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West Australian
25-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force coach Simon Cron crestfallen after promising season ends on sour note
Western Force coach Simon Cron says a combination of a lack of high-intensity training, fatigue, injuries and jet lag contributed to a six-game winless run to end their season which ruined their final hopes. When the Force beat the Highlanders on April 5 to move into fourth spot, a first Super Rugby Pacific finals berth beckoned; instead the Force are now at risk of the wooden spoon after their super-point 22-17 loss to the Waratahs. Darby Lancaster's spectacular 90th minute try after the sides could not be separated at the end of regulation gave the visitors a win to keep their own season alive while condemn the Force to a fifth loss in a row. After their first bye, the Force failed to win and only picked up two points the rest of the season, coming in their first game post-break in a 17-17 super point draw with the Hurricanes. While they had chances to beat the Waratahs, Cron conceded they were their own worst enemies and had made poor decisions. Part of the reason for those errors was a lack of sharpness. 'There's a few things tout of our control a little bit in that last six game block. The S&C (strength and conditioning) department was telling me,we probably trained them six times in six weeks at any sort of intensity,' he said. 'That makes makes it more challenging as a coach, because you like to coach when you're on field but unfortunately, that's just the way the cookie crumbled this year with what we were doing.' Injuries and a heavy travel schedule contributed to the Force's lack of high-intensity training in the second half of the season. A swell of injuries to first-team players and key rotational pieces blighted the Force in the run home; starters Marley Pearce, Vaiolini Ekuasi and Divad Palu all missed long stretches through injury. Prop Pearce's shoulder issue was compounded by starting-calibre front-rowers Harry Hoopert and Harry Johnson-Holmes both tearing ACLs before the season even began. In recent weeks, star flanker Carlo Tizzano and important back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny also missed time, while Wallabies duo Dylan Pietsch and Brandon Paenga-Amosa were restricted to seven games each. 'You're going to lose players at Super Rugby. It's just when we lose that many, we've just got to try and continue to build the depth behind that so that we don't get hunting worldwide,' Cron said. The Force's second bye of the season comes next week, in the final league round of the season — something Cron has repeatedly complained about after his side travelled more than 49,000km in the air this season. 'Funnily enough, this is the boys' bye week, which lines up nicely with our season, giving the highest-travelled team a bye at the end,' Cron said. But both Cron and captain Jeremy Williams conceded they butchered chances against the Waratahs and their decision-making eluded them. 'The big area of growth for us is our very brains in key moments, we sometimes make it a bit hard for ourselves,' Cron said. 'There are probably moments in the game I'd like over, potentially around those penalties and decisions to go to the corner; in hindsight now I would have loved to go to the points, so that's hurting me a fair bit,' Williams said.
West Australian
23-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force coach Simon Cron says no motivation needed for final game of season
Western Force coach Simon Cron has dismissed any notion their final Super Rugby Pacific game of the season being a dead rubber despite the finals hopes having bitten the dust. After last week's loss to Fijian Drua slammed the door shut on their finals hopes, an injury-afflicted Force regain a bevy of starters for Saturday evening's clash against the Waratahs at HBF Park. And with the wooden spoon still in play and inter-state pride on the line for the Force, there is plenty at stake heading into the game. While Cron was not focusing too much on the result and insisted his focus was on the performance, he said no motivation was needed for his players despite their finals hopes ending. 'It's extremely disappointing, and you can see it in the faces of everybody in the organization. 'We started really well, and in terms of petering out, there's definitely a few things we can fix in a lot of that season. 'Hopefully that will help us be stronger and continuing to build depth in key positions is a big part of that. It's what we've got to keep driving forward to do. 'Last game is critical for us; we've got the Sea of Blue, we've got supporters, it's our home, our house: you can't give much more motivation than that. 'I don't think you should have to 'g' a player up.' Carlo Tizzano, Nic White, Harry Potter, Ben Donaldson, Dylan Pietsch, Nick Champion de Crespigny and Hamish Stewart are all back for the Force while Fatongia Paea gets a debut at loosehead prop. 'We've got seven guys coming back into the squad this want to play rugby, we want them to play rugby,' Cron said. 'Their rugby brains are really important for us to make good decisions under pressure, and that's big part of experience.' Tizzano has signed a new deal with the Force to take him through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup and Cron said he was excited to have the star flanker back on board. 'We've got a number of guys doing that at the moment. Going forward, the most important thing for us is maintaining our core. 'One was developing the core players, and now it's maintaining and keeping them for the next year. 'There's been a lot of change in the last two years as we start to fight our way back in and he's a big part of that core, so that's awesome for him to re-sign.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Emerging Wallabies star says no to Japan riches
Try-scoring machine Carlo Tizzano has resisted the riches of Japan to sign with Rugby Australia and the Western Force until the end of 2027. Tizzano has been in hot demand in recent months on the back of his sensational Super Rugby Pacific form, with the back rower scoring 12 tries so far this season - three more than his closest rival. The 25-year-old, who has made five appearances for the Wallabies and is considered a rising star, was reportedly being heavily chased by cashed-up teams in Japan. But the chance to wear the Wallaby gold against the British and Irish Lions later this year and appear in a 2027 home Rugby World Cup convinced him to stay. "I'm really excited to be staying in Australian rugby for two more years, especially in Perth with the Force," Tizzano said in a statement. "I couldn't see myself playing for any other Super Rugby franchise. "To help contribute to this Force team earning more wins and reaching semi-finals is something I'm really excited for. "I'm looking forward to earning more opportunities with the Wallabies. "It's an exciting time in Australian rugby now with the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour and the home World Cup in 2027, which were two big factors." It's official 🫱🏼🫲🏽#StrongerTogether — Western Force (@westernforce) May 22, 2025 Force coach Simon Cron was excited to retain the services of Tizzano. "Seeing him continue to grow his game and develop has really enthused us and when Carlo became a Wallaby, it was a huge highlight for a number of people within the organisation," Cron said. The Wallabies are now blessed for depth in the back row, with the likes of Tizzano, the returning Pete Samu, Harry Wilson, Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight among the many options. Tizzano will return from a pectoral injury for the Force's clash with the Waratahs in Perth on Saturday night. The ninth-placed Force are already out of the finals race, while the eighth-placed Waratahs need to win their final two games and rely on other results to go their way in order to sneak in.
Perth Now
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Eden Park litmus test stands in way of Force finals berth
'Control the controllables' is a refrain often spouted from the mouth of coaches and players when asked about how they avoid outside noise and overcome pressure situations. Sporting entities are comparable to Neo in The Matrix, in that they do not like the idea they are not in control of their lives. If you control possession, you can control the other team; if you control your errors and urges, you give your opponents less to pick at, effectively mastering your own destiny. Your local paper, whenever you want it. The 2025 iteration of Western Force have looked more cohesive and exerted more in control than they have at any other point of the Simon Cron era. But it always felt, heading into the season, their finals hopes would be dictated by their trans-Tasman match-ups — and it has proven true to form, with two wins, two heavy losses and a draw to show from their five match-ups. And approaching their final game against a Kiwi side this season, if the Force want to play finals, they must break their Eden Park duck. Friday's clash with an under-performing Blues side in Auckland is a season-defining litmus test of both the Force's progress and their top six credentials. The Force have never won at Eden Park. Credit: Dave Rowland / Getty Images The club has never won at Eden Park before, but that is not something the current squad can control; nor is their injury list, which has quietly increased over the past few weeks. A win at the graveyard of many an Australian team before them would be a morale-booster for the Force, in the same way their back-against-the-wall win over the Brumbies in Canberra proved they could match it with the best. But there is also the need to claim a big Kiwi scalp away from home. There was a sense, coming into the season, the Force would be able to match it with their Australian rivals. The Kiwi teams though, have always been a different beast. They hit harder, dominate the contact zone and can scythe through a defence in the blink of an eye with a well-articulated passing patterns and their effervescent backs. Lord of the Rings references feel lazy and maligned when applied to New Zealand rugby, but there is a certain Uruk-hai quality to them. Their armor is thick and their shields broad, but more pressingly, they loom large over the Australian teams both physically and mentally, and punish opponents at the slightest sign of weakness. The Force have shown they can compete this season, but are yet to strike a killer blow, a shot across the bow which will turn their rivals' curiosity to attention. They kept within reach of the Chiefs and Crusaders, the top two teams in the league, only to be blown out after half-time. Hamish Stewart during the Force's blowout loss against the Chiefs. Credit: Michael Bradley / Getty Images Every team battles injuries throughout the season, and it is how well teams deal with losses, both on the park and the table, which ultimately proves their making. In a more blunt way: if you can't hang, there's the door. And so, against a wounded, under-performing Blues fighting for their own lives, the Force need to come through it with four points, to enter the final three games of the season with their fate in their own hands. No one makes it up the hill without pushing through adversity — if the Force want to truly control the controllables, Friday will be an acid test.
