Dogged defence by the Western Force, reduced to 13 men over the closing stages, saw them hang on for a desperate 31-29 bonus-point win over the Otago Highlanders in their Super 15 clash in Dunedin Saturday.
Ben McCalman and Adam Coleman both copped yellow cards as the Force confronted a late rally from the Highlanders who trailed 31-16 with 20 minutes remaining.
With the Highlanders dominating possession and territory they steadily reduced the gap forcing the Force into desperate defensive measures, including a spear tackle which led referee Glen Jackson to produce the yellow cards.
But even with a two-man advantage the Highlanders were unable to bridge the gap.
After eight minutes of unsuccessfully battering away at the line, they were rewarded on fulltime when replacement fly-half Hayden Parker scored out wide.
But his conversion attempt which would have seen the match end in a draw, fell short.
Although the Force were on the losing end of the second half, they built enough of a buffer in the first 40 minutes, when they led 21-16 to secure their second win as they backed up from beating the Melbourne Rebels 32-7 a week ago.
“We’re playing some good football now, starting the game strong and finishing it off well with 13 men,” a relieved Force captain Matt Hodgson said.
The Force, looking to emulate last week’s effort when they raced to a 32-0 lead by halftime against the Rebels, had their first points on the board within three minutes.
Hooker Nathan Charles, loitering on the left wing, scored in the corner with Sias Ebersohn adding the conversion.
But they were made to pay for repeated infringements with Highlanders’ fly-half Lima Sopoaga landing three penalties in quick succession including a 50-metre (yard) effort to give the Highlanders a 9-7 lead inside 20 minutes.
However, the lead was to change twice more before half-time with Ebersohn putting the Force back in front from a 40-metre intercept try which he also converted.
The Highlanders, who had one win from two outings going into the match, responded with a try to Shaun Treeby who snapped up an Aaron Smith chip kick from a scrum close to the line.
Sopoaga’s conversion had the Highlanders in front 16-14 before McCalman crashed over for a try, converted by Ebersohn, for the Force to lead at half-time.
A penalty early in the second half to Ebersohn, who also converted the bonus-point try by Junior Rasolea pushed the Force out to a 31-16 lead.
Malakai Fekitoa and Parker scored two late tries for the Highlanders with Sopoaga adding a fourth penalty.
The Force return to Perth to play the defending champion Waikato Chiefs next week while the Highlanders remain at home to face the Wellington Hurricanes.
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Company%20profile
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Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh