It was a tale of two halves as the Western Force manufactured an inspiring comeback to overcome an 11-point deficit to secure a 34-27 victory over the Melbourne Rebels.
Jeremey Thrush and Tom Horton won hearts and minds of Force fans as they injected themselves into second half to win the round one encounter by seven points.
Eight debutants started their first official Super Rugby Pacific game in Force colours as the side opened their season at HBF Park.
It was an extremely defensive opening for the Force showing good intent on the ball by winning the contest at the breakdown.
An intercept from Rebel Carter Gordan saw the Rebels take an early lead.
Veteran fly-half Bryce Hegarty opened the scoring not long after through well-placed penalty kick from distance that helped his side get back into the game.
After regaining momentum, Toni Pulu crashed down the line to open an opportunity for Tom Robertson to bulldoze a flat-footed Rebels defence to score the home side’s first try of the evening bringing them within seven points.
The Force looked dynamic just before halftime, with Sam Spink opening the Rebels defence up with some crafty passing resulting in a penalty that saw Bryce Hegarty give the Force a 13-24 score line heading into the sheds.
Tom Robertson and Felix Kalapu were clear standouts during the first half with their high motor and ability to regain possession at the breakdown.
The Force showed a lot more composure coming into the second half forcing mistakes out of the Rebels which set themselves up well on attack.
Back from retirement Jeremey Thrush was a key addition off the bench as the side continued to put extensive pressure on the Rebels saw the opposition fall to 14 men with a yellow card.
Immediately the Force capitalised on their advantage through the use of Tom Horton, who dived over to score his first try to cut the lead to only four points.
With their tails up the Force lifted the tempo and started to control the game, gaining territory with ease through some silky play that backed the Rebels into their own half.
Playing to their strengths, the Force saw their first lead of the encounter during 63rd minute with Hamish Stewart diving over off the back of a rolling maul setting the score at 27-24.
Melbourne quickly responded with a penalty kick from Wallaby Reece Hodge that tied up the score to set up a blockbuster finish.
With ten minutes remaining, Jeremey Thrush brought the Sea of Blue to their feet as he dived through the ruck for a try that to put his side back into the lead with only minutes remaining.
Composure was needed from Cron’s side to close out the victory as Tim Anstee and Ollie Callan secured possession to secure a show-stopping victory for the Force to finish round one of Super Rugby Pacific.
Western Force 34
Tries: Tom Robertson, Tom Horton, Hamish Stewart, Jeremey Thrush
Conversions: Bryce Hegarty (4)
Penalties: Bryce Hegarty (2)
Rebels 27
Tries: Carter Gordan, Ryan Louwrens, Brad Wilkin
Conversions: Reece Hodge (3)
Penalties: Reece Hodge (2)
