Foley tells Force to dig in for the season
Western Force coach Michael Foley says his players have little option but to dig in and stay the course after slumping to a sixth successive loss on Saturday night.
The Force’s two-match South African tour ended in predictable fashion in Durban, the under-strength Sharks rallying from a half-time deficit to prevail 15-9.
Foley said he was left feeling empty in the aftermath of the defeat, but remained adamant there were good times ahead.
The Force’s plight is a far cry from the second half of last season when they rallied strongly to flirt with a maiden finals appearance. Their 1-6 record effectively leaves the club in the same position it was in Foley’s first season at the helm, but the third-year coach said there would be no finger-pointing.
“You’ve got choices now,” Foley said.
“You can lift your head and keep fighting or say it’s not worth the effort. It’s that simple.
“The first seven games were always going to be difficult. We’ve made it more difficult for ourselves than we should have.
“The tougher it gets, the more we should pull together.
“We’ve got nine games to go and there are a lot of opportunities in those nine games.
“If you want to carry baggage from the first seven then we’ll lose those opportunities.
“If you want to learn lessons then we’ll take more of those opportunities.
“Sometimes you have to persist. It’s very easy to change course to solve problems.
“You get into difficulty with a team and it’s very easy for a coach or players or anybody to blame each other.
“We have to keep the team believing.
“The reality is we’re not changing the players and nor do I want to. Often you have to persist to improve the things that are letting you down to get the game across the line.
“You can try and revolutionise things — all that does is start again and create confusion.”
Not helped by a seemingly straightforward try from Ben McCalman being disallowed, the Force didn’t help themselves.
A shocking penalty miss by Sias Ebersohn in the second half cost them the chance to take a one-point lead.
Instead, two minutes later, Sharks winger Lwazi Mvovo scored a breakout converted try for a 10-point turnaround.
