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The Western Force have ended a decade-long winless streak against the Highlanders at home dating back to 2013, sending an adoring Perth crowd into raptures.
It was an 80-minute contest littered with yellow cards in which six were dished out – four going the way of the visitors.
The Force dominated the first half with three tries, leading the contest 24-3 at the break.
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The Highlanders bounced back strong in the opening minutes of the second with their first try and continued to build momentum with one more.
Ultimately, resilient defence paid dividends for the Force as they stopped the Highlanders from scoring twice.
In the end, the home side triumphed 30-17 in a Western Australian barnburner.
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It marked the first win for the Force over the Highlanders at home since their 19-18 win in the 2013 Super Rugby season.
With victory, the Force move into the top eight and displace the Drua.
“It’s massive,” said Force captain Michael Wells.
Force send home fans into raptures
“I don’t think we can understate how important getting a win, first at home, but also recuperating after a few losses in a row.
“Obviously we got off to a good start, which has been rare for us. Then we saw the momentum taken away and we managed to wrestle it back.
“I thought our finishers did a great job, particularly our front row.
“To get a scrum penalty five out really clinched the game and that’s massive from guys like Manas (Manasa Mataele) and Sif (Sifa Amone).
“They’re young boys, that’s huge for their learning development. That game is theirs.
“I think you saw what we can do on attack when we play our shape, we’re tough to live with,” he added.
“We just need to do more of it, so it’s great to see it come out with a really fast start and put some points on the board. It gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”
For Highlanders skipper Billy Harmon, it was a disappointing result.
Ultimately, early yellow cards which reduced them to 13 men saw them pay the price.
Highlanders finally score in second half
“It was a tough break,” said Harmon.
“We sort of showed when we don’t get things quite right how hard we can make things for ourselves if we’re not disciplined, if we’re giving away those silly penalties, and they gather momentum.
“On the other side of that, we showed that when we do get it right in that second half how easy things can be. We’ll get some good learnings from that and then we’ll go again.”
Nevertheless, Harmon was buoyed by the team’s discipline in the second half, during which the team did not concede a yellow card.
Force save try after epic dummy
“We gave away too many penalties,” he explained.
“It’s hard to play your game when you’re down a couple people. If we can eliminate that, then we can play our game.”
The Highlanders will face the Waratahs in Sydney in round 10 while the Force head to Brisbane to go head-to-head with the Reds.
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