Force have Tahs' number ... again
The Western Force did the season double of the defending champion Waratahs, beating them 18-11 in their Super Rugby derby in Perth on Saturday.
It is the Force's third straight win over the men from Sydney, including their last encounter last year.
The key factors were the Force's determination and energy - aspects that were missing for most of this season - and the Waratahs' own inability to close out games.
It is the fifth consecutive match this season the Waratahs did not score a single point in the final quarter.
The losing bonus point did allow the Waratahs to overtake the Brumbies at the top of the Australian conference and move into the top three on the global standings, but that may be short-lived - depending on the Brumbies' encounter with the Stormers later on Saturday.
The Waratahs suffered what could prove to be a crucial blow to their title defence with the loss to the embattled Force, who finally ended a club record 10-match losing streak.
Remarkably, their only previous win was in the opening round against the Waratahs.
Waratahs captain Dave Dennis was furious with the performance.
"Our urgency in the attacking ruck and overall energy was poor.
"They wanted it more and got a result."
Force skipper Matt Hodgson said it was a much-improved defensive performance from his side that paved the way for the win.
"We fronted up and showed what style of football we can play and what we can do," he said.
"I asked the boys to aim up physically this week and we did.
"We won games off our defence last year and that had been lacking this year."
In a game where both sides left plenty of points on the field with inaccurate kicking, the Waratahs simply lost possession too many times.
Although the Force missed 17 points with the boot, spraying five penalties and one conversion, they ran in two tries to one.
The first of those tries came in the 20th minute when Ryan Louwrens capitalised on a ‘Tahs turnover to score in just his second start in Super Rugby.
The hosts led 13-6 at half-time and looked to be in control until a powerhouse try from Taqele Naiyaravoro, who bulldozed through four Force players in an unstoppable run down the sideline to close the gap to two points in the 53rd minute.
However, the Force steadied in the 63rd minute, with Matt Hodgson scoring his third try in as many matches since returning from a hamstring injury thanks to a surging rolling maul.
The Force missed a chance to seal the win when Luke Burton missed a late penalty in the dying seconds, but it was another knock-on by the Waratahs that handed the ball straight back to the home side.
Man of the match: Taqele Naiyaravoro made the most of his limited opportunities, including that powerful burst for his team's first try - a crucial second-half score. Michael Hooper is always good value, but for the rest the Waratahs were pretty uninspiring. Marcel Brache again showed his value to the Western Force, Nick Cummins had the odd good run, Ryan Louwrens is beginning to repay the investment made in him by the Perth-based franchise. Angus Cottrell was also great value on defence. But our award goes to Western Force captain Matt Hodgson - despite his yellow card, with was questionable at best, and a couple of other penalties, he made several carries, his tackle count was well into double figures, he was a constant menace at the breakdown and he scored a second-half crucial try.
The scorers:
For the Western Force:
Tries: Louwrens, Hodgson
Con: Burton
Pens: Burton 2
For the Waratahs:
Try: Naiyaravoro
Pens: Foley 2
Yellow cards: Sekope Kepu (Waratahs, 33 - foul play, stomping on an opponent), Matt Hodgson (Western Force, 70 - repeated infringements, killing the ball at the breakdown)
Teams:
Western Force: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Solomoni Rasolea, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pekahou Cowan
Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Guy Millar, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Kane Koteka, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Mitchell Scott.
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 Dave Dennis (captain), 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mitch Chapman, 20 Talalelei Gray, 21 Pat McCutcheon, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Matt Carraro.
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant referees: Andrew Lees (Australia), Matt O'Brien (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)