Injuries to David Smith and Matt Hodgson rules them out of Brumbies encounter
Western Force coming from their last week win against the Brumbies will play with the Blue Bulls at Members Equity Stadium, Perth on Saturday April 23, 2011.
The match between the two is the Round 10 match and is the last match for the Bulls for their trip to the Australasia. Force’s preparation for the match suffered a major blow as their Winger David Smith has been ruled out of the game due to injury.
Force will be hosting the Bulls, who so far have managed to win a sole game out of the three they have played during their Australasia tour during the Super XV. Bulls after winning a closely contested game against the Hurricanes suffered a humiliating defeat
against the Crusaders. Bulls against the Crusaders failed to score a point. Last week, Reds registered their sixth consecutive win by defeating the visitors.
Bulls with four wins out of their eight games in the Super XV so far would fancy their chances to defeat the Force. However, Force has a record of being a formidable opponent when playing at the Perth in front of their home ground.
Western Force match preparation suffered a major blow, as their Winger David smith will not be able to take the field on Saturday due to the Hamstring injury. Force’s Winger David Smith played an important role in their last week victory over the ACT Brumbies.
David Smith scored ten points in the game. He scored two tries during game including the important 77th minute try that gave Force a six-point lead over the Brumbies.
Force were trailing by seven point at the start of the second half as David Smith came scoring for them during the 44th minute followed by James O’Connor’s conversion to put the Force in lead for the first time in the match.
David Smith sustained the hamstring injury while scoring his second try. Cameron Shepherd will replace David Smith for their game against the Bulls. Cameron Shepherd has recovered from his neck and head injuries that he suffered against the Waratahs during
the round 07 of super XV.
Furthermore, Force’s Flanker Matt Hodgson will not be available for the match due to the shoulder injury he sustained against the Melbourne Rebels.
Western Force would again be relying heavily on James O’Connor who is also Super XV top scorer with 108 points. One thing is for sure that the Bulls will have to work hard to earn points out of the match.
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