Western Force coach Simon Cron and vice-captain Nic White say changing expectations mean their last-minute defeat to Queensland Reds will sting even more after twice letting the lead slip.
The Force were 40 seconds away from their first-ever 3-0 start to a Super Rugby season, only for a Filipo Daugunu try to steal a 28-24 win for the visitors at HBF Park.
It was a match the Force felt as if they lost, rather than the Reds won, and the stats backed up that belief; the ball spent almost 50 per cent of the game in Force hands inside their opponents’ half.
But questionable decision-making in the 22 and an inability to translate territory into scoreboard pressure left the door ajar.
A week after the Force held onto the ball late and ground out a win against the Brumbies, they kicked the ball away with less than four minutes to go, allowing the Reds to complete their heist.
For Cron, the silver lining of the loss, outside of the bonus point they picked up for losing by less than seven, was the pain etched onto his players’ faces.
“Our expectations of each other and our environment are pretty high,” he said.
Camera IconNic Dolly consults with Sam Carter and Marley Pearce. Credit: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
“This one hurts and you can see it in the faces of the players out there on the field, it really hurts them that we’ve let that one go.
“That’s what I’m happy about — it hurts them so that they will get up and go again and learn from it and we’ll get better as a team as well.”
The usually-chipper White was crestfallen after the game and said while they would not dwell on defeat, they knew they had missed a huge opportunity.
“To be honest, it’s pretty hard to get past the disappointment of we were in a really good position to win that game,” he said.
“A big one for me is we created a lot of opportunities, got really close to the line, and just weren’t able to capitalize.
“You drop balls, get held up over the line, things that we can control and get better at, but we’ve just got to be calmer down there, and when we get that close, we’ve got to come away with points.
“That was there for us; I really feel like that was a game we lost. They didn’t necessarily come and take it from us, I feel like we were in control for a lot of that game and we coughed it up.”
Camera IconTate McDermott praised the Force after the game. Credit: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
Reds coach Les Kiss felt while it was far from a perfect performance from his side, he put it down to the Force’s ability to constrict them, while Queensland captain Tate McDermott said Perth was going to continue to be a tough place for visiting teams to win.
“We came over here last year and got blown off the park and the Force came at us hard early, two quick tries,” he said.
“The Force are going to be there at the pointy end, the way they’re playing.
“They put us under immense pressure, particularly at the breakdown. They made us earn that.”
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