by Paul Cook –

A first-up win over the highly fancied Melbourne Rising two weeks ago, raised more than a few eyebrows towards Perth Spirit’s newest batch of young talent.

Relying less heavily on inherent professional talent than their fellow Super Rugby affiliated sides like Rising, the UC Vikings and Brisbane City – certainly up front – Spirit have approached the 2016 season with a view to blooding a host of potential future Force stars. So the 20-16 win came as a welcome early bonus for a team chock-full of greenhorns.

Six days later however, they were brought down to earth on a rainy Sydney evening at North Sydney Oval, an impressive start running out of steam as the Sydney Rays turned around a half-time deficit to run out 28-8 victors. The good work against Rising undone, it is that problem of inconsistency that looms once again for a side that has now won just eight and lost 20 of it’s NRC matches in the competition’s three years.

But as new captain Jonno Lance confirmed to Rugby News this week, there are plenty of reasons for optimism.

“There were a lot of things we thought we could do a lot better after the first game against Melbourne but in saying that, we went up against a Super Rugby quality team, played well and got physically ready for the game against the Rays,” he says. “To come out and start as well as we did and play as well as we did in game two was pleasing, but I think we probably let ourselves down just before half-time and we came into the sheds feeling like we were down even though we were ahead.”

Some exemplary handling in tricky conditions, and plenty of aggression at the tackle contest, had them firmly on the front foot against a Rays side that took some time to warm to their task. But they were unable to make good on their ascendancy, and unable to add to an early try from scrumhalf Ryan Louwrens.

A tactical switch from the Rays early in the second half allowed them to control field position through the dual boots of Angus Sinclair and Sam Lane, while the battle at the breakdown was turned in favour of the hosts by a combination of lack of numbers from Spirit, and the pilfering skills of Rays openside, Will Miller. Losing three men to the referee’s naughty chair certainly didn’t help their cause either.

“We probably could have had a few more points off that dominant start but our mindset in that last 10 minutes of the first half, where we really let them back into it with our discipline, wasn’t good enough,” says Lance. “It wasn’t them playing well, it was our set-piece struggling a bit and us giving penalties away for them to get to that set-piece, so we need to be a lot better than that.

“Our penalty count was high and losing three guys to the sin bin, you’re never going to win a game of rugby. Our ball carry was good all game but our supporting numbers weren’t and that’s why they got a lot of turnovers. Will Miller is a quality player at seven, and we let him get on the ball by our support play not being good enough.”

Onehunga Havili on the charge against Melbourne Rising – Photo: Johan Schmidt Photography

A meagre total of only 28 points from two games – almost half the amount procured by the next most profligate team, Queensland Country – may be an indication that the Spirit backline is yet to click into top gear. But even in the NRC, the old adage that the forwards decide who wins, the backs by how much, still rings true. And a starting pack with an average of just over 22-years-old, should only improve with each week of football.

“We’ve got a young forward pack and all of our tight-five against the Rays were from club footy in Perth,” explains Lance. “This is the competition they want to play in and they will only get better as they adjust to that step up. They would have learned a lot against the Rays, and we need to learn quickly as a group in this competition if we want to make finals.”

Next up for the Spirit is a return to the East coast to take on a Western Sydney Rams side that have shown enough in their first two games to ensure they cannot be taken lightly. Instead of staying in Sydney between matches, the boys from across the Nullarbor will have endured four flights and around 18 hours in the air in just seven days by the time they hear the opening whistle at Concord Oval at 1pm AEST on Saturday, a factor that may well test the legs in the latter stages of the contest.

But the perennial tyranny of distance faced by those in both the Spirit and Western Force jerseys, is not about to be held up as a reason for poor performance – at least not by their positive skipper. For Lance, who racked up plenty of air and road miles as part of his stellar individual season with the NSW Country Eagles last year, it is a chance for those dreaming of ascension to Super Rugby and beyond, to get a taste of the life away from the pitch that goes in tandem with a pro career.

“Flying to Perth and back to Sydney this week isn’t ideal, but especially for the younger guys, it’s a great experience,” he affirms. “When you’re playing in the NRC, travelling together as a rugby team, travelling the day before a game and spending 48 hours with your mates that you play with in that game, is a big part of that. Travel isn’t an excuse for us, it’s an exciting challenge.”

With only six games left in order to earn a place in the finals, another loss tomorrow would be a major setback. But Lance firmly believes this group has what it takes to feature at the business end of the season.

“We’ve got a tough game against the Rams that we really need to win because this competition is a sprint,” he admits. “Obviously, our second half against the Rays was no good and if we turn out like that every week, we won’t be there at the end. But going on our first 100 minutes of footy in this competition, we’ll definitely give it a good shot.

“For me, there’s a similar vibe to last year with the NSW Country Eagles. There’s a lot of young guys just having a crack and I love playing in a team like that. These are exciting times!”