SYDNEY - The Brumbies piled on 17 unanswered points in the last quarter to defeat the Western Force 25-10 at Perth's Subiaco Oval early today NZ time.
The Force, one of two new teams in the expanded tournament, threatened a major upset when they led 10-8 midway through the second
half after former Brumbies forward Scott Fava crashed over for his team's only try.
But the Brumbies, the only Australian team to win the old Super 12, regained their composure with Joel Wilson and Matt Giteau crossing for late tries to seal a comfortable victory.
"It wasn't too pretty but we're happy to get the points," Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock said in a televised interview.
"Full credit to the Force, they're going to be a very competitive team this season."
"For the first 60 minutes, the boys really dug in and got in their faces," Force skipper Nathan Sharpe said.
"There was a bit of experience there at the end, we made a few mistakes and the Brumbies capitalised on that."
The Brumbies, packed with Wallaby internationals, led 8-3 at halftime after lock Mark Chisholm scored the only try of the opening period while Mortlock and Force first five-eighths Scott Daruda traded penalties.
The Force went ahead six minutes after the re-start when their impressive halfback Matt Henjak offloaded for number eight Fava to dive over and Daruda coverted.
The home team held the lead until the 58th minute when man of the match George Smith recycled a turnover for replacement back Wilson to score in the left corner off the next phase.
Mortlock converted and four minutes later, the Brumbies were in again, Giteau sprinting through a hole in the defence to cross untouched and put the result beyond doubt.
The Brumbies travel to South Africa next weekend to play the Bulls in Pretoria while the Force tackle the Hurricanes in Wellington.
- REUTERS
