Force snatch late win over Fijian Drua

SUPER RUGBY REPORT: The Western Force have snatched victory against the Fijian Drua, kicking a penalty after the fulltime siren to claim a 20-18 win in their Super Rugby Pacific clash in Sydney.

Bayley Kuenzle slotted the kick in the 85th minute after a 23-phase stay in the Drua's defensive 22 at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday afternoon earned a penalty for a high tackle awarded by referee Nic Berry.

It got the Force out of jail, having thrown away a 17-8 lead early in the second half to trail 18-17 until the late heroics.

Kuenzle's kick never looked like missing, splitting the middle from 10m in from the touchline with his first shot at goal of the contest.

Force skipper Feleti Kaitu'u said they hadn't doubted the 23-year-old centre for a second to rescue what would have been a disastrous loss.

"He's got ice in his veins that boy, we had full faith in him for that last kick," he said.

"She wasn't pretty, was she? It went down to the wire and full credit to Fiji, they pushed us all the way."

Having been able to control elements of the game via their forwards' discipline, the Force struggled to stay with the Drua when they got rolling via their attacking backs.

"It was a tough one ... as much as you talk about wanting to keep the game structured and not allowing them to play with their Fijian flair, sometimes you know about, it but it's a different thing trying to stop it," Kaitu'u added.

Drua's Kalaveti Ravouvou and Vinaya Hombosi had looked to have set their side up to win with both in electric form.

Ravouvou's scything run early in the second half allowed Frank Lomani to score, providing the spark they needed to get into the game.

After Lomani's try the Fijians kept pressing with strong carries inside the Force 22, eventually settling for a penalty to take an 18-17 lead on 56 minutes.

Earlier, Jeremy Thrush opened the scoring for the Force via a deep lineout, and they made it 10-0 through a penalty as their forwards took control.

But Hombosi showed off his pace to spark his side, taking a pass from Ravouvou and burning off defenders to score and get the Drua into the contest.

Lifted by the try, the Drua surged and looked set to take the lead after Samuela Tawake crashed through to find the line, but the try was chalked off due to a knock-on in the lead-up.

It did, however, allow them to add three points via a penalty for a 10-8 halftime score, with the Force reduced to 14 men after Ollie Callan was sin-binned.

That didn't stop the Force scoring early in the second through Fergus Lee-Warner for their 17-8 lead.

The scorers:

For Fijian Drua:

Tries: Habosi, Lomani

Con: Tela

Pens: Tela 2

For Western Force:

Tries: Thrush, Lee-Warner

Cons: Prior 2

Pens: Prior, Kuenzle

Teams:

Fijian Drua: 15 Jona Mataiciwa, 14 Selestino Ravutaumada, 13 Apisalome Vota, 12 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 11 Vinaya Habosi, 10 Teti Tela, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Nemani Nagusa (captain), 7 Vilive Miramira, 6 Jovesa Tamani, 5 Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, 4 Sorovakatini Tuifagalele, 3 Samuela Tawake, 2 Mesulame Dolokoto, 1 Kaliopasi Uluilakepa.

Replacements: 16 Zuriel Togiatama, 17 Jone Koroiduadua, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Chris Minimbi, 20 Kitione Salawa, 21 Peni Matawalu, 22 Napolioni Bolaca, 23 Onisi Ratave.

Western Force: 15 Jake Strachan, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Bayley Kuenzle, 11 Manasa Mataele, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Brynard Stander, 7 Ollie Callan, 6 Fergus Lee-Warner, 5 Izack Rodda, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Feleti Kaitu’u, 1 Harrison Lloyd.

Replacements: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Bo Abra, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Jackson Pugh, 20 Tim Anstee, 21 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 22 Reesjan Pasitoa, 23 Grason Makara.

Referee: Nic Berry

Assistant referees: Reuben Keane, James Palmer

TMO: Brett Cronan