minutes still on the clock. It was left to that man, Shepherd, to seal the victory when he completed another flowing backline move to dive over in the corner to complete his hat-trick. The only sour note on an otherwise glorious night was a shoulder injury sustained by Brown, which would subsequently see him sidelined for the next three matches.
Shepherd crossed for his second try within five minutes of the restart, then a barnstorming run from Junior Pelesasa put Richard
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RugbyWA 2009 Annual Report
RugbyWA 2009 Annual Report
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