Western Force head coach Simon Cron says his side won’t get carried away with last week’s win over the Crusaders with the focus firmly on backing that up against the Highlanders on Saturday.
The 11th-placed Force face the 10th-placed Highlanders from 3:05pm WST Saturday in Dunedin, with the game critical in the Super Rugby Pacific top-eight race.
The Force heads into the contest fresh from an impressive 37-15 victory over the Crusaders which has lifted spirits out west, but Cron insisted they were focused on their next task at hand.
“I think they’re realistic, it’s one win and it was a good performance,” Cron told reporters on Friday. “Now it’s about backing that up and going again, that’s the critical stuff for us.”
Following last week’s win, Force scrum-half Nic White spoke about the Round 10 clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium being a “double-pointer” given the ladder placings and Cron acknowledged the side were aware of that, but were focused on performance.
“We’re very well aware,” he said. “The boys are aware, we’ve talked about it.
“We’ve talked about the importance of putting back-to-back performances together, irelevant of who we’re playing.
“It’s all about how we’re going to perform and what we’ve got to do, to do that. That’s how we’ve been preparing.
"We know what the ladder is, we know where we sit. We don't put it up in the change rooms, but we're aware of it.
“For us it’s about performance. It’s about our best performance will get the outcome and the outcome takes care of the ladder. That’s the order of things we look at.”
While the Force are fresh from a good win over the reigning champions, the Highlanders come into the contest after a 31-0 humbling away to the Reds. But Cron was wary of the Otago outfit’s response.
"The Highlanders are a good side,” Cron said. “Let's be realistic, they've got some really dominant players in their pack, and some good outside backs, Fakatava is outstanding.
“Sometimes you don't have a great week, and that might have been them last week. They’re back home. We're under no illusion what they'll come out with."
Cron said Wallabies lock Izack Rodda was “ready to rumble” having been named for his first start this season, while captain Jeremy Williams will offer plenty off the bench following injury.
“Jez last week just couldn’t quite get right to be available for the Crusaders game,” he said. “He’s a big body. We need some big bodies in there and he adds that.
“It’s nice to have him back. It’s nice to have him talking again. He’s fired up. It’s good to have him out there.”
Kick-off on Saturday is 3:05pm WST, with the game live streamed on Stan Sport. Follow @WesternForce on social media for regular updates.
