Western Force openside flanker Carlo Tizzano may be leading Super Rugby Pacific for tackles made but he isn’t celebrating his own form, instead fully focused on a late-season finals push.
The Force remain seven points outside the top eight with a 2-8 record but play three of their remaining four games at HBF Park, starting with games against the eighth-placed Fijian Drua and 11th-placed NSW Waratahs.
Both games offer up opportunities for the Force to take points off sides battling for spots in the bottom half of the top eight, which excited WA product Tizzano.
“We were just talking about it before,” 24-year-old Tizzano told reporters on Tuesday. “There’s been so many close games this year. We’re just there or thereabouts, with those tight ones.
“How exciting to have two home games against two teams who are fighting for the top eight spots. This is more of a ‘what if’ for us.
“We want to perform this weekend. Performance is key for us. That will build us momentum. This competition is a sprint, so we’re really excited.”
Saturday’s game against the Drua – which is the Force’s Culture Round fixture with pre-game cultural performances at HBF Park – is the reverse fixture from the Round 6 game played in torrential rain in Lautoka.
UWA flanker Tizzano laughed he “needed a snorkel at the bottom of rucks” in that fixture, but pointed to the lessons from the game and how to unlock the Drua.
“The key against them is getting them out of the flow on their rhythm and staying on,” Tizzano said.
“They’re phenomenal, probably the best in the world at picking through the ruck, quick throws, offloading, all those little things that can change the tempo and momentum of the game like that.
“For us it’s huge to stay in system and don’t let them play their game.”
On an individual level, Tizzano has been a shining light for the Force this season, leading Super Rugby Pacific with 171 tackles made, ahead of the Crusaders’ Tom Christie (157) with the Force’s Hamish Stewart sixth overall with 132.
But the Rugby WA Academy product wasn’t taking any joy from his own form.
“I’m just doing my job for the team,” he said. “We’re not winning as many games and that’s pretty disappointing.
“To be honest, individual performance doesn’t really matter to me, as long as I go in and do my job, that’s it. I just care about the team performing.
“Yeah, it’s nice to have a good game here or there but team performance is ultimately the key for me.”
And Tizzano remained bullish that the Force could find form in the final month of the home-and-away season, taking optimism from the squad’s attitude.
“It’s frustrating but the best thing about this team is we’re not kicking stones,” he said.
“From the outside you don’t see all the work that’s going on in the inside. There’s boys coming in early, doing extra recovery, there’s boys on laptops constantly watching all the opposition plays.
“It’s there, it just takes time for these things to click. We’ve shown moments when it does, it just takes time.
“It’s disappointing to be bottom of the ladder but we’re working hard and hopefully we can get a few more wins.”
Saturday’s game at HBF Park kicks off at 7:55pm WST. View our Game Day Hub for all your matchday info.
The game will be streamed live on Stan Sport.
