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Western Force captain Michael Wells believes his team is coming together at the right time as they push for a place in the Super Rugby Pacific finals.
The Force sat second-last on the ladder two weeks ago but wins over the Fijian Drua and the ACT Brumbies have breathed life into their season, as they currently occupy the last spot in the top eight with a one-win buffer over the chasing pack.
Wells told Sports Breakfast the Force were starting to build continuity under first-year head coach Simon Cron.
“The old adage is you don’t win the competition in round one, so as long as we’re peaking towards finals and playing finals, that’s what’s important,” Wells said.
“It was always going to take time for the team to develop, new coaching staff, a lot of new players coming in.
“We’re starting to see that all come to fruition now, building chemistry, our game managers have had more experience at building that cohesiveness and that’s starting to translate into results.”
The win over the Brumbies was the Force’s first in more than ten years, with Wells saying it was an important milestone for the club.
“Our start was probably the most impressive thing, we scored three tries in the blink of an eye,” he said.
“As a forward, the best thing you can see after coming out from the scrum is the backs have already scored a try and you’re heading back to halfway, so that was probably the most pleasing thing out of the performance.
“We needed a win, particularly at home. We’ve kept up a run of not losing at home so far (this season), so it’s been really good.”
The Force’s next challenge comes on the road against the 11th-placed Melbourne Rebels on Friday night, with Wells saying the game was essentially worth double points as both sides looked to win a finals place.
“They’re a big team, big forward pack, a lot of big bodies, and they tend to like the physicality,” he said.
“Particularly in our forward pack, if we match up there, it’ll put us in good stead and give us a platform to attack.”
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