The Chiefs hung on with 14 men to beat the Western Force 20-19 and complete a clean sweep for New Zealand’s sides in the opening round of the Trans-Tasman tournament.

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A missed conversion with the clock deep into the red denied the Western Force a comeback victory over the Chiefs. The Chiefs started the game at a lightning pace with Alex Nankivell powering over after five minutes.

The Chiefs scrum was dominant but they were slapped with two yellow cards under pressure at the end of the first half and the Force were eventually awarded a penalty try to level the scores at 7-7.

The home team fought hard but a yellow card to Jordan Olowofela changed the dynamic and the Chiefs scored twice within the space of two minutes.

However, a red card for Luke Jacobson with 14 minutes left opened the door again for the Force. Wing Richard Kahui scored against his former side and the Force struck once more to leave Flyhalf Domingo Miotti a chance to convert his own try and win the game.

Miotti, however, pulled the conversion just wide and the game finished 19-20 to the visitors.