Western Force head coach Simon Cron wants the Sea of Blue to turn out in numbers ahead of another critical clash with the NSW Waratahs as both sides push for the Super Rugby Pacific finals.
The Force produced an exhilarating 48-10 bonus-point victory over the Fijian Drua last Saturday night at HBF Park in front of just under 5,000 fans.
The result lifted the Force into ninth spot on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, just two points outside the top eight with three rounds to play.
The Force have won nine of their last 12 Super Rugby games at HBF Park, making the venue a fortress, and Cron called on the fans’ support for a crunch game, that will be followed by Fans on Field.
“We love it here,” Cron told reporters after training on Thursday.
“We love having the supporters. You saw them after the game on Saturday night and they hung around for quite a while.
“We get to have everyone on the field again and that’s exciting. Get them out on field around the boys. Before that, we’ve got to do a job.”
And that job was big in Cron’s eyes, echoing scrum-half Nic White’s sentiment ahead of the Drua game last week about being a double-pointer.
“Double points, double points,” Cron simply said. “It counts, it’s big.”
The Waratahs may be sitting at the foot of the Super Rugby ladder but Cron said they weren’t taking them lightly.
“The Waratahs have a lot of Wallabies, so there’s a lot of talent in their squad,” he said.
“A lot of Wallaby talent on their bench. We’re expecting a pretty good match against a good side.”
When asked about the Force being favourites, Cron said that would play no part.
“Let’s be realistic, favourites means nothing,” he said. “For us it’s about consistency of performance.
“What we did against the Drua was some positive rugby. We did the basics well. I think we’ve got to go into this game doing the same thing, basics over brilliance. Do what we do well, control contact zone and just let the game unfold.”
Cron was delighted to be able to field a stable side, with only one change to the 23-man team list, with Issak Fines-Leleiwasa returning from an ankle issue as White’s back-up scrum-half with injury cover Henry Robertson unfortunate to miss out.
“Finesy comes back in now ready to do a job,” Cron said. “Henry Robertson was outstanding for us for two weeks, he’s a guy we’re really proud of.”
Saturday’s game also marks the 50th Super Rugby games for fly-half Ben Donaldson and prop Harry Hoopert, who both joined the Force ahead of this campaign.
“They’re a big part of our team and our culture,” Cron said. “We’ve got a tight knit group here, they’re really good boys and those two are right in the mix.
“They add a lot to our team. If you look at some of these guys, they really do like playing for each other. There’s a lot of trust and respect on the field between those boys. It’s exciting for them to have their 50ths here.”
Kick-off is 5:35pm WST with tickets available through Ticketmaster, along with the Force’s Flexi Membership, with four tickets to any of the remaining two games for only $75.
The game will be broadcast live on 9GEM and streamed on Stan Sport, with regular updates @WesternForce on social media. It will be preceded by a Fortescue WA Premier Grade curtain-raiser between Wanneroo and Associates from 3:05pm.
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