‘They were world-class’: Two ex-Wallabies debate Western Force’s quality

Former Wallaby Justin Harrison has described the Western Force’s performance against the Brumbies in round three as “world-class” even though they fell to their third straight defeat.

With new recruits Nic White and Ben Donaldson bolstering the Force’s roster, the men from out west showed signs of promise during a decent run in a pre-season win over the Reds and a nail-biting defeat to the Brumbies.

But after a 30-point defeat to the Hurricanes in the opening round, followed by a tough defeat to the Rebels in Melbourne, the Force almost defied the odds on the road in Canberra.

Pitted up against Australia’s form Super Rugby side over the last few years, playmaker Ben Donaldson led the way as the Force ran up an early lead over their favoured opponents.

But it wasn’t to be in the end as the hosts rallied to record a 22-19 win at GIO Stadium which sees Stephen Larkham’s men ranked mid-table heading into the fourth round.

“They’re coming up against Moana who, they played well against the Fijian Drua,” ex-Wallaby Justin Harrison said on Stan Sports’ The Night Before Gameday.

“But the Force… the Western Force put together a very good gameplan to take on the Brumbies and upsetting them for large parts of that match. They were world-class.”

Second-half tries to Wallaby Rob Valetini and replacement Billy Pollard saw the Brumbies take a hard-fought lead, although the Force made things interesting late with a score in the 74^th minute.

But when the full-time siren sounded, and the game was deemed over, it was the Brumbies who had escaped with a tough win – their second victory in three starts this season.

Dual international Mat Rogers, who was watching on the sidelines at the Canberra venue, offered a different point of view by saying the Force were “maybe a fraction” better than what their last-place ladder suggests.

“They were good but I look back at that game and I was sitting on the sideline, they were in the hunt,” Rogers said.

“I think I said to you, ‘these guys are right in this’ with 10 minutes to go.

“I looked across the field and I just didn’t see anyone really firing people up or getting the team motivated.

“Maybe a fraction, maybe a fraction,” when asked if they’re better than their last-place position suggests. “But you said it, losing is a habit.

“What I don’t want to see is a team that go, ‘Oh mate, we played well.’ Professional sport is black and white. You win or you lose.

“This game this weekend is very important for them to really go out, play well, get a good win, and take some confidence out of the last few weeks because if they don’t and they go out and lose this week, then all that three weeks of work is out the window.”