Brutal Brumbies make Force pay
It was a combination of the Brumbies' clinical brutality and the Western Force's own high error count that resulted in a blow-out in Canberra on Saturday.
The Brumbies scored six tries to crush the Force 41-7 in a lopsided Australian derby to extend their lead at the top of the Super 15 standings.
Fijian wing Henry Speight scored a double to become the tournament's leading try-scorer as the Brumbies had little trouble in tossing aside the inept Force.
Jake White's Brumbies bounced back from the previous week's dogged 19-all draw with the Reds to wrap up a four-try bonus point by half-time.
"We didn't quite get a result in Brisbane last week, but we got a lot of momentum out of it and we know we have to keep pushing our game, and this was another step towards that," Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen said.
"We continue to push our strategy each week and we had to play a very disciplined style last week, because the conditions demanded it.
"However, in this match we tried a few things early and they worked so we could open up a bit."
It was a spectacular unraveling of form for the Force after their rousing 16-14 home win over the Canterbury Crusaders a fortnight ago and they looked a disheveled outfit at times against the Brumbies.
"They were good and they had a big game last week and learnt a lot from it and it was disappointing for us after our solid performances in the last two weeks," Force captain Hodgson said.
"We gave the ball away too easily, we worked hard but for no reward."
Force coach Michael Foley said his side could not afford to provide opposition sides with that number of opportunities moving forward.
"Playing against one of the top sides, we knew we had to execute early and we didn't do that," he said.
"There were some unforced errors and the Brumbies were good enough with their line speed and defence – which we knew were going to be strong – to create some more for us.
"The Brumbies played very well but there were some times out there that we made errors that cost us."
Foley said putting together back-to-back performances is a key challenge in the development of his young side.
"Every game we're chasing that little bit of consistency in our performance," he said.
"We've got a lot of young guys that are hitting highs some weeks but not necessarily able to back that up; but over time you develop that consistency and certainly playing the derby games mean a lot to us and that's why we're so disappointed."
The Western Force will return to Perth to face the Reds next Saturday, May 4.
