The Western Force have suffered a 56-7 defeat away to top-four hopeful Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato on Saturday night in Round 11 of Super Rugby Pacific.
Chiefs winger Daniel Rona scored a hat-trick as the home side secured their seventh win of the season to bolster their top-four hopes, while the Force remain 12th.
The visitors had few answers for the rampant Chiefs, who scored nine tries to one with All Blacks fly-half Damian McKenzie pulling the strings, with his kicking game a feature.
The Force weren’t helped by conceding 7-0 penalties inside the first 25 minutes as the home side raced to a 29-0 lead.
But the WA side did rally late in the first half, scoring a penalty try and almost crossing again with Sam Spink held up in the final play before half-time following Chiefs captain Kaylum Boshier’s yellow card.
However, the Chiefs put their foot to the throat, scoring an additional five tries in the second half to run out comprehensive winners. The Force did finish with 157-125 tackles but ended up conceding 12-6 penalties.
Force captain Jeremy Williams said: “Really tough. I think we were our own worst enemy with our discipline, piggy-backing them into our own 22. They capitalized on it. I thought at the back of that first half we gained a bit of momentum but in the second half we struggled to slow their ruck speed and they played on top of us.”
The defeat ends the Force’s two-game road trip in New Zealand, with the side returning to Perth on Sunday ahead of next Saturday’s clash with Fijian Drua at HBF Park.
The Force went behind early with a second-minute McKenzie penalty, before winger Emoni Narawa dotted down the right for an 8-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes.
Rona found a gap down the left to add a second for the Chiefs, converted by McKenzie, with the fly-half next crossing on the shortside from a scrum. McKenzie’s 45m conversion made it 22-0 after 21 minutes.
All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i forced his way over with McKenzie converting for a 29-0 lead. But the Force showed composure to build pressure, stringing together 14 attacking phases before scoring a penalty try in the 37th minute.
The Force mauled their way towards the line from a 5m line-out with 50-gamer Tom Horton set to score, only for Boshier to bring it down. The penalty try was awarded with Boshier binned.
The visitors almost halved the deficit before half-time, with back-rower Reed Prinsep making a break towards the 22, culminating in Spink almost crossing, only to be held up by Rona on the try-line with the last play of the first half.
The Chiefs scored the first try of the second half in the 47th minute with hooker Bradley Slater sliding home after a 5m lineout. McKenzie converted for 36-7.
Minutes later, Force fly-half Ben Donaldson produced a great line break, only for Quinn Tupaea to make a try-scoring tap to thwart Chase Tiatia’s offload to Horton with the try-line in sight.
Scrum-half Henry Robertson came on for his Force debut but it was the Chiefs who pressed forward again with success, Rona scoring his second of the night from McKenzie’s pass.
Kurtley Beale made a brilliant try-saving intercept to deny Etene Nanai-Seturo, but the Chiefs scored again after Hamish Stewart was carded for leaving his feet with Tyrone Stewart scoring.
Rona got his hat-trick down the left edge before Nanai-Seturo’s sidestep and kick set up Josh Ioane’s try for a 56-7 lead.
Chiefs 56
Tries: Narawa (6’), Rona (14’, 57’, 71’), McKenzie (21’), Vaa’i (31’), Slater (47’), Thompson (69’), Ioane (75’)
Conversions: McKenzie (4/5), Narawa (0/1), Ioane (0/3)
Penalties: McKenzie (1/1)
Western Force 7
Tries: Penalty try (37’)
Conversions: Nil
Penalties: Nil
