It took a last minute, nail-biting penalty to deny the Fijian Drua their second win in the Super Rugby Pacific competition at Leichhardt Oval in NSW yesterday.
Bayley Kuenzle’s 83rd minute penalty gave the Western Force a 20-18 victory after a 23-phase stay in the Drua’s defensive 22 earned a penalty for a high tackle awarded by referee Nic Berry.
The Drua had led 18-17 for most of the second half after trailing 8-10 at the interval.
The Force got off to a flying start after Jeremy Thrush got over the tryline in the 18th minute from a forward drive.
Halfback Ian Prior slotted in conversion and added a penalty seven minutes later as they led 10-0.
Vinaya Habosi showed off his pace to spark his side, taking a pass from Kalaveti Ravouvou and burning off defenders to score and get the Drua into the contest.
Lifted by the try, the Drua 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 to Teti Tela for a 10-8 halftime score, with the Force reduced to 14 men after Ollie Callan was sin-binned.
But that did not stop the Force from scoring early in the second through Fergus Lee-Warner for their 17-8 lead.
Ravouvou’s scything run allowed Frank Lomani to score in the 44th minute, providing the spark they needed to get into the game.
After Lomani’s try, the Swire Shipping-sponsored side kept pressing with strong carries inside the Force 22, eventually settling for a penalty to take an 18-17 lead on 56 minutes.
The game was in the bag until Kuenzle’s penalty.
Fijian Drua coach Mick Byrne said the players thought they had done enough to earn victory.
“We threw the ball away just a little bit too easy. We gave them possession when they were behind and chasing the game,” he said.
He said there were some positives to take away.
“I’m proud that we turned up and we met them with some physicality. We carried the ball well.”
