Share

Force punish woeful Reds in Brisbane

Cape Town - The Western Force moved up to third position in the Australian Conference after beating the Reds 40-26 in Brisbane on Friday.

The visitors scored four tries, through flanker Ross Haylett-Petty, a penalty try, fullback Marcel Brache and replacement hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, with an impressive Peter Grant kicking 18 points in an assured display at flyhalf.

Duncan Paia’aua, Lukhan Tui and Stephen Moore (2) went over for the Reds on a disappointing evening for them - their ninth loss of the season.

The Force led 13-5 at the interval as they recovered well from an early Reds try, looking more like the side that won away to the Jaguares.

Paia'aua's crossing on five minutes for the Reds was created by flyhalf Quade Cooper's delayed pass, but the Wallaby couldn't add the kick from the left sideline so it was a 5-0 advantage in an impressive start from the home side, who were looking for just their fourth victory.

It probably should have been at least 10-0 on 16 minutes when scrumhalf Nick Frisby dived over the line in that same corner. However, an outstanding cover tackle from Force flyhalf Grant managed to keep the ball up off the ground before he bundled Frisby into touch in-goal.

That appeared to rally the Force as they settled with three points from Grant off the tee just before the half-hour mark, cutting the gap.

Again though the Reds would go close as this time Cooper was denied after finding himself in an offside position at a ruck.

Grant was on target again three minutes later following a high tackle to make it 5-6 and before the break flanker Haylett-Petty went over from close range to hand the Force the advantage. Grant added the conversion so it was an eight-point lead for the visitors at half-time.

The Reds re-emerged for the second-half with intent and immediately made it 12-13 when Frisby's great kick return led to Cooper finding second-row Tui on his inside for the seven points.

However, the Force hit back soon after with Frisby involved for the wrong reasons as he kicked the ball out of Michael Ruru's hands when he was attempting to dot down on the line. That led to a penalty try being awarded and Frisby being given a yellow card for his indiscretion.

Without needing to take a conversion, Grant's next kick was a penalty following offside on 48 minutes which took the Force 23-12 up.

That buffer was wiped off though in the next 10 minutes as two pushover tries from hooker Moore got the Reds in front at 26-23 in a sudden turnaround, with 20 minutes still remaining in a game that was becoming more open as it wore on.

And it was the Force who found the extra gear in the last quarter as a backline move saw Brache cross before Polota-Nau went over via the back of a maul to seal a memorable win in Brisbane for the Western Australian outfit.

Scorers:

Reds

Tries: Duncan Paia'Aua, Lukhan Tui, Stephen Moore (2)
Conversions: Quade Cooper (3)

Force:

Tries: Ross Haylett-Petty, penalty try, Marcel Brache, Tatafu Polota-Nau
Conversions: Peter Grant (3)
Penalties: Grant (4)

Note: A penalty try constitutes seven points, with no conversion needed

Teams:

Reds

15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Samu Kerevi (captain), 12 Duncan Paia'aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 George Smith, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Lukhan Tui, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sef Fa'agase

Substitutes: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Kirwan Sanday, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Adam Korczyk, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Jake McIntyre, 23 Lachlan Maranta

Force

15 Marcel Brache, 14 James Verity-Amm, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Bill Meakes, 11 Alex Newsome, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Michael Ruru, 8 Isireli Naisarani, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Ross Haylett-Petty, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Matt Philip, 3 Jermaine Ainsley, 2 Heath Tessmann, 1 Francois van Wyk

Substitutes: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Tetera Faulkner, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Mitchell Short, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Luke Morahan

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2247 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE