A stunning second half performance overnight lifted the Western Force from Super Rugby Pacific cellar dwellers to top-eight contenders.
The Force laid on four tries in the final 30 minutes to torch Fijian Drua 48-10 on home soil and leapfrog the Crusaders, Waratahs and Moana Pasifika into ninth on the competition ladder.
You might not like it, you might disagree with the top-eight Super Rugby Pacific finals system, but the Western Force won’t care.
Because with three rounds remaining, the Sea of Blue are now a genuine finals prospect off the back of their bonus-point win over the Drua.
The 48-10 result launched the Force up to ninth on the ladder and with all three remaining games against Australia opponents (two of which will be played in Perth), Simon Cron’s side are more than a chance at sliding up another berth.
They’ll host a battered Waratahs outfit next week before facing the Reds (away) and Brumbies (home).
If they can jag two wins from those three outings, they’ll be in with more than a sniff.
Jeremy Williams gave fans a taste in 2023 but there’s even more to like about the Western Force skipper in 2024.
For starters, he’s back on the paddock playing regular minutes – a huge bonus following his earlier absences to concussion and a calf strain.
Now with more time in the saddle, we’re seeing more performances like his stirring efforts against the Drua.
Williams has plenty of bread and butter lock traits – he’s strong in the air, a solid scrummager, and defensive lineout pest – but moments like a 40m downfield charge to set up Chase Tiatia’s early try and soft hands from the ruckbase to put Michael Wells away show he’s got plenty of polish as well.
Wallabies squad bolter? Joe Schmidt was in the Perth crowd and we’d wager he liked what we saw.
There were plenty of Force standouts from this one – Henry Robertson, Carlo Tizzano, Tom Horton, Bayley Kuenzle, Tom Horton spring to mind – but you can’t talk about this win without shouting out Ben Donaldson.
23 point haul, 100 per cent from the tee, two line breaks, seven tackle busts, two offloads and a try on top.
It was a sublime showing and a hell of a time to produce it with Joe Schmidt watching in the stands and his team desperate for a win.
His match-up over the next three weeks against rival Aussie flyhalves will go a long way to deciding just how far the Force can go in 2024.
It’s taken more than 700 days for Harry Hoopert to get his rugby career back in motion with the Force but the prop sure made his presence felt on Saturday night.
The former Red opened his account with a forced turnover in the 62nd minute and never looked back.
“It’s been a long road, pretty emotional day for me. Been about 18 months … so I’m pretty grateful,” Hoopert told Stan Sport post-game.
His return bout alongside close mate Hamish Stewart with the Queensland Reds in a fortnight will be one hell of a match-up. Get the popcorn ready.
They may have gone down by 38 points but remember the Drua were hot on the attack in Perth and trailed by just seven points with 30 minutes remaining.
Throw in the huge travel load between Fiji and Perth and it’s understandable that Mick Byrne’s side went off the boil during the Force’s second-half resurgence.
Fiji should still be making finals given their run home. Sure, there’s a few speedbumps in hosting the Reds and Rebels either side of a trip to Dunedin but two from three would all but assure their play-off berth.
Keep a weather eye on that final round clash between the Drua and Rebels – that could well be an early knockout match!
