Former South African Schools flyhalf Sias Ebersohn left his country of birth under a cloud, seemingly unable to convert his potential into form at Super Rugby level.
However, the 25-year-old made a triumphant return to Bloemfontein at the weekend – producing a mature performance and played a key role in the Western Force’s 23-16 Super Rugby Round 13 win over his former team, the Cheetahs.
Force coach Michael Foley commended the No 10, who left Bloemfontein for Perth two years ago after being overlooked – with Springbok Johan Goosen the preferred choice.
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Not only did Ebersohn outshine his more illustrious opponent at the weekend, he also silenced a few critics on the other side of the Indian Ocean.
“I am very pleased for Sias,” Foley said in his post-match reaction.
“He has worked very hard, much like everybody else.”
“There were a few people in our [Force] senior management that thought Sias wasn’t the answer, but as we explained, he was a young flyhalf who was still learning.”
“Now he is playing superbly well this year.”
The Force coach also commended wing Nick Cummins for his individual efforts on the day.
“Nick Cummins did very well on defence,” Foley said.
“He was up against [Springbok] Raymond Rhule, who is a very dangerous player, and did extremely well.”
Foley also lauded his team’s efforts in the scrums and at the breakdown area.
The Force dominated the scrums and breakdowns, while also using turnover possession optimally to gain valuable momentum for their next game on their South African tour – as they eye an unprecedented whitewash of SA teams in the Republic.
They next face the Stormers in Cape Town next weekend and Foley said the victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, their first since 2009, was mostly due to their ability in the above mentioned areas.
“I think the guys have been pretty solid in the break down area from the start of the season,” Foley said.
“Our loose trio lead from the front against the Cheetahs, but I think everyone on the field was good in that regard.”
“There were times that we had to defend more than we wanted to because we couldn’t get away from our end of the field, but we reacted well to the pressure.”
“Our defence, and even our approach at the break downs, are a lot about spirit. When people play rugby, they normally play to throw the ball around. Our defence is based on hard work.”
Most of the Force’s points came from turnover possession that came after the Cheetahs made mistakes on the attack, while their dominance in the scrums also contributed to the victory.
“I don’t think you are ever able to anticipate when a side is going to make mistakes. That being said, we did believe if we defended well enough, opportunities would arise from that.”
“It took a lot of hard work from the guys up front, particularly in the first half. The guys worked really hard and that resulted in opportunities that we could capitalise on.”
“I have to commend all our forwards for their performance in the scrums. It was pleasing to see our reserve front row come onto the field later on and have the same impact.”
“[The Cheetahs] certainly move the ball around a lot and we did believe that if we defended well enough and if we were strong enough in that area, opportunities would come for us,” he said.
“We felt that was likely to happen late in the game rather than early so it took a lot of hard work from the team up front.”
“In that first half, in those first 20 or 30 minutes, our guys worked very hard and as a result got rewarded with opportunities and were aware enough in those moments to take them.”
“There are a lot of guys in that team who’ve been at the Force for a long time and haven’t necessarily been rewarded for their hard work and they get a sense that every player in the squad, not just guys that are here but are back home as well, puts in for each other and that drives them.”
“Things like defence and breakdown for us – I’m always very confident they guys are going to give maximum effort.”
What is wrong with our SA teams this year? I know the Force have improved, but we shouldn’t be losing to them in SA. Of course, it doesn’t help that they have taken a bunch of our players. The South African players at the Force include Brynard Stander, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Chris Heiberg, Marcel Brache, Dillyn Leyds, Dylan Sage, Francois van Wyk and Sias Ebersohn.
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@ smallies:
nou nie rugby nie maar damm oulik
kaksioek wrote:
And the coaching staff is from varsity cup winning UCT
@ kaksioek:
Where would these guys have played?
Sias was never the same after missing that sitter in front of the posts and costing the Cheetahs against the Landers.
Brache, obviously AC didn’t rate him either.
Steenkamp got bits and pieces of play, but never really enough to be considered first choice.
To be honest, I’ve never heard of Stander,Heiberg,Leyds,Sage or Van Wyk before you posted their names.
Good luck to these guys if they can forge a future somewhere else if they were deemed surplus or not good enough here.
Agree that we shouldn’t be losing to the Force, but it just shows how hungry the Aussie sides are to impress Ewen this year.
The worrying thing to me is that the SA players don’t seem hungry to impress HM, even the players he rewarded with contracts are the worst of the lot.
Complacency maybe?
smallies wrote:
Etter dit is briljant, ek het nou lekekr gelag
@ MacroBull:
@4 Coaching staff UCT, seriously?
@ Pietman:
Foley is the head coach but his assistants are from UCT
David Wessels and Kevin Foote
To all my friends here.
My Mother passed away earlier tonight. I know a few of you cared and send well wishes 2 weeks ago when she was admitted to Hospital. The brave woman fought for 2 weeks more but the 89 year old body could not take it anymore.
She was a great mother and all 6 of her children will miss our pillar
9 @ superBul:
Oh NOOOOOOOO!
Ag jinne my tjom, ek is so jammer om te hoor van julle verlies!
Ons dink aan julle!
Ek het juis gister op Moedersdag soooooooooo baie na my Ma verlang!
Ai tog, staan sterk ou BlommieBul, my tjom!
Condolences SuperBul
Sterkte daar
@ superBul:
May your Mother Rest in Peace.
We, your friends here will have you and your family in our thoughts.
@ grootblousmile:
@ nortierd:
Dankie, julle weet dis so maklik om te se , ag nou is haar pyn verby. Die feit is sy het ons familie deur dik en dun aanmekaar gehou. Nou is dit ons plig om haar wense dat ons n familie bly , eer.
Maar my arme Suster wat amper 10 jaar haar opgepas het gaan deur die swaarste nag.
Ek waardeer jul ondersteuning.
DANKIE
@ Blue Bird:
Thank You Carol,
like i said in post 13
The pain is over , she was a very brave woman with a pain barrier most Stormer players would love to have
So although we will miss her she brought us up well and we wish her peace, no more pain.
RIP MoM
@ superBul:
My condolences superbul
@ superBul:
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Sterkte.
@ superBul:
Sterkte ou maat…
Ek hoop sy en Pietman Snr loop mekaar raak daar Bo…hulle sal sekerlik baie te se oor ons twee!
Groete vir Wyfiebul en mag julle groot genade ontvang in hierdie tyd.
Wees tevrede, julle was geseend om haar so lank te kon gehad het.
MacroBull wrote:
Thx, interesting, Ikeys heh…
@ Pietman:
17
Dankie Pietman
Thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate it.
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