Western Force head coach Simon Cron has called for “composure and maturity” ahead of Friday’s Round 4 Super Rugby Pacific clash with Moana Pasifika following two close calls in the past two games.
The Force let slip second-half leads in losses to the Melbourne Rebels in Round 2, followed by last weekend’s 22-19 defeat to the ACT Brumbies.
There were plenty of positive signs in both games, with the Force leading 34-19 in the second half against the Rebels following some fluid attacking play.
But the Force’s good work has been undone by 10-15 minute periods of momentum to the opposition side and Cron pointed to composure and maturity to fix that.
“Composure and maturity, sticking to the basics,” he told reporters. “When we do that, it’s great to watch.
“Process versus outcome. If we stick to our job and do our roles, we’ve got both those games completely under control.
“(In the) 50th minute mark we throw an intercept (against the Rebels) and then there’s a bit of maturity there, bit of sports psych, around ‘hey, it’s OK, an intercept happens, keep calm, do your job’. Then we just did bad on bad which can be mentality.
“If you look at the starts, geez there’s been some great rugby. We played beautifully for 50 minutes but now it’s about getting the people on the park and helping those guys, so the last 20 they come out and nail it.”
Cron refused to be drawn into talk that the Round 4 clash with Moana at HBF Park was a must-win after the side’s 0-3 start.
“Every game for us is critical,” he said. “The last two were critical.
“Going forward, we’ll win when we’re good enough.
“We were good enough for 50-60 minutes in those games. Now it’s about putting out a performance that does it for 80-plus.”
Force forwards coach Jimmy Duffy noted the example of his time with Connacht in his native Ireland who recovered from a similar winless start to win the Irish United Rugby Championship in 2016.
“It was the same thing there, there’s a lot of new players in this group,” he said.
“There’s probably 16-17 new faces in the last season. It takes time to gel, build your process. Young squad as well, so you’re trying to build that experience and rugby knowledge.
“You’ve got to stick to your guns and become world class at the stuff we want to be world class. Those young men as they accumulate more caps it transfers.
“We’ve been really close in the past two games and that’s hurt. But the hurt is useful for us.
“We want to stay on message, work really hard for each other and hopefully the result comes.”
Cron explained Issak Fines-Leleiwasa would come into the starting line-up for Friday’s game with veteran Nic White to be used as a reserve.
“We always had a plan pre-season and it doesn’t change at the moment,” Cron said. “Give Whitey those three games, get some consistency, get some performance out of him, I think he’s done really well.
“We don’t lose with Finesy. He’s a great nine. It’s an area we do have depth. We wanted to make sure he had an opportunity to play as well. With our finishers, we have a bit of experience with Whitey to control the ship.”
Michael Wells is unavailable for Friday’s game due to a knee complaint, while English inside centre Sam Spink (calf) will miss a second straight game although he was close.
“(Wells) got a scan the other day and he’s going through a process with his knee,” Cron said. “We’ve got to get him right. It’s ongoing but it’s a case of them (the medical staff) reviewing the scan.
“Spinky is close. He was borderline maybe this week. They made a decision around the risk versus reward. Give him another week and he’ll be good to go.”
Duffy added that Reed Prinsep, signed on an injury cover contract, would bring plenty of experience having made 73 Super Rugby appearances for the Hurricanes.
“He brings a lot of knowledge,” Duffy said. “The group has got around him really well. There’s a lot to learn in a week. He’s quite relaxed and comfortable. We want to allow him to be his best tomorrow evening.”
Kick-off against Moana Pasifika is 7pm, with tickets available via Ticketmaster. View our GameDay Hub for more info about what's on.
The game is part of a double-header with the Force hosting the Buildcorp Super Rugby Women’s season opener against the Rebels from 4:30pm. Both games are live on Stan Sport.
