LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) – A fired-up Western Force showed
little sympathy for an injury-ravaged Queensland Reds team as
they thrashed the visiting Super Rugby champions 45-19 in Perth
on Saturday.
The Force scored two early tries to charge out to a 21-0
lead seven minutes before half-time and twisted the knife with
another three after the break to notch their second win of the
season amid four frustrating losses.
“Very enjoyable game,” Force captain David Pocock said in a
pitchside interview.
“(Inconsistency) is something that we’ve been trying to
address and we’ve been working hard off the field… the
challenge is to back it up next week.”
The Reds, humiliated 61-8 by the Bulls in Pretoria last
week, slumped to their third straight loss and are mired
mid-table with a 3-3 record and a clutch of frontline players,
including key playmaker Quade Cooper, sidelined for weeks.
The Perth-based Force lost to the Melbourne Rebels by a
point the previous week after conceding a 21-point head-start
and appeared determined to atone for the slow start, attacking
with abandon from the outset.
Flyhalf James Stannard crossed near the left corner in the
eighth minute, and although he limped off injured minutes later,
the Force charged on to reap two penalty goals as the
out-of-sorts Reds found new and inventive ways to fumble passes,
miss targets and cough up turnovers.
Veteran lock Nathan Sharpe drove over the line from a ruck
two metres out for the Force’s second try in the 32nd minute.
A rare foray into Force territory saw the Reds awarded a
penalty and captain James Horwill wave away a three-point shot
at goal.
Continued…
