Western Force go into Saturday’s Force Vs Fijian Drua clash at HBF Park knowing the season is on the line. Coach Simon Cron called it a must-win match on Friday and said his players have been living with that reality for weeks.
The Force are ninth on 22 points and sit six points behind sixth spot, the cutoff for a maiden finals appearance. With one home game left after this against the Waratahs, their path is narrow and leaves little room for error.
Cron said the squad had responded well to the pressure in the build-up to the penultimate game of the regular season. “It’s a must win, has been for a while,” he said. “The boys have been really good at keeping that edge.”
He said the challenge was not just about wanting the result, but about handling the moments inside the match. “They know what they need to do. We know what we need to do as a team. It’s about the way we train and then go into that game with that mindset,” Cron said. “As a player it’s a great opportunity to learn how to handle those moments and what you’re going to do in those moments. The boys have done that now for a few weeks.”
That matters against the Drua, who have a reputation for hurting teams from anywhere on the field. Cron said the Force must stay disciplined and avoid giving them easy chances. “Execution all over the field,” he said. “You don’t want to give the Drua free ball.”
The coach said the Force were at fault for that in their earlier game in Fiji, and he wants a cleaner showing this time. “We were a little bit guilty of that in our game over in Fiji. It’s an area of work on and the boys have been good the last few weeks on it,” he said.
Set piece will be the starting point, Cron said, but that alone will not be enough. “That will be the starter and then obviously doing the basics well is important. Making sure we do the things that work on the ground, ball carry height, all the things that make our game work,” he said.
The fixture also forms part of Kids Round, with the competition trying to pull more juniors into rugby and more families into Super Rugby games. The Force are offering one junior ticket free with each paying adult, with Saturday’s kickoff scheduled for 5:35pm ET.
There will be no blackout of other results before the final round, so the Force will know exactly where they stand as they head into their last regular-season home game. For Cron and his players, the equation is simple: beat the Drua, keep the finals chase alive, and take the fight into the closing weekend.
