Force Waratahs Pek Cowan 1 Benn Robinson Ben Whittaker 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau Tim Fairbrother 3 Sekope Kepu Sam Wykes 4 Dean Mumm (C) Nathan Sharpe (C) 5 Kane Douglas Richard Brown 6 Ben Mowen Jono Jenkins 7 Pat McCutcheon Ben McCalman 8 Wycliff Palu v Brett Sheehan 9 Luke Burgess D Willie Ripia 10 Kurtley Beale NSW Waratahs Cameron Shephard 11 Drew Mitchell Gene Fairbanks 12 Tome Carter Saturday 9th April 2011 Nick Cummins 13 Ryan Cross nib Stadium, Perth David Smith 14 Aiteli Pakalani James O'Conner 15 Lachie Turner Kick Off: 8.05pm Reserves Nathan Charles 16 Damien Fitzpatrick Kieran Longbottom 17 Al Baxter Tom Hockings 18 Sitaleki Timani J.B. O'Reilly's Tevita Metuisela 19 Dave Dennis James Stannard 20 Chris Alcock Rory Sidey 21 Brendan McKibbin Pat Dellit 22 Daniel Halangahu Key match-ups Ben McCalman vs Wycliff Palu. These two will go hammer and tongs all night (unless Palu’s gamey knee buckles again) in an attempt to show Robbie D that their style is a better fit for the Wallabies; Aggression, mobility and work rate vs sheer brute force. We had better hope Palu has a poor game because the go forward he provides, particularly off the back of the scrum, could make the difference between the Tahs flying or floundering. Amongst the backs you can’t look past Brett Sheehan vs Luke Burgess. Sheehan will ensure that this becomes an absolute scrap out. He no doubt has a bit of an axe to grind as the arrival of Burgess has seen Sheehan pushed out of both the Waratahs starting jersey and the Wallabies squad. Let’s hope that Sheehan legitimately lets him know that he hasn’t forgotten. Willie Ripia and Sam Wykes The Preview After last weekend’s heartbreak, this game couldn’t come fast enough. Hmmm Willie Ripia déjà-vu. Must be some kind of glitch in the Matrix. Or maybe just one of the occupational hazards of being a Force fan. Either way, I wouldn’t want to be Position: Fly Half anywhere else on Saturday night than watching the Aussie derby between the Height: 178cm Force and the NSW Waratahs at nib Stadium. Weight: 88kg Date of Birth: 20/08/1985 Neither team has particularly impressed in the last few weeks as injuries in both Super 12/14 Caps: 30 (1 highlanders, 29 camps have exposed a bit of a soft underbelly. Regardless of the negatives, there Hurricanes) is plenty to get excited about in this weekend’s clash. For starters there is the Western Force Debut: 2011 – Rd8 v return of Willie Ripia to the Force 10 jumper. A pre-season foot injury has kept him Waratahs out of our first six games in what is becoming a bit of a continuing trend for the Force. Let’s hope he has a blinder. If not just that, we should also get amped for a showdown with Waratahs, a team we share a great rivalry with. Although I have to The Emirates Western Force landed one of rugby’s say that these days I think the Brumbies have taken the place of the Tahs as arch- most exciting young playmakers when New Zealand rivals and most hated team from a Force perspective. Anyway, back to the game... Maori representative Willie Ripia agreed to head to Western Australia for the next two Super rugby seasons. Head to head Ripia has notched 30 Super rugby appearances and represented New Zealand at U19 While it can be argued Force vs Waratahs games have been fairly dour games, & U21 level. He joins the Emirates Western Force as a foreign development player the scoreline has almost always ensured the game remained a thriller. After a after committing his international future to Australian Rugby. blow-out in favour of the Waratahs in 2006, the last four Waratahs/Force fixtures have been settled by 5 points or less. The most memorable of these was the 2007 Willie Ripia is the Forces marquee signing, who like all good marques, has been injured edition, when Lote Tuqiri showed his true bogan colours in shoving teammate Sam until now. He will fill a massive hole in the Forces back line, and free up James Norton-Knight in the back for taking a quick tap when a penalty could’ve broken O'Conner to play as full back. Ripia will allow the force to have a much more structured the deadlock and won the game. It wasn’t until 2009 that the Force tasted victory attack, and brings much needed experience to the side. over the Waratahs, and what a sweet victory it was, with the 15-14 away win securing the Australian ‘Grand Slam’ for the Force. Last year’s game was definitely the most uninspiring in the two team’s history. Zero line-breaks were made as the The Stats Waratahs managed to come away with 14-10 victory. It came down to the wire, T C P DG Total however, as the Force were camped on the Tah’s line for a number of phases Force 1 1 0 0 7 2006 before a turnover at the death. Waratahs 4 3 2 0 32 Waratahs 1 1 3 0 16 2007 Predicted result Force 2 0 2 0 16 I doubt this one will be a particularly flashy game. Both teams will be more than Force 0 0 4 0 12 2008 satisfied with a win and both teams seem unlikely to lift out of the malaise that has Waratahs 2 2 1 0 17 gripped both teams in these last few weeks. I am pretty desperate for a Force win, Waratahs 1 0 3 0 14 and I’m not sure how well the fans would take another loss, but I can’t see this one 2009 going our way. I don’t think Ripia will immediately gel with his backline and that will Force 2 1 1 0 15 lead to the Waratahs being let off on more than one occasion. The Tahs Force 1 1 1 0 10 2010 meanwhile won’t play well either, however if the game stays in the same vein as Waratahs 1 0 3 0 14 previous Force/Tahs affairs, they can milk scrum penalties all night and win it in a close one. Waratahs by 5. James @ TWF.com.au Check out TWF.com.au for all your Force news and information (as well as discussions and arguments!) Ripia in training with the Force.