The Western Force have rallied past the Cheetahs 30-27 in a see-sawing encounter in Game 3 of the Toyota Challenge in front of a healthy crowd at Mandurah’s Lane Group Stadium on Friday night.
The Force hung on in the thrilling final minutes after Carlo Tizzano burst through for his second try of the night in the 68th minute, after the Cheetahs had led 17-13 at half-time.
The home side had earlier raced to a 13-3 lead after tries to Tizzano and George Poolman, only to open the door for the Cheetahs to respond with tries to Gideon van der Merwe and Hencus van Wyk late on before half-time.
The two sides traded the lead in the second half before Tizzano’s decisive second score. Force hooker Tom Horton was named Player of the Match after a strong display.
The result means the Force are 2-1 down in the four-game Toyota Challenge ahead of Game 4 at Claremont’s Revo Fitness Stadium on Saturday 7 October from 3pm.
The Force started strong with co-captain Max Burey, who had missed a third-minute penalty, shaping to kick before bursting clear with speed on a near full-length run.
That created the opportunity for the opening try with Tizzano rolling over after a quick line-out in the 13th minute.
Impressive Cheetahs fly-half Ruan Pienaar converted a penalty from 40m to make it 5-3, before the Force almost had their second try in the 23rd minute from Burey’s clever kick into the corner with Ronan Leahy unable to capitalize on Daniel Kasende’s fumble.
Burey converted a penalty to restore the Force’s five-point lead and the home side pulled further clear in the 26th minute after Horton combined with housemate Harry Potter to keep a play alive. From that, Burey kicked into the openside corner for a diving Poolman to collect and score for 13-3.
However, the Force’s early lead quickly vanished as the Cheetahs brought on reinforcements, while some moments of ill-discipline didn’t help, offering possession in dangerous territory. Gideon van der Merwe was able to cross the line after a maul from a line-out with Pienaar converting for 13-10 in the 33rd minute.
Jackson Pugh went on an excellent 35m run but couldn’t find the right pass, before play went down the other end in the blink of an eye. Potter couldn’t handle Reinhardt Fortuin’s kick in behind, with Hencus van Wyk found on the outside to cross, with Pienaar converting for a 17-13 half-time lead.
Pugh put the Force ahead in the 44th minute from a line-out set-play, peeling around the back from Horton’s pass, bringing a roar from the Mandurah faithful.
Scores were level at 20-20 after Pienaar nailed another conversion after Rewan Kruger’s clever flat kick, before the visitors moved 27-20 ahead following Kasende’s run down the wing, which led to Marnus van der Merwe scoring from a rolling maul. Pienaar again was pinpoint with the extra two from the sideline.
But the Force rallied, first with Burey slotting a penalty from 30m out after the Cheetahs didn’t release the tackled player, before Henry Robertson’s kick extended the pressure after some aerial ping pong.
The Force almost crossed, with Carl Wegner yellow carded from a professional penalty on the line upon wave after wave of pressure as Horton was held up.
Finally, Tizzano burst through in the 68th minute for the game-winner, only for a frenetic finale to ensue. Burey missed a penalty attempt to ice the game, but the Force held on.
Force 30
Tries: Tizzano 2 (13', 68'), Poolman (26'), Pugh (44')
Conversions: Burey 2
Penalties: Burey 2
Cheetahs 27
Tries: G. van der Merwe (33'), van Wyk (38'), M. van der Merwe (52')
Conversions: Pienaar 3
Penalties: Pienaar 2
