South African-born fullback James Verity-Amm scored a hat-trick as the Western Force fought back from 14 points down to beat the Perth Spirit 24-14 in Busselton on Saturday.

The Super Rugby side started nervously against its feeder club, who competes in Australia’s National Rugby Championship, but the Force’s performance improved as the match went on to eventually secure victory.

The Spirit were quickly out the blocks and landed a double blow when youngsters Richard Hardwick and Alex Newsome burrowed over for converted tries.

Verity-Amm, who played for UWC in the Varsity Shield but is originally from the Free State, then turned the game on its head with a hat-trick to overturn the deficit and put the Force in the lead. The fullback scored an unconverted double before the break to reduce deficit to four, before slicing through the Spirit's defence for his third soon after the interval.

Flank Anaru Rangi then put the finishing touches on a hard-fought victory with the Force’s fourth try of the afternoon.

While the result will no doubt please the coaching staff, the Force’s goal-kicking remains a worrying aspect ahead of the new Super Rugby season.

Western Force – Tries: James Verity-Amm (3), Anaru Rangi. Conversions: TBC
Perth Spirit – Tries: Richard Hardwick, Alex Newsome. Conversions: TBC

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images