Western Force head coach Simon Cron says the side’s run to finals is all about players stepping up in key moments ahead of a critical run of 2025 SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific fixtures.
The Force’s 40-19 loss to the Blues in Auckland on Friday night saw the visitors squeezed out of the top six thanks to a bonus point secured late.
The WA side are now seventh with three games to play, against the ACT Brumbies (home), Fijian Drua (away) and NSW Waratahs (home) before a final-round bye.
The top-six race is now heating up and Cron called for his big players to embrace that.
“In big moments, key guys step forward,” Cron told reporters after Friday night’s defeat.
“For us it’s about our key guys stepping forward and embracing the fact we’re in the fight and we need those points.
“As coaches we’ll work on a lot of the key stuff during the week and then our big boys stepping up, wanting to lead and take the bull by the horns. That’s really important for us.”
The Force’s run starts against the Brumbies at HBF Park on Saturday 10 May 5:35pm, with the Club to celebrate its 20th season anniversary at that game, with past players like Nathan Sharpe, Matt Hodgson and Nick Cummins to be paraded pre-game. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
Cron said there were many areas to fix from Friday’s loss where we bemoaned ball handling errors along with noting their scrum issues.
"For us, you've got to look at what's critical this week and what we need to fix," Cron said.
"Our catch in the wet conditions, we've got to be much better in the air and then at scrum time, we've got a couple of young guys there as well. We're a few looseheads down at the moment and that's their first go at it.
"We've just got to give them as much confidence as we can and help them every week during the week and make them better at that so that we're not ending up in the corner."
Reflecting on the Blues game, Cron added: “In the first half we were right in there. We made a few too many errors in that first half. It felt like we dropped the ball going over the line or knocked it on just before the try line, so we created enough opportunities in that first half.
"In the second half, obviously the set-piece was a bit of a problem for us at scrum time. I think they had someone just quote that they had 17 scrums, we had none, so what that tells you is skill execution as well as catch-pass, dropping the ball, was not good enough.”
Cron highlighted the debut of 21-year-old hooker Albert Alcock, stating he “did really well with ball carries and cleans”.
The Force coach also praised 36-year-old 95-cap Wallaby Kurtley Beale for an outstanding return that included a try after 10 months out with an Achilles injury.
"I thought he played really well tonight," Cron said.
“He was really clean under the high ball, made good decisions, and carried back when he needed to. He'll be better for that game.
"He's an amazing voice in the back of the field, and one of the areas for us we're constantly working on is our communication on field and when the ball's in play, and he gives that. So, he gives the boys a lot of confidence."
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