The Western Force snapped a nine-match winless streak with an emphatic 35–19 victory over Moana Pasifika at Navigation Homes Stadium on Friday night, recording only their second win on New Zealand soil in 26 attempts and kick-starting their 2026 campaign in the best possible fashion.
Key moments
Pre-match – HIA CHAOS: Ben Donaldson’s mouthguard triggers a head injury assessment during the warm-up, forcing Max Burey into an unexpected starting role. Donaldson passes his HIA and returns after just two minutes.
6 mins – TRY FORCE: Darby Lancaster announces himself on debut. Donaldson’s kick in behind bounces wickedly off the rock-hard Pukekohe surface, sitting up perfectly for the one-cap Wallaby winger, who scoops and sprints away untouched to score on his first touch in gold. Donaldson converts. (Force 7–0 Moana Pasifika)
20 mins – TRY MOANA PASIFIKA: Millennium Sanerivi levels from a rolling maul. The hosts’ pack builds a massive head of steam and hooker Sanerivi peels off the back, crashing through several Force defenders to touch down. Patrick Pellegrini converts. (Force 7–7 Moana Pasifika)
31 mins – TRY DISALLOWED FORCE: George Bridge produces a brilliant break, beating three defenders to seemingly score in the corner. But the TMO reveals the former All Black was far too casual putting the ball down, allowing Denzel Samoa to track him and dislodge it. A deadset coach killer from a 19-cap international. (Force 7–7 Moana Pasifika)
33 mins – TRY FORCE: Darcy Swain drives over from close range. Bridge, desperate to atone, goes within centimetres of forcing his way over before the lock dives on the loose ball to score. Donaldson converts. (Force 14–7 Moana Pasifika)
40 mins – TRY FORCE: George Bridge completes his redemption arc. The Force work to the goal-line and the centre calls for the ball, cutting back inside off a Donaldson pass to score his first try in gold on the stroke of half-time. Donaldson converts. (Force 21–7 Moana Pasifika)
Half-time: Force 21–7 Moana Pasifika. The visitors have been clinical in converting their opportunities despite the pre-match chaos around Donaldson. Bridge’s brain fade nearly proved costly, but the former All Black atoned immediately with two try involvements in three minutes. Lancaster’s debut has been electric.
46 mins – MOANA PASIFIKA DENIED: The hosts win an early scrum penalty and press deep into Force territory, but their lineout misfires—the throw not straight—and Donaldson gratefully clears. A let-off for the visitors.
62 mins – TRY FORCE: Carlo Tizzano crashes over from the lineout maul. The Force’s set-piece dominance delivers again as the flanker, the competition’s leading try-scorer from last season, peels off the driving maul to score his third of 2026. Donaldson converts. (Force 28–7 Moana Pasifika)
68 mins – TRY FORCE: Leonel Oviedo marks his Super Rugby arrival. The Argentine replacement hooker scores from almost identical fashion—another well-constructed lineout maul proving unstoppable. Donaldson converts. (Force 35–7 Moana Pasifika)
72 mins – TRY MOANA PASIFIKA: Melani Matavao darts over for a consolation. The replacement half-back shows quick thinking to snipe from the ruck and cross for a deserved try. Jackson Garden-Bachop converts. (Force 35–14 Moana Pasifika)
80 mins – TRY MOANA PASIFIKA: Allan Craig denies the Force a bonus point with the last play. The captain crashes over from close range as Moana finally show the attacking intent that had been missing for much of the contest. Garden-Bachop misses the conversion. (Force 35–19 Moana Pasifika)
Full-time: Moana Pasifika 19–35 Western Force
The Western Force delivered a performance that suggests Simon Cron’s squad has turned a corner after a torrid start to their season. The drama began before kick-off, but the visitors showed composure and clinical execution to record a victory that ends a nine-match winless run stretching back to April 2025.
The pre-match chaos around Ben Donaldson would have derailed lesser teams. When the fly-half’s mouthguard triggered an HIA sensor during the warm-up, Max Burey was suddenly thrust into a starting role he hadn’t anticipated. Even captain Jeremy Williams admitted he had little idea what was happening when Burey lined up to kick off. Yet within two minutes, Donaldson had passed his assessment and was back on the field, immediately looking to make an impact.
Lancaster’s debut try came from the Force’s first meaningful attacking platform. The visitors won a scrum on halfway and Donaldson wasted no time testing the Moana Pasifika back three, hoisting a contestable kick deep into the 22. The ball bounced wickedly off the rock-hard Pukekohe surface, sitting up perfectly for the one-cap Wallaby winger. Lancaster timed his run to perfection, scooped the ball cleanly off the turf and sprinted away untouched to score on his first touch in gold. It was the kind of opportunistic finish that had coach Cron “grinning ear-to-ear” all week, and everything that followed was pure class—five tackle busts from five carries, two line breaks, and the kind of x-factor the Force’s backline has desperately needed with Dylan Pietsch sidelined through injury.
Moana Pasifika’s response was encouraging. The hosts won a lineout 10 metres out and set the driving maul with real intent. The Moana pack built a massive head of steam, rumbling towards the line with the Force defence scrambling to contain them. Hooker Sanerivi timed his peel perfectly, splitting off the back and crashing through several defenders to level the scores. For a spell the hosts matched the visitors’ intensity, but their inability to convert pressure into points would prove decisive.
The moment that should have broken the game open came in the 31st minute—instead, it became a cautionary tale. Bridge received the ball 40 metres out and backed himself, stepping off his left foot to beat the first defender, then accelerating through a gap to leave two more grasping at air. The former All Black had 30 metres of clear grass ahead of him but inexplicably coasted to the try-line, allowing Denzel Samoa to track him from behind and dislodge the ball as Bridge attempted to dot down one-handed. It was a deadset coach killer from a 19-cap international—the kind of casual brain fade that looked certain to haunt him.
What followed, though, was a masterclass in redemption. Stung by his error, Bridge threw himself into the next attacking set. The Force hammered at the Moana line through the forwards, and Bridge himself went within centimetres of atoning, taking a short ball and driving desperately for the line before being held up. The ball spilled loose and Swain, following up brilliantly, dived on it to score. Two minutes later, on the stroke of half-time, Bridge completed his redemption arc. The Force worked through multiple phases inside the Moana 22, stretching the defence left and right. Donaldson spotted Bridge lurking in the midfield, fired a flat pass to his centre, and Bridge cut back hard off his right foot, wrong-footing two defenders and diving over beside the posts for his first try in Force gold.
The second half became a demonstration of the Force’s forward dominance. Moana emerged with intent, winning an early scrum penalty that took them deep into enemy territory. But their lineout misfired—the throw not straight—and Donaldson gratefully cleared. It was symptomatic of a frustrating night for Tana Umaga’s side, who repeatedly found ways to undermine their own attacking momentum.
The Force’s lineout maul became an unstoppable weapon as the half wore on. In the 62nd minute, the visitors won a lineout 8 metres out on the left and set the rolling maul with all eight forwards committed. The Moana defence was shunted backwards, unable to halt the momentum, and Tizzano—the competition’s leading try-scorer from last season—peeled off at the perfect moment to dive over for his third of 2026.
Six minutes later, Oviedo marked his Super Rugby arrival with a debut try. The Argentine replacement hooker, on for Nic Dolly, found himself at the back of another dominant lineout maul 5 metres out. The Force pack drove forward with ruthless efficiency and Oviedo timed his split perfectly, crashing over in almost identical fashion to Tizzano. Donaldson’s conversion made it five from five for a perfect night from the tee. At 35–7, the visitors appeared set for a bonus-point victory.
Moana showed fighting spirit in the final minutes. Matavao spotted the blindside defenders slow to reset after a ruck 5 metres out, took a quick tap and dummied to go left before darting right, slipping through two tacklers to cross for a deserved consolation. Then, with the last play of the match, Craig denied the Force that extra point. The Moana captain took a crash ball off Garden-Bachop 3 metres out, drove his legs through contact and reached out to ground the ball as three Force defenders attempted to hold him up. It was the kind of determined finish that had been missing for much of the contest, but it was scant consolation for a performance that will concern Umaga. The news that their planned home match against the Chiefs in Tonga has been cancelled due to funding issues only added to a difficult week for the Pacific Island franchise.
Donaldson finished with a perfect five from five from the tee, his composure remarkable given the pre-match drama. The fly-half’s tactical kicking, combined with inside centre Hamish Stewart’s distribution, proved decisive—Stewart’s pinpoint 50-22 a particular highlight that flipped field position at a crucial moment.
Tom Robertson celebrated his 50th Force cap, while Tongan prop Abraham Pole became the second Moana Pasifika player to reach 50 Super Rugby appearances. Both milestones deserved recognition on a night that ultimately belonged to the visitors.
The result lifts the Force off the bottom of the table and sets them up perfectly for a three-week tour that includes matches against the Hurricanes and Highlanders. For Moana Pasifika, now with one win and two losses, a Chiefs side fresh from their narrow loss to the Crusaders awaits in Hamilton—another formidable challenge in what is shaping up as a testing campaign.
What’s next
The Force continue their New Zealand tour with a clash against the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium next Friday, while Moana Pasifika travel to Hamilton to face the Chiefs the following weekend.
Teams
Moana Pasifika: 15 Glen Vaihu, 14 Tevita Ofa, 13 Lalomilo Lalomilo, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Patrick Pellegrini, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, 7 Semisi Paea, 6 Miracle Faiilagi (c), 5 Allan Craig, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Chris Apoua, 2 Millennium Sanerivi, 1 Tito Tuipulotu.
Replacements: 16 Samiuela Moli, 17 Abraham Pole, 18 Lolani Faleiva, 19 Ola Tauelangi, 20 Tupou Afungia, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23 Tevita Latu.
Western Force: 15 Mac Grealy, 14 Darby Lancaster, 13 George Bridge, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Bayley Kuenzle, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Nathan Hastie, 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Jeremy Williams (c), 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 2 Nic Dolly, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Misinale Epenisa, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Will Harris, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Max Burey, 23 Kurtley Beale.
Match details
Moana Pasifika 19 (Tries: Millennium Sanerivi, Melani Matavao, Allan Craig; Conversions: Patrick Pellegrini 1/2, Jackson Garden-Bachop 1/1)
Western Force 35 (Tries: Darby Lancaster, Darcy Swain, George Bridge, Carlo Tizzano, Leonel Oviedo; Conversions: Ben Donaldson 5/5)
Half-time: 7–21
Venue: Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Mabey, Michael Winter
TMO: Aaron Paterson
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