The ACT Brumbies have overcome a poor first half and a 14-point deficit to beat the Western Force in Canberra.
In their round-three Super Rugby Pacific clash on Saturday at GIO Stadium, the Brumbies flirted with rare back-to-back defeats before finding 22 straight points to set up their narrow 22-19 victory.
But it was far from the Brumbies’ best rugby, beaten in contact early while putting themselves under pressure with a shocking lineout display that saw them win just 14 of their own 21 throws.
ACT coach Stephen Larkham even joked the Force knew their lineout calls, such was their ability to turn the ball over in those set-piece situations.
"There's a few disappointing things ... the obvious one is the lineout, that has been letting us down for the first couple of rounds," he said.
"(But) the pleasing thing is there was really good intent from the boys out there.
"It was a much better performance ... the attitude was better through the week and we started the game with better attitude.
"They got us 14 points down and we kept our composure ... (it was) really good leadership through that first half to score a try and then take the points to be there at halftime."
The below-par Brumbies performance kept the struggling Force in the contest, but they threw away a handy lead for a second week running.
Winger Harry Potter scored five minutes from time to set up a thrilling finish, but they were left to rue five-eighth Ben Donaldson’s woes off the kicking tee after he missed a vital penalty goal and conversion attempt in the final 15 minutes.
After conceding 29 straight points last weekend to lose 48-34 to Melbourne, the Perth-based side led 14-0 on the road, but were then brushed aside.
Local fans expected a bounce-back performance after the Brumbies’ worst defensive performance in seven years last weekend against the Chiefs, but they looked uninspired and clunky throughout the first half.
That allowed the Force to skip 14-0 clear behind 20 minutes of simple rugby, with winger Hamish Stewart and flanker Michael Wells finding the line.
But halfback Ryan Lonergan got them on the board and a Noah Lolesio penalty got them back within a converted try at 14-8.
The Force had looked to skip 21-8 clear on the stroke of halftime, but had winger Potter’s try called back for an obstruction on lock Darcy Swain, in a massive let-off for the home side.
Potter copped a yellow card less than a minute into the second half for taking out Swain contesting a high ball, and the Brumbies cashed in, grabbing the lead through No.8 Rob Valetini.
Bench hooker Billy Pollard then drove his way over the line on 55 minutes to extend the advantage and consign the visitors to a third straight defeat.
Discipline was a huge problem for the Force, conceding a whopping 16 penalties to the Brumbies’ four.
"The boys were a lot better in terms of (defence) and in the contact zone, and 14 points up (was a) good start," Force coach Simon Cron said.
"But if you look overall at our game, it's a 16-4 penalty count, and we've just got to look at, where they came from, did we cause them, what were they exactly (because) that would help us near the end of the game."
