Waratahs blow clueless Force away
The six tries to one victory was every bit as comprehensive as the scoreline suggest, with the Force hardly firing a shot in anger - giving the appearance of a clueless, uncoached bunch of players.
The win eased some pressure on the Tahs - their third win from seven matches, as they fight to keep their play-off hopes afloat.
In contrast the defensively inept Force are already also-rans with just one win in eight outings.
With a three-match losing streak against the Force and their season slipping away, the Waratahs could easily have been nervous heading into the clash.
However, they were far too good for the hapless home side in a lopsided match.
The Waratahs ran in two first-half tries to seize the ascendancy against a Force side which relied on penalties to keep them in the game in the first half.
Although Peter Grant kicked two early penalties for the Force, and sprayed another attempt badly, the Waratahs had the game in their control when they led 17-6 at half-time thanks to tries from Rob Horne and Nick Phipps.
In his first game back from injury, Horne crossed under the posts in the 21st minute, while Phipps reached over right on half-time.
Although the Force briefly revived their hopes with a 54th-minute try to Harry Scoble, the Tahs put the game beyond doubt with two more tries in four minutes as they posted their highest score of the season.
Israel Folau became the greatest try scorer in Waratahs history in the 58th minute, with his fifth of the season and 30th of his time with the team.
In the 61st minute, Reece Robinson killed off the Force when a Phipps pass sent him racing down the sideline.
Waratahs captain Michael Hooper said it was a win which was some time coming.
"That was what we talked about a - full performance," he said.
"It was a great result."
Force skipper Matt Hodgson admitted his side was thrashed.
"Our defence let us down and they took their opportunities," he said.
Man of the match: Ben Tapuai had a couple of decent runs, Ben McCalman worked hard and Matt Hodgson also earned his salary. Kurtley Beale seems to be running into some form and was particularly when acting as an alternative first receiver, and Rob Horne was also looking good after coming back from injury. The forwards, as a collective, laid a solid platform. Our award goes to Waratahs flyhalf Bernard Foley, who had his best performance of the season - directing the show in a manner that suggested he is still Australia's premier flyhalf.
The scorers:
For the Western Force:
Try: Scoble
Con: Tapuai
Pens: Grant 2
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Horne, Phibbs, Folau, Robinson, Ta'avao, Holloway
Cons: Foley 5
Pens: Foley 3
Yellow card: Semesi Masirewa (Western Force, 11 - foul play, tackling a player in the air)
Teams:
Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Solomoni Rasolea, 11 Semisi Masirewa, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sitiveni Mafi, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Heath Tessmann, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Harry Scoble, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Rory Walton, 20 Brynard Stander, 21 Ryan Louwrens, 22 Kyle Godwin, 23 Albert Nikoro
Waratahs: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Reece Robinson, 13 Israel Folau, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Will Skelton, 4 David Dennis, 3 Tom Robertson, 2 Hugh Roach, 1 Paddy Ryan.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Angus Ta'avao, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Wycliff Palu, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 David Horwitz, 23 Matt Carraro.
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant referees: Will Houston, Michael Hogan
TMO: Peter Marshall