Western Force captain Jeremy Williams isn’t playing ladder predictor as the club chases a Super Rugby Pacific finals berth, preferring to keep things simple with a week-to-week focus.
The Force climbed up to ninth on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder with last Saturday’s 48-10 bonus-point victory over the Fijian Drua, leaving them only two points outside the top eight with three rounds to play.
The next assignment for the Force is a clash against the NSW Waratahs from 5:35pm Saturday at HBF Park, in another crucial double-pointer with both sides in top-eight contention.
There’s a multitude of scenarios for all the sides joisting for finals spots, with the Force having the Tahs, followed by the Queensland Reds (away) and the ACT Brumbies (home) in their final three games.
But ex-Waratahs lock Williams was avoiding the calculations or ladder predictors.
“I’m actually not too sure,” Williams said when asked on Friday if winning two of the side’s remaining three games would be enough to make finals.
“We’re aiming for three wins. That’s the plan. Like I said, we’re just focusing week to week.
“It’s about keeping our focus week to week only on the opposition team for that week, so you’re not looking at the ladder.”
That first focus is the Waratahs who have copped their fair share of injuries this season, but Williams said they wouldn’t underestimate their opponents.
“I guess they do have a lot of injuries but you can’t take them lightly,” he said.
“They’ve still got multiple Wallabies in the team. They’re a serious side, so we’re not taking them lightly at all.
“You’ve got to be wary of every team in Super Rugby, they all have their threats and strengths. You can’t take any teams lightly.
“We’ve got a lot of must-win games coming up. There’s pressure on both sides.”
Williams said the team had moved on from last weekend’s outstanding win over the Drua, as the side aims to win back-to-back games for the first time this campaign.
“It’s back to business pretty quick,” he said. “We know what position we’re in.
“We can celebrate it for a short while but it’s back to the next job, next focus, the next game. That’s what we’ve done next week.”
Force pair Harry Hoopert and Ben Donaldson will reach their 50th Super Rugby game milestones this weekend.
Williams, who is housemates with Donaldson, was delighted to see the fly-half reach 50 having debuted alongside him at the Tahs against the Force at the SCG in 2020.
“It’s pretty crazy how that happens,” Williams said. “He debuted for the Tahs a couple of years ago against the Force and now he’s playing his 50th game against us. Stoked for him.”
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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