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Brumbies romp past Force

Sydney - The Brumbies set up a 27-14 away win over the Western Force with a blitzkreig start to their Super Rugby match in Perth on Saturday.

The Brumbies were beaten by the Reds in their first outing of the season, but bounced back to destroy the home team with a scintillating start, dominating the opening 25 minutes of the match.

It was a measure of revenge for the Brumbies, who were upset by the Force at the same venue in the final round last season, a result that cost them a top-two berth heading into the playoffs.

That meant the Brumbies were forced to travel to New Zealand and South Africa, before losing the final to the Chiefs.

The Brumbies scored the first 27 points of the match, and virtually had the game in their keeping when they led the shell-shocked Force 21-0 after just 24 minutes.

The Force had barely touched the ball by that stage of the match, the most damning statistic that the Brumbies had 369 run metres to the home team's paltry 46 at one stage.

It wasn't until the 62nd minute that the Force were able to conjure their first line break of the match.

They were generally far more competitive in the second half, but any chances to put points on the board were typically foiled by sloppy handling errors, until they finally scored two consolation tries in the dying minutes.

Both sides suffered worrying injury blows during the match, with the Force's Hugh McMeniman and ACT's Pat McCabe stretchered off with their necks braced.

Brumbies captain Ben Mowen admitted to a little disappointment in allowing the two late tries, but was pleased with the result.

"That first half was exactly what we wanted," he said. "To get four points here is a pretty difficult thing.

"They ruined our momentum going into the finals last year and we know how dangerous they are."

Force skipper Matt Hodgson said his team paid the price for a terrible start.

"We weren't physical enough in the contact," he said. "They got quick ball and we allowed them to play, we couldn't get into the game for the first 40."

The Brumbies got on the board in the ninth minute when Scott Fardy dived over for their first try on the eighth phase.

Jesse Mogg added a second try in the 15th minute and Robbie Coleman scored a third eight minutes later, effectively shutting the besieged Force out of the contest.

Jayden Hayward finally gave the home crowd something to cheer about in the 77th minute with the Force's first try, while Ben McCalman capped a busy game with a try of his own after the final hooter.

Scores:

Western Force: 14 - Tries: Jayden Hayward, Ben McCalman; Conversions: Sias Ebersohn (2)

Brumbies: 27 - Tries: Scott Fardy, Jesse Mogg, Robbie Coleman; Conversions: Nic White (3); Penalties: White (2)

Teams:

Western Force
15 Luke Morahan, 14 Patrick Dellit, 13 Junior Rasolea, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Chris Alcock, 5 Hugh McMeniman, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Kieran Longbottom, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Tetera Faulkner

Substitutes: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Angus Cottrell, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Sias Ebersohn, 23 Jayden Hayward

Brumbies
15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Robbie Coleman, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 David Pocock, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio

Substitutes:16 Siliva Siliva, 17 Ruaidhri Murphy, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Leon Power, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Lionel Cronje
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