The Western Force’s finals hopes have been dealt a massive boost, ambushing the Queensland Reds in Brisbane and delivering a romping 42-19 bonus point win.
With Zac Lomax’s debut the big story coming into the game, the Force’s new recruit was denied his first start due to a hamstring complaint, one of two late changes to the side.
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However, despite the Force changes, the side weathered a strong first-half effort from the Reds' set piece, delivering a disciplined second-half performance to shut out the hosts.
The result sees the Force’s hopes of finals alive for another week, with the Reds now finding themselves in a precarious position on the ladder.
So, what did we learn?
No Lomax? No worries.
It was an entertaining night and perfect conditions in Brisbane for running rugby, but if you could sum up the Force’s performance into two words, it was direct and disciplined.
Even with the Reds' early dominance of the Force’s scrum after Tom Robertson was sidelined early with a HIA, the visitors worked their way back, dominating the lineout through Franco Molina and Darcy Swain, and critically, tightening up their discipline.
It took 23 minutes for the Force to concede a penalty in the second half, and by then, they were well on track for an historic win.
Speaking of Molina, the 19-capped Los Puma delivered a performance that lived up to the hype when he was announced as a Force player.
Busting eight tackles, ruining the Reds' lineout and proving near impossible to stop in post-contact, the Puma stood out in a strong team effort from the Force.
It was a performance that showed why he is such a valuable pick-up for Simon Cron, and why he has impressed for Argentina over many years.
The fact that he earned a hat-trick in the final play of the game was the icing on the cake for the Argentine.
The Force came with a game plan, and the result was their first bonus-point win over the Queensland Reds since 2012.
The side were physical and went up the guts, Jack Daly combining well on debut with Nick Champion de Crespigny and Vaiolini Ekuasi to win the contest over several Wallaby incumbents.
Swain and Brandon Paenga-Amosa also stood up well in the engine room, with the bench matching the pace when the Reds tried to break out in the last 20 minutes.
The solid forward platform allowed the backs to flourish, with Ben Donaldson outclassing Carter Gordon, George Bridge seemingly everywhere, Henry Robertson backing up his promising Super Rugby AUS form and, best of all, Mac Grealy continuing to show how dangerous an attacking option he is.
While the bonus-point win will please head coach Simon Cron, the fact that it was a sustained, combined team effort and a performance the Force needed badly was what was most valuable.
Reds head coach Les Kiss cut a frustrated figure at halftime, mentioning in the broadcast that he felt the opposition was working harder to get the result.
As the second half continued, the Force’s hunger became apparent, weathering the Reds’ attack, achieving parity, and then overwhelming them.
It was a frustrating night for the hosts, with Harry Wilson’s yellow card a critical moment early in the second half, the visitors capitalising with two tries while he was off the field.
Despite a great long-range effort from Filipo Daugunu late in the match, it proved too little too late; the hosts visibly frustrated with their own performance come full time.
Kiss will have his work cut out to turn things around quickly, with the Queenslanders set for a difficult month ahead with matches against the Crusaders, Blues and Brumbies.
A result like this could prove a valuable wake-up call as they head into the latter part of their season, but if not addressed could be an ominous sign of things to come.
After a frustrating start to his fourth season in charge, Force head coach Simon Cron finally has a benchmark performance for his team to build on.
The Force found success in direct, up-the-guts rugby, forcing the Reds to play their style of game and not give the hosts much at all, thanks to strong discipline.
However, with the Force still having a 2-5 record and chasing their season already for finals, Cron knows they need to make this win count.
They face a difficult fortnight ahead, heading to Fiji and then welcoming the Crusaders at home before the bye, and a win over at least one of those sides drastically changes their prospects.
They will remain on Australian soil the remainder of the year after Fiji, and with three consecutive games in their run home, wins now are critical for their finals aspirations, especially for Cron as he looks to try and build the side into a genuine force in Super Rugby.
