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Western Force land buzzer-beater penalty to snatch victory against Fijian Drua
By AAP
The Western Force have snatched victory against the Fijian Drua, kicking a penalty after the full-time siren to claim a 20-18 win in their Super Rugby Pacific clash in Sydney.
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Bayley Kuenzle slotted the kick in the 85th minute after a prolonged stay in the Drua’s defensive 22 at Leichhardt Oval earned a penalty for a high tackle awarded by referee Nic Berry.
It got the Force out of jail, having thrown away a 17-8 lead early in the second half to trail 18-17 until the late heroics.
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Kuenzle’s kick never looked like missing, splitting the middle from 10m in from the touchline with his first shot at goal of the contest.
Drua’s Kalaveti Ravouvou and Vinaya Hombosi had looked to have set their side up to win with both in electric form.
Ravouvou’s scything run early in the second half allowed Frank Lomani to score providing the spark they needed to get into the game.
After Lomani’s try the Fijians kept pressing with strong carries inside the Force 22, eventually settling for a penalty to take an 18-17 lead on 56 minutes.
Earlier, Jeremy Thrush punched in the game’s first points with a try via a deep lineout on 19 minutes as the Force finally found reward for possession dominance.
Their lineout looked a real factor and it continued to test the Drua’s goalline defence although it largely held up outside of an Ian Prior penalty that allowed a 10-0 lead.
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But Hombosi showed off his pace to spark his side, taking a pass from Ravouvou and burning off defenders to score and get the Drua into the contest at 10-5 own.
Lifted by the try, the Drua surged and connected well to go deep into attack and they looked set to take the lead after Samuela Tawake crashed through to find the line, but the try was chalked off due to a knock-on in the lead-up.
It did, however, allow them to add three points via a penalty for a 10-8 halftime score, with the Force reduced to 14 men after Ollie Callan was sin binned.
That didn’t stop the Force scoring early in the second through Fergus Lee-Warner for their 17-8 lead.
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This match could have been a walk in the park for the Drua but they like in past matches have failed to establish their dominance early in the games with the territory and possession they have had and expect to punish the opposition in the second half. Hopefully they learn quickly. If they are able to match the brumbies and the Waratahs in the return matches, they should be in good stead against kiwi teams - fitness wise that is