Force scrumhalf Alby Mathewson free to play Reds after his ban that didn’t cost him a game

WESTERN Force halfback ace Alby Mathewson is clear to face the Reds on Saturday night after serving a phantom one-game suspension.

Western Force scrumhalf Alby Mathewson has exposed a loophole the Super 15 suspension rules.

RUGBY’S judicial system has been mocked by the Western Force with halfback ace Alby Mathewson clear to face the Reds on Saturday night after serving a phantom suspension.

The former All Blacks halfback was hit with a one-week ban for stamping in the upset of the Chiefs on March 22, which conveniently meant it was served while the Force had a bye at the weekend.

Sources have told The Courier-Mail that one of the Force’s earnest representations to SANZAR judicial officer Adam Casselden was that Mathewson would miss a Perth club game for Kalamunda instead.

News_Image_File: Mathewson passes the ball to clear a ruck in the upset against the Chiefs at nib Stadium.

The Force are now quietly chuckling at Mathewson’s let-off. Not a single Force starter was freed to play club rugby over the weekend, when only two reserves Marcel Brache and Ollie Hoskins had a run.

No.8 Ben McCalman, a sledgehammer presence for the Force this season, is also back for the Suncorp Stadium clash because the second week of his lifting tackle ban was absorbed by the bye week.

There is nothing SANZAR can do about the loophole because they are bound by International Rugby Board regulations to suspend by “time” not “matches.”

Mathewson is the danger man against the Reds. He twice got the better of Will Genia last year, which started when he was the try spark for a 19-12 upset at Suncorp Stadium.

News_Rich_Media: Richard Graham is ecstatic with the Reds' win over the Stormers after a tumultuous week.

“Mathewson is a key to everything the Force do because he cleverly manages the speed of the game and knows when to bring his backs and forwards into play,” Reds coach Richard Graham warned.

Force coach Michael Foley shrewdly devised plans last year that bottled up Genia better than any side by scragging, bumping and generally swamping him with and, sometimes, without the ball.

That was the background to Genia saying he was ready for more trench warfare when he assessed the Force as even trickier rivals than the Stormers side beaten 22-17 last Saturday night.

Skipper James Horwill is certain the Reds can step up again after the character shown in defying injuries, a shortened training week and a long flight home from their South African tour.

News_Image_File: Reds winger Dom Shipperley is out of the Western Force game because of a hip flexor injury.

“We could have thrown up the arms and said it was all too hard but we applied ourselves with an attitude that said ‘everything doesn’t have to be perfect for us to win’,” Horwill said.

With winger Dom Shipperley (hip flexor) now sidelined the Reds have only 10 fit backs in their squad, which means dynamic rookie Jamie-Jerry Taulagi will start on the wing or make his debut off the bench.

As pleased as Graham was with the gutsy victory, it again exposed how short the Reds are on line-breaking punch because try-scoring lock Rob Simmons was credited with the team’s single line-break.

News_Rich_Media: Will Genia saluted the grinding must-win attitude of the Reds as the perfect mindset for the “warfare” they can expect when the feisty Western Force visit Suncorp Stadium next Saturday night.

What the Reds could do with a Nizaam Carr or Duane Vermeulen, two of the Stormers backrow beasts.

Utility Ben Lucas was an able fill-in at fullback for 41 minutes against the Stormers but the Reds need more than that because so much X-factor is on the sidelines due to the Aidan Toua and Chris Feauai-Sautia injuries.

Flanker Beau Robinson stepped up big time with a team-topping 13 runs, seven tackles and non-stop workrate, according to Fox Sports Stats.