Inconsistent Force Fail To Make Breakthrough

Sun Herald

Sunday April 9, 2006

By TIM CLARKE DUNEDIN

HIGHLANDERS 25

WESTERN FORCE 22

WESTERN Force coach John Mitchell says he won't be worried if his side doesn't win a Super 14 game this season, despite again seeing his team come agonisingly close to the club's historic first victory.

Leading by seven points at half-time against the Highlanders in Dunedin, the inability of the Perth-based team to play consistently for 80 minutes again proved costly.

Fundamental errors saw their lead become a 10-point deficit, before Cameron Shepherd scored his second try of the game to secure a second losing bonus point in two weeks.

After watching another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, Mitchell said bad decisions at key moments had again cost his side.

"At 25-15, it was game over as far as I was concerned," Mitchell said. "We had an opportunity after half-time to get some ascendancy but in the end, we made some simple errors.

"You can't say that we haven't been competitive because we've been competitive in every single game.

"Look out when we do actually get to the other side of the coin and become consistent because we're certainly learning a lot from the experiences we're going through now."

To compound the loss, Mitchell looks set to go to Auckland to face the Blues next week without Rudi Vedelago and Scott Staniforth.

Vedelago injured his left ankle and Staniforth was cited for a second-half shoulder charge.

Force skipper Nathan Sharpe could not hide his disappointment at the defeat. "This one's going to hurt the boys the most out of all our games this season," he said. "It's not very often that you get yourself in a position to win in Dunedin and we certainly did that today. We're shutting off for 10 minute periods of the game. We're playing some excellent football and then we're letting it go."

Highlanders skipper Craig Newby, leading his side in the absence of Anton Oliver, summed up his feelings in blunt terms. "Relief, after the first half we put in, which is probably the worst half of rugby I have ever been involved in," Newby said.

HIGHLANDERS 25 (Jason Macdonald, Josh Blackie, Vilimoni Delasau tries, Ben Blair 2 pens, 2 cons) beat WESTERN FORCE 22 (Cameron Shepherd 2, Gareth Hardy tries; Shepherd 2 cons, 1 pen) at Carisbrook, Dunedin.

ROUND 10

Friday: Blues v Western Force, Auckland, 5.30pm.

Saturday: Crusaders v Cheetahs, Christchurch, 3.30pm; Chiefs v Stormers, Mt Maunganui, 5.30pm; Reds v Bulls, Brisbane, 7.30pm.

Sunday: Cats v Sharks, Johannesburg, 1am; Highlanders v Hurricanes, Dunedin, 12.30pm; Waratahs v Brumbies, Sydney, 7.30pm.

© 2006 Sun Herald

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