The Brumbies took full advantage of a late yellow card to claim a 25-17 win against the Force on Friday.
With 10 minutes to go, the visitors led 17-13 and looked set to claim an upset win. But Ross Haylett-Petty was sin-binned for a late tackle, and the Brumbies punished them soon after when Kyle Godwin crossed the tryline.
The hosts then denied their opponents a bonus point when Robbie Abel scored from a lineout driving maul in the last play of the game.
The Brumbies started this match as strongly as they finished it.
Henry Speight scored the first try when he received possession from a ruck and powered over from close range (the winger was then bizarrely interviewed by Fox Sports). And Wharenui Hawera made it 10-0 in the 33rd minute after throwing a dummy and darting through a gap to score in the left-hand corner. Once again, though, he missed the conversion.
However, the Force hit back with a converted try just before the break as Heath Tessmann went over from a lineout driving maul. And they took the lead early in the second half when, after a 15-phase attack, a long skip pass put Chance Peni away in the right-hand corner.
Hawera's kicking woes continued when he missed a penalty, and while he did find his radar with his next attempt, it was cancelled out soon after by Lance.
The Force were favourites to win at that point, only for Haylett-Petty's yellow card to change the game.
Brumbies – Tries: Henry Speight, Wharenui Hawera, Kyle Godwin, Robbie Abel. Conversion: Hawera. Penalty: Hawera.
Force – Tries: Heath Tessmann, Chance Peni. Conversions: Jono Lance (2). Penalty: Lance.
Brumbies – 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 James Dargaville, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Jordan Smiler, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Ben Hyne, 5 Sam Carter (c), 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Ben Alexander.
Subs: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Blake Enever, 20 Tom Staniforth, 21 Lolo Fakaosilea, 22 De Wet Roos, 23 Andrew Smith.
Force – 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Chance Peni, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Luke Morahan, 10 Jono Lance, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 8 Richard Hardwick, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Heath Tessmann (c), 1 Pek Cowan.
Subs: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Onehunga Havili Kaufusi, 20 Isi Naisarani, 21 Michael Ruru, 22 Ian Prior, 23 Robbie Coleman.
Photo: Mark Nolan/Getty Images
