No bonus point disappoints Force coach
Western Force coach Simon Cron was pleased to finally get backto-back wins after Saturday night’s 27-7 victory over the Waratahs at HBF Park.
But he was “gutted and disappointed” the Force could not leave with the bonus point that would have taken them to just one point behind the eighth placed Fijian Drua in the race for the finals.
The Force looked to have picked up the crucial point when centre Bayley Kuenzle smashed his way over for what would have been his second of the night as the final siren loomed.
But the officials ruled he had lost control and there was separation before grounding the ball.
“There might be a hole in the wall upstairs (in the coaches box),” Cron joked.
“We had a couple more shots (after that) but couldn’t get across the line but we’ll take a lot of learnings from that. “What I did like, the players kept fighting, looking for that bonus point at the end.
“That’s a very tight bunch of boys out there on that field and that’s what most impresses me. “The win’s good and there were great parts to that game. “I thought we absorbed a bit of pressure early, they got across our line, but the key thing for me is how the players bounced back and how they reacted to that.
“They did well and came back with a couple of quick tries.” The Force now travel to Brisbane for a crucial clash against the Queensland Reds on Saturday before hosting the Brumbies seven days later.
Cron said having a settled side with key players returning played a big part in the win that came on the back of the 48-10 thrashing of the Drua.
And he said there was still room for improvement.
“We had a pretty tough start to the season, tested our depth,” he said.
“Getting these boys back on the park, getting Jez (Williams) back and a couple of other key guys it’s definitely helped our game.
“These leaders are leading very well. There is some very good messaging from them. “Key players stepping up. We can get better. We just do what we do. We get better. We go again.”