The Western Force have stormed heir way into the Super Rugby Pacific top eight after a shock win over the ACT Brumbies, ending a decade-long drought.
It marked the fifth straight win this season at home for the Force in front of a raucous Perth crowd.
The last time the Force defeated the Brumbies at home was in 2013.
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Sitting third on the table leading into the round 13 clash, the Brumbies opted to make a slew of changes to the side and field a team that could be described as under-strength.
It proved costly as the Force rallied to a 34-19 win and kept themselves in contention for a finals berth.
“A decade of heartache is over,” remarked Stan Sport commentator Andrew Swain.
“The Western Force beat the Brumbies. The sea of blue love it. They’re on their feet. They keep their season alive.”
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Felix Kalapu opened the scoring for the Force in the seventh minute, setting off a string of tries.
Hamish Stewart followed him in in the 16th minute before Sam Spink scored one of his own in the 24th.
The Force held a 21-0 lead before the Brumbies finally replied courtesy of Charlie Cale in the 27th minutes and Darcy Swain shortly thereafter in the 34th.
Luke Reimer threatened to give the Force a run for their money with a try in the 52nd minute but Marley Pearce sealed the win in the 69th.
All told, the Force scored four tries to the Brumbies’ three.
The Brumbies lacked discipline at times and missed tackles while the Force were clinical.
Force captain Michael Wells was the first to admit he didn’t realise how long it had been since his team had beaten the Brumbies.
“I didn’t even know about the history,” he said.
“Obviously we don’t read too much into that as players but it was nice to get a win today and come away with the points.
“Our starts, we needed to work on them from the start of the year. Our last three home games definitely we’ve come out of the blocks firing.
“Ideally we’d like to keep the other team off the board for the small periods in the back end of the second half, but we’ve done really well and that’s the maturity of the group wrangling them back.”
The Force will face the Melbourne Rebels in round 14 before their toughest assignment of all when they take on the competition-leading Chiefs.
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