Rugby Union: forces

Showing posts with label forces. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Force's Shepherd to play for Northampton

Updated May 22, 2012 22:01:30

Versatile Western Force utility Cameron Shepherd is to join Northampton as a direct replacement for England wing Chris Ashton who is leaving the Premiership side to join London outfit Saracens.

Shepherd has won nine caps for the Wallabies and can also play at full-back as well as providing another option in the goal-kicking ranks.

The 28-year-old is the leading points scorer for the Force and will move to Northampton at the end of the Super Rugby season.

"Cameron is a very talented player who has shown regularly that he has the ability and temperament to compete at the highest level," Northhampton's director of rugby Jim Mallinder said.

"He has a positive impact for his team's attacking capability but is also solid defensively and under the high ball. His versatility and quality will give us added depth in the back three positions.

Shepherd said: "It's an exciting opportunity for me.

"Jim has got the team playing a great brand of rugby which I believe suits my style of play and to which I think I've got a lot to offer.

"It is definitely going to be a new challenge for me. The Premiership is a tough competition and there are a lot of teams which like to play exciting rugby, especially the Saints.

"You can see that with the quality of player that there is at the club, players like Ben Foden and George Pisi, who are established internationals."

AFP

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted May 22, 2012 22:01:30

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Stormers rain on Force's parade

Updated April 28, 2012 22:12:51

Western Force failed to celebrate their stunning coup of securing Will Genia for 2013 after going down 17-3 to the Stormers at a wet and slippery Perth Oval.

The news that Reds and Wallabies half-back Genia had agreed to terms with the Force filtered through just before kick-off, but the home side was unable to take advantage of the positive vibe.

A controversial try to centre Bryan Habana and Peter Grant's 12-point contribution set up the win for the Stormers, who remain equal top of the South African conference.

In contrast, the Force's seventh loss of the season all but ended their slim finals hopes, with the franchise a worrying 14 points adrift of the Brumbies with just seven matches remaining.

But the big talking point was about the Force's work off the field, with the franchise gaining the services of Genia for next season.

And in a bonus, captain and openside flanker David Pocock is also set to re-sign with the club.

On the field, things were not looking all that good for the Force when Habana intercepted Force fly half David Harvey's ambitious pass to score the opening try of the night in the 20th minute.

Habana ran 60 metres before diving under the posts untouched.

But replays showed the ball actually slipped out of Habana's arms just centimetres short of the tryline, with the referees not close enough to see the mistake.

Tempers threatened to boil over in the 25th minute when several players engaged in a wrestle near the touchlines.

No yellow cards were given, but tensions continued to simmer for the remainder of the half.

Force winger Napolioni Nalaga pulled off a brilliant try-saving tackle in the 26th minute to deny Stormers full-back Joe Pietersen in the corner, but a glut of unforced errors from both sides in the slippery conditions ensured the score remained 7-3 to the visitors at half-time.

A penalty to Grant gave the visitors a 10-3 edge early in the second half, and the Stormers were well on their way to victory when the playmaker charged over for a try in the 49th minute.

From then on, the only question was whether the Stormers could notch the four tries needed for a bonus point.

They failed on that front, but notched their eighth win from nine games.

Players struggled to keep their feet for much of the match, with heavy showers ensuring a water-logged pitch.

Stormers: 17 (B Habana, P Grant tries; Grant 2 cons, pen)

Western Force: 3 (Harvey pen)

AAP/ABC

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, perth-6000

First posted April 28, 2012 21:29:10

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