The Western Force produced a stunning comeback from 19–0 down to beat the Crusaders 31–26 at HBF Park, with Carlo Tizzano’s turnover penalty in the dying seconds sealing the victory after Harry Johnson-Holmes scored the decisive try on his 100th Super Rugby appearance.
Key moments
5 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Taha Kemara chips and chases before being hauled down 15 metres out. The Crusaders recycle quickly and Sevu Reece dishes a short pass to George Bell, who powers through a hole to score beside the posts. Kemara converts. (Force 0–7 Crusaders)
17 mins – YELLOW CARD FORCE: Nick Champion de Crespigny is shown yellow for not rolling away after repeated team infringements. The Force had already been warned following multiple penalties on their own line, where they held up both Dom Gardiner and Leicester Fainga’anuku.
19 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: The Crusaders opt to tap from a penalty close to the line. Dallas McLeod dishes off a pass to Fainga’anuku, who wraps around and steamrolls through Henry Robertson to score out wide. Kemara converts. (Force 0–14 Crusaders)
22 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: Louis Chapman fires it down the short side to Fainga’anuku, who sends it on to Macca Springer. The returning winger sprints down the left touchline and rolls in a perfectly weighted grubber into the in-goal, where Johnny McNicholl dives over a Force defender to miraculously ground the ball near the dead-ball line. Kemara’s conversion hits the upright. (Force 0–19 Crusaders)
35 mins – TRY FORCE: George Bridge takes a direct carry before Ben Donaldson floats a crisp long pass to the left. Dylan Pietsch zips infield and flicks a pass to Zac Lomax, who streaks into space down the touchline. Lomax passes inside to Mac Grealy, who dishes it off to Henry Robertson to sprint away and score out wide. Donaldson converts. (Force 7–19 Crusaders)
Half-time: Force 7–19 Crusaders. The Crusaders dominated the opening 25 minutes, scoring three unanswered tries through Bell, Fainga’anuku and McNicholl’s stunning effort while the Force were reduced to 14 men. The hosts finished the half strongly, however, with Robertson’s brilliant team try offering hope, and Tizzano was held up over the line on the siren.
45 mins – TRY FORCE: Vaiolini Ekuasi claims the lineout and the Force maul rumbles to the five-metre line under penalty advantage. Robertson steps sharply down the short side past Chapman to score his second from close range. Donaldson converts. (Force 14–19 Crusaders)
54 mins – TRY FORCE: Jeremy Williams takes an uncontested lineout and the Force get their maul moving towards the goal line. Robertson clears it and sends it right to Bayley Kuenzle, who shifts it to Donaldson. He floats a crisp long pass out to Zac Lomax, who dives over untouched in the corner for his first try in rugby union. Donaldson misses the conversion. (Force 19–19 Crusaders)
58 mins – TRY CRUSADERS: The Crusaders strike straight back. Fainga’anuku carries hard before a lovely around-the-corner pass from Gardiner finds Springer, who streaks down the touchline and dishes a pass inside to Noah Hotham, who races away to score under the posts. Rivez Reihana converts. (Force 19–26 Crusaders)
62 mins – YELLOW CARD CRUSADERS: Tahlor Cahill is shown yellow for collapsing the Force maul after being warned earlier. The Force have a lineout five metres out.
63 mins – TRY FORCE: The Force hammer away from close range with Tizzano, Sef Fa’agase and Nic Dolly all carrying within a metre of the line. Dylan Pietsch takes it off the back of the ruck and dives towards the corner. The TMO confirms the grounding. Donaldson misses the conversion. (Force 24–26 Crusaders)
70 mins – TRY FORCE: The Force pound away through multiple one-out carries inside the Crusaders 22 with Bridge, Franco Molina, Nathan Hastie and Tizzano all surging forward. Fa’agase picks and goes and is stopped short before Harry Johnson-Holmes burrows low to ground the ball on the line — a try on his 100th Super Rugby appearance. Donaldson converts. (Force 31–26 Crusaders)
76 mins – TRY DISALLOWED CRUSADERS: Springer finishes in the corner after Fainga’anuku’s offload, but the TMO rules it out for a Reece knock-on two phases earlier. The Force survive.
80+ mins: The Crusaders churn through 20 phases inside the Force half, searching for the levelling score. But Tizzano gets lightning-quick over the ball and wins a turnover penalty for holding on. The Force boot it into touch to seal the victory.
Full-time: Force 31–26 Crusaders
Full match report to follow.
Match details
Force 31 (Tries: H. Robertson 35′ 45′, Lomax 54′, Pietsch 63′, Johnson-Holmes 70′; Conversions: Donaldson 3/5)
Crusaders 26 (Tries: Bell 5′, Fainga’anuku 19′, McNicholl 22′, Hotham 58′; Conversions: Kemara 2/3, Reihana 1/1)
Half-time: 7–19
Yellow cards: Nick Champion de Crespigny 17′ (repeated team infringements), Tahlor Cahill 62′ (collapsing maul)
Venue: HBF Park, Perth
Referee: Reuben Keane (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry, Louis Trisley
TMO: Brett Cronan
Milestones
- Harry Johnson-Holmes (Force) — 100th Super Rugby appearance, scored the match-winning try
- Macca Springer (Crusaders) — first appearance of the season, returning from long-term quad injury
- Zac Lomax (Force) — first Super Rugby Pacific start, scored his first try in rugby union
Teams
Force: 15 Mac Grealy, 14 Zac Lomax, 13 George Bridge, 12 Bayley Kuenzle, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Henry Robertson, 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Jeremy Williams (c), 3 Misinale Epenisa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Will Harris, 21 Nathan Hastie, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Kurtley Beale.
Crusaders: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12 Dallas McLeod, 11 Macca Springer, 10 Taha Kemara, 9 Louis Chapman, 8 Christian Lio-Willie (c), 7 Johnny Lee, 6 Dom Gardiner, 5 Jamie Hannah, 4 Tahlor Cahill, 3 Seb Calder, 2 George Bell, 1 Finlay Brewis.
Replacements: 16 Manumaua Leitu, 17 George Bower, 18 Kershawl Sykes-Martin, 19 Oli Mathis, 20 Corey Kellow, 21 Noah Hotham, 22 Rivez Reihana, 23 Toby Bell.
Note: Late changes for the Crusaders saw Chay Fihaki and Will Tucker ruled out. Sevu Reece moved into the starting side on the right wing, with Toby Bell and Oli Mathis joining the bench.
What’s next
The Force have the bye in round 11. The Crusaders open Super Round at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch against the Waratahs on Friday night.
