Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force coach Simon Cron wary of wounded Waratahs as his side chase finals berth

Western Force coach Simon Cron is taking nothing for granted as his side look to keep their finals hopes alive against an injury-hit, cellar-dwelling Waratahs at HBF Park on Saturday. But while the New South Welshman might be light on boots on the ground — particularly in the front-row — Cron is wary of the Wallaby factor as the Force look to keep pace with Fijian Drua in the race for eighth spot on the ladder. After seeing prop after prop and lock after lock succumb to injury this season, Cron can relate to the Waratahs’ scrum issues. Wallabies Angus Bell and David Porecki are both done for the season, as are fellow front-rowers Harry Johnson-Holmes, Hayden Thompson-Stringer, Archer Holz, Daniel Botha, Thomas Lambert, Theo Fourie and Julian Heaven. It left the Waratahs in the unenviable position of loaning in Rebels prop Pone Fa’amausili last week, and with him returning to Melbourne this round, they have had to parachute in Argentinian international Enrique Peiretto from Glasgow Warriors on loan. But while a finally full-strength Force tight five should have the ascendancy at scrum-time, Cron said they could not afford to be distracted by the Waratahs’ injury list. “Let’s be realistic, favorites means nothing; for us it’s about consistency of performance,” Cron said. “What we did against the Drua was positive rugby and we did the basics well. We’re going to go into this game doing the same thing, basics over brilliance and do what we do well: control the contact zone, and then let the game unfold. “They’ve got an Argentinian international they’ve bought in at tighthead, so there will definitely be pressure at scrum time. It’s an area we’ll look to attack.” For all the Waratahs’ outs, there is still pedigree in their starting 15 in their loose forwards group and outside backs, particularly Wallabies winger and Sydney Roosters-bound Mark Nawaqanitawase. “I don’t know what the count is, but they’ve got a lot Wallabies,” Cron said. “A lot of Wallaby talent in this squad, a lot of Wallaby talent on the bench. We’re expecting a pretty good match with a really good side.” Thankfully for the Force, after a myriad of injuries early in the season, they now have a settled team with just one change to the 23 which dismantled the Drua last week. After playing his first game in more than 700 days last week, Harry Hoopert gets a start in the front row alongside incumbents Tom Horton and Santiago Medrano. “Cohesion has definitely been an issue this year so it’s nice to be able to roll boys out a second time,” Cron said. “He’s good at set-piece, Hoops; he’s a good scrummager, stays in front of the tighthead and he’s been working on his ball carry into contact and being strong on the leg drive.” Hoopert and Ben Donaldson will both play their 50th Super Rugby game against the Waratahs. “They’re a big part of our culture and our tight knit group here. They’re really good boys and those two are right in the mix, they’ve been here for this whole season and pre-season, they add a lot to our team,” Cron said. “If you look at some of these guys, they really do like playing for each other, there’s a lot of trust and respect on the field between those boys, so it’s exciting to then have their 50th here.”