Giteau stars as Force and Crusaders draw

Matt Giteau played a starring role as the Western Force overcame a 14-point
second-half deficit to claim a dramatic 23-23 Super 14 draw against the Crusaders in
Christchurch on Saturday.
The injury-hit Crusaders ran in three unanswered tries in the first half and led
23-9 in the 57th minute before the Force, inspired by Giteau's brilliance, stormed
back into the contest.
Giteau, who nailed two conversions and three penalties for the night without a miss,
set up Haig Sare and James O'Connor for tries as the Force piled on 14 points to
level the scores.
But the Force couldn't land the killer blow and were lucky to escape with the draw
after Crusaders flyhalf Stephen Brett missed an easy penalty just six minutes from
time.
The result could come at a cost for the Force, who lost winger Cameron Shepherd to
an ankle injury in the second half and prop Ben Castle to a shoulder/neck complaint.
"We are disappointed not to get the win," Force coach John Mitchell said.
"We had the last possession of the game but, in saying that, you've still got to be
content that we got ourselves back into the game.
"We didn't start well and they stretched us with a lot of width and got a lot of
one-on-one opportunities, which gave them a lot of quick ball.
"We had trouble with that early.
"The scoreline wasn't an issue at halftime, it was more about getting ourselves back
into the match.
"It's pleasing how we came back."
Coincidentally, the first draw between the two sides - in Perth in 2006 - was also a
23-23 scoreline.
Inside centre Ryan Crotty, Tim Bateman and lock Isaac Ross all notched tries in the
first half as the Crusaders' expansive game plan left the Force defence floundering
on numerous occasions.
The 20-6 halftime scoreline could have been even worse for the Force had Brett been
on target with his boot, the Crusaders flyhalf missing two penalties and two
conversions in the first 40 minutes.
But the Force came out a different side in the second half and broke the shackles in
the 58th minute when Giteau made a slicing run through the Crusaders defence before
unleashing a 13m pass to Sare, who did well to stay in the field of play and touch
down in the corner.
Crusaders fullback Leon MacDonald was shown a yellow card in the 66th minute and the
Force made the most of the numerical advantage as Giteau bounced off two tackles to
send O'Connor over in the 69th minute to ensure a share of the spoils.
The draw leaves the Force four points adrift of the top four, while the seven-times
Super champions Crusaders, who take on NSW next Saturday in Sydney, are languishing
a further two points behind.
Adding to the Crusaders' early-season woes the citing of prop Owen Franks for a late
and high tackle in Giteau.