Western Force head coach Simon Cron was pleased with plenty but bemoaned leaking first-half points in Saturday night’s 28-24 loss to the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium.
The Force led 24-21 entering into the final 10 minutes in wet conditions in Brisbane, but the hosts triumphed after a Tate McDermott try with seven minutes left.
The visitors had gone try-to-try with the Reds in the first half, including a Tom Robertson long-range try and a Carlo Tizzano double to be 21-all at the break.
Ben Donaldson’s penalty in the 56th minute put the Force ahead, despite the Reds having plenty of possession and territory in the second 40.
The Force’s defensive resolve was helped by an excellent line-out display from locks Darcy Swain and Jeremy Williams, registering nine line-out steals.
But Wallabies scrum-half McDermott would come up with the game-winner.
“It was a disappointing finish,” Cron told reporters after the game. “I thought we probably leaked a few points a little bit easily in that first half. Zero phase and one phase.
“We worked really hard to get our tries. The boys did really well in that first half in terms of that attacking side.
“We did some really good things too. Obviously defensive line-out was great.
“In the second half we were down in our half quite a lot. Credit to the Reds, they played a good game.”
The Reds were twice reduced to 14 players throughout the game, including with 12 minutes to go, but the Force couldn’t capitalize on that numerical advantage despite several attacking phases late on.
Force captain Jeremy Williams said: “I don’t think it was frustration at all. We were pretty patient and composed out there.
“We tried to stick to the grind, even if you don’t score with 14, it doesn’t faze you. You keep moving on, play by play.”
Cron doubled down on his side’s strong line-out, praising his players and forwards coach Tom Donnelly.
“I think statistically the Reds lineout is probably something people will look to target,” he said.
“I thought that our boys did a really good job there. Took a lot of their ball. We played our locks long into the game obviously because of that.
“It’s credit to the guys, the guy next to me (Williams), the other boys and Tom Donnelly doing a great job with the defensive line-out.
“It gave us a great opportunity to take some of their ball and be able to play our way.”
Tizzano’s double took his season tally to 10 tries, leading the way in Super Rugby Pacific this season.
The UWA back-rower also broke the Club record for most tries in a single season, previously held by Scott Staniforth with nine in 2006. Tizzano has achieved the feat in just six games.
Cron was positive about five-cap Wallaby Tizzano’s season but quick to heap praise on the other forwards around him.
“Carlo is going well. He’s surrounded by a bunch of guys who work hard for him that allows him to get those tries,” he said.
“I think he’s playing well. Like anything, you take each week as it comes and keep working on your performance. He does that. He’s really driven and focused.
“He’s surrounded by a forward pack with Jeremy and Darcy tonight, the job they did. Throbba (Robertson) scoring that long-range try.
“There’s a lot of guys in there doing a lot of hard work that help him shine. He’s really impressing.”
The Force, who end Round 7 in sixth, next take on the Highlanders at HBF Park on Saturday 5 April from 4:35pm WST. Tickets are available through this link via Ticketmaster.
