Cron praises Power for hanging in front of the Toyota Challenge referee Latest Rugby News

Western Force head coach Simon Cron was delighted with his side’s 30-27 victory over the Cheetahs on Friday and says there were important lessons to be learned from the encounter.

The lead changed hands many times in the Game 3 win in Mandurah, with Carlo Tizzano scoring 68.^th minutes try to help the Power forward for the last time after the back 17-13 in time.

However, the hosts had to withstand a number of Cheetahs’ pushes to secure the victory which has Toyota Challenge 2-1 from four games in favor of Currie Cup winners South Africa ahead of Game 4 at the Revo Fitness Stadium, Claremont starting at 3pm. at night saturday

Cron said the moment’s conclusion provided an important lesson for his side, while giving credit to his players for holding on for the victory.

“I think the boys will take a lot of lessons from it,” he said. “The most important thing was the tight play and they got to his right.

“I was really worried in the coaches’ box. For us there’s a bit of training there. Maybe a chance to take three and go out. The boys chose to go to the maul and turn it over.

“So they had to defend and stick to their guns, they defended, got the turnover and finished the game, so good for them.”

The Force scored four times in the game, Tizzano grabbing two, while George Poolman and Jackson Pugh added the others.

“We had a few sets of plays today,” Cron said. “We had a tap penalty, we had a top-line and we had quick shapes in the corner, we three sets got tries, which is good.

“We can’t rely on trick play all the time. We have to improve more in terms of maintaining possession and applying pressure.

“The boys are doing their jobs very well. They scored some good tries. The Cheetahs will always come back. We still have to work on our maul defense a bit, that hurts us. That will be a big thing for us.”

The squad is using the Toyota Challenge as an opportunity to improve team cohesion and develop young talent ahead of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.

There have been plenty of bright lights during the series, with several young players impressing Cron while 24-year-old Max Burey starred on Friday night despite missing a few field goal attempts.

“As you’ve seen in Super Rugby, he can be a really good player,” Cron said of Burey. “The main thing is that he will take several lessons today. I saw him earlier and he is already talking about some of them.

“He’s a very focused human being. We like that about him. I have no doubt he’s going to be the best for the game.”

Power pitcher Tom Horton was named Man of the Match in Game 3 after a strong performance in the dugouts.

“Horto always goes 110% for the whole game,” he said. “He’s tough, tough. We left him out there for a full 80. That’s because he keeps going all day. A couple of other guys did well, too.”

Cron was also delighted to return to Perth to play in front of the Blue Sea at Claremont, after nearly 3,000 fans turned out in Mandurah.

“We get another game in Perth, in front of our Blue Sea,” Cron said. “They love rugby, we love having them at games. The whole point of this is to develop talent here, we enjoy it.

Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster for Game 4 at Claremont’s Revo Fitness Stadium. GA tickets for the public can be purchased through the link for $15 per game. GA tickets at the gate will be $20.

Members can purchase GA Tickets at the discounted rate of $10 per game through their Membership renewal or new Membership purchase as an add-on to payment.

Match details

Western Power vs Cheetah

Revo Fitness Stadium, Claremont

Saturday 7th October, Starting at 3pm

Doors Open 1:30pm

Tickets through Ticketmaster