Western Force captain Sammy Wood is hoping to cap off a memorable weekend with victory as they battle the NSW Waratahs for a Grand Final spot at HBF Park.
Satruday's semi-final is historic for a number of a reasons, marking the first time the Force have hosted a finals game after finishing the regular season in second place.
On top of this, the game will be played as part of a double-header with the Wallabies and Italy, which is set to be coach Joe Schmidt's final in charge.
"They did mention it at the start of the season, if we were able to get a semi-final, that we could potentially be here at HBF [Park] so the girls are buzzing," Wood said.
"An opportunity to play at a stadium in front of our fans and our home crowd, before the Wallabies is obviously really special as well, so very excited."
Waratahs skipper Emily Chancellor agreed: “It's special. We love the Wallabies, watching Australian rugby and to be a part of something that's already set up as a big spectacle is really special for the women's game.
“I think it's an important step in the right direction for us to be playing in big stadiums and hopefully with a good crowd."
The game was originally earmarked for Wanneroo, the site of the Force's thrilling 21-17 win over the Queensland Reds that has started their three-game winning streak, including a maiden victory over the Waratah.
“It's obviously going in the right direction…This is our final, all eyes [are] on trying to make it into the grand final," Wood said.
The scrum-half turned 22 on Friday and was hoping for nothing better than a win for her birthday.
“It'd be lovely if I got [the win as] a present.," she laughed.
“This win would mean not just a lot to our team and to the Force, but I think all of WA rugby.
“We've shown the last couple of years that we really want to represent WA rugby really proudly.
“I think to get a result this week and potentially get a home grand final the following week, it's just massive for the whole of WA.”
If the Force win and the Fijian Drua lose, the Force will host the Super W Grand Final at HBF Park on Saturday 25 July from 5:35pm WST.
