The Western Force and the Queensland Reds kick off the second round of Super Rugby on Thursday with a match at the Nib Stadium, in Perth Western Australia.
Match detail
We are waiting for the kick off.
James Slipper leads the Reds out.
Beep! And we are off and running. Cooper gets the game under way.
1.00: Penalty! Force kick to corner.
2.00: TRY! WOW! What a start. A smart move in the midfield sees Chance Peni break through the Reds and score in the corner.
2.00: Jono Lance misses the conversion from the touch-line.
6.00: Scrum inside the Reds’ half. A big hit but visitors keep the ball and go through the phases.
7.00: Penalty! Cooper kicks for touch.
9.00: Reds lose the ball, scrum Force on their 10m.
10.00: Force go wide. Both teams are defending from outside in and this causes another knock-on when Samu Terevi hits an on-running attacker. Scrum Reds.
12.00: Another scrum PENALTY. Cooper finds touch. Moore throws in with George Smith at scrumhalf.
13.00: Kane Douglas runs off a short ball from Nick Frisby but looses it forward. This is a very scrappy start to the match.
16.00: After some aerial ping-pong, the Reds win a PENALTY at the ruck and kick deep into Force territory.
17.00: Reds attack. Kerevi dances but is tackled within five of the try-line. Frisby sends the ball to the open side where a mix up between Cooper and Karmichael Hunt, sees the Reds botch a great scoring opportunity.
18.00: Reds win Penalty. Five metre line-out and Reds set-up a driving maul.
19.00: TRY! Reds drive forward recycling the ball to the back of the maul. Frisby calls, goes left and passes to Eto Nabuli, who dives over in the corner. Referee is consulting TMO for a foot in touch.
20.00: Cooper misses conversion.
21.00: BOOM! TRY! It’s that man Nabuli again. The wing takes a cleaver ball from Kerevi, dances through two tackles and runs from his own half, to score under the sticks – all straight from the Force kick-off. What a turnaround inside a minute.
22.00: Cooper can’t miss and the Reds lead 12-5 after Nabuli’s 60-metre run.
25.00: Line-out to the Reds… but it’s not straight. There’s been some needless errors early in this game. Scrum Force.
26.00: Referee Federico Anselmi blows his whistle and calls the captains over for a chat. Says he wants “more stability” in the the front row.
28.00: PENALTY. Smith is penalised for off-side. Force kick into Reds’ 22. However, they botch the line-out and it’s another scrum to the Reds.
3.00: The Force collapse the scrum and after an advantage, Cooper kicks to touch where (you guessed it), the away team lose the ball forward. Scrum Force on the halfway-line.
33.00: PENALTY. Ryan Louwrens takes it quickly with his team from five metres out.
34.00: TRY! Matt Philip goes over from close range. Lance adds the extras and the game is all square.
36.00: It’s almost another score for the Force after a good bounce is collected, but, it’s lost forward. Scrum Reds.
38.00: Some more scrappy play leads to a penalty for the Force. Lance misses his touch-finder and the Reds attack. Frisby’s box-kick is regathered. the scrumhalf passes to Cooper, who draws his man and puts Kerevi in a gap. the centre runs deep into Force territory but loses the ball in the tackle.
39.00: The scrum is reset again.
40.00: The referee speaks to the front row and captains again about the scrum issues. Force kick the ball out and it’s half time.
The score is 12-12 at half-time
The ball is very slippery but the handling has been poor from both teams. The game is basically, scrum, reset, kick, line-out, knock-on. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Chance Peni’s opening try was wonderful. The winger danced through tackles to score. He has also made some big hits and the stats show that he’s bust six tackles in the process.
BEEP! We are back underway in Perth.
40.40: It only took 40 seconds for the first knock-on. Jeez guys. Scrum Reds.
42.00: Now the Reds knock-on. My word. It is humid out there and the balls is continuously being wiped with a towel to try and dry it. It doesn’t, however, seem to be working because both teams are really struggling.
46.00: The ref has had enough and pings the Force scrum.
48.00: Billy Meakes makes a break but he is hit by Karmichael Hunt and loses the ball. The Reds have an attacking scrum 25 metres out in the middle of the park.
49.00: TRY NABULI! HAT-TRICK! The winger collects a smart grubber from Duncan Paia’aua and become only the second Reds’ player to score a treble in Super Rugby. Quality!
50.00: Cooper extends the lead to seven points with his second conversion.
53.00: PENALTY! The Force win a penalty after an eight-man scrum that demolishes their opponents.
54.00: New man Ian Prior a slots over the three points.
56.00: The game has come to life. Reds earn a penalty in their 22 and kick to touch near the halfway line.
57.00: Moore’s throw is lost – the third line-out lost by the Reds – but Force knock it on.
59.00: the referee goes to the TMO for a possible neck-role but it’s only a penalty.
61.00: Meakes is cutting a frustrated figure. Nearly everything the centre tries, ends in another knock-on or penalty. Scrum Reds.
62.00: PENALTY! Force win a scrum penalty and opt for a shot at goal.
63.00: Prior steps up from 40 metres out but his kick misses the posts. Remains 19-15 to the Reds.
66.00: Federico Anselmi calls Quade Cooper over to warn about two high tackles. Looks a tough call on the Reds because the runner went low. Prior steps up.
66.00: Prior’s penalty is successful and it is a one-point game.
67.00: YELLOW CARD! The referee sends Sef Fa’agase to the sin-bin. He had warned the Reds a minute earlier for dangerous tackling.
69.00: TRY! Curtis Rona goes over to give the Force the lead. Some good hands from Meakes and Pek Cowan sets up the centre.
70.00: The conversion is missed but Force lead with 10 to play.
74.00. PENALTY! Ref blows for taking the man out at the line-out. Prior steps up and slots the kick.
78.00: Reds on the attack on the Force goal line.
80.00: The Force repel the attack thanks to a Billy Meakes’ turnover. They kick the ball out and that’s the ball game. What a comeback!
Thank you for joining us today. We will be back tomorrow for some more Super rugby action. See you then.
The Final score is Western Force 26 (12) Reds 19 (12)
Scorers
Western Force
Tries – Peni, Philip, Rona
Pen – Prior (3)
Con – Lance
Drop –
Cards –
Reds
Tries – Nabuli (3)
Pen –
Con – Cooper (2)
Drop –
Cards – Fa’agase (Yellow, 67th minute)
Match Officials
Referee: Federico Anselmi
Assistant Ref 1:Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant Ref 2:Graham Cooper
TMO : Damien Mitchelmore
Teams
Western Force
1. Ben Daley, 2. Heath Tessmann (C), 3. Jermaine Ainsley, 4. Matt Philip, 5. Adam Coleman, 6. Ross Haylett-Petty, 7. Kane Koteka, 8. Brynard Stander, 9. Ryan Louwrens, 10. Jono Lance, 11. Chance Peni, 12. Billy Meakes, 13. Curtis Rona, 14. Luke Morahan, 15. Dane Haylett-Petty
Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Pek Cowan, Tetera Faulkner, Richard Hardwick,Isi Naisarani, Michael Ruru, Ian Prior, Alex Newsome
Queensland Reds
1. James Slipper (c), 2. Stephen Moore , 3. Sam Talakai , 4. Rob Simmons, 5. Kane Douglas, 6. Adam Korczyk, 7. George Smith, 8. Scott Higginbotham, 9. Nick Frisby, 10. Quade Cooper, 11. Eto Nabuli, 12. Duncan Paia’aua, 13. Samu Kerevi, 14. Chris Kuridrani, 15. Karmichael Hunt
Replacements: 16. Andrew Ready, 17. Sef Fa’agase, 18. Taniela Tupou, 19. Izack Rodda, 20. Hendrik Tui, 21. James Tuttle, 22. Jake McIntyre, 23. Izaia Perese (Potential Queensland/Super Rugby debut)
