Super Rugby Pacific: Western Force shut Moana Pasifika down in Pukekohe

Western Force subdued Moana Pasifika with a well executed gameplan at the Navigation Stadium in Pukekohe, winning 35-19 in the team's Super Rugby Pacific third round clash on Friday night.

It was not the hosts' night as they lost a number of lineouts, gave away penalties only coming back strongly in the end to claim two late tries.

The Force scored five converted tries in the clash, with Moana Pasifika managing only three.

Moana Pasifika captain Miracle Failangi said it was disappointing for them and their fans.

"Frustrating," he said straight after the game.

"Really disappointing that we could not win it for the fans."

He commended the players who came off the bench in the second half, and lifted momentum for them to finish strongly.

Head coach Fa'alogo Tana Umaga praised their opposition for the night, adding the Australian side did not allow them to have any flow in the game.

"We probably weren't able to build any momentum, you know, through probably our own fault," he said at the post-match conference.

"You know, I thought, we had a very good and committed Western Force side tonight, and they, they didn't give up.

"They just really niggled away at us, and we made a few errors and gave away penalties, just couldn't build any moments, you know, put any positive moments together.

"I thought they really just applied pressure to us the whole time. And I think for us, it's just understanding that we have to be accurate every time we turn up and trust in what we do, and then obviously execute that, and it was a bit of a lesson for us today."

But despite the loss, Umaga said there were some positives to take away from the game, which featured a number of debutants, plus others who were playing only their second Super Rugby game.

These include the fighting spirit that kept the team in the game until the end, when they managed to score two tries, in a passage of play ignited by substitutes off the bench.

"I suppose we talked about at the end, we didn't give up," the former All Blacks captain said.

"I think that's a great attribute to have.

"You know, we're always going to have tough times, and it's always going to be hard, but if we have the attitude and the mindset that we never give up, you know, because there's a lot on the line for us, not just in rugby sense but for those who we represent."

Failagi conceded that they allowed Western Force to dictate terms until the last 10 minutes.

"We spoke about focusing on ourselves and be a connected team in the first half," he said.

"We just need to stack the moments and yeah, just keep on building, on stacking those moments and just keeping holding the ball."

Winning coach Simon Cron said the first win for them was longtime coming and he was happy that the team was able to shut Moana Pasifika down in the game and not allow their big players to dictate the flow of the game.

"It was a tough match, you know, coming here and playing is always going to be hard," he told the media after their win.

"You know, they're a great side, they're well coached, and they've got some great players in that team.

"There's some ups and downs going that during that game, and we were able to come away with some points and then just as the game progressed is, you know, there's some great things we can take from it, and a few things at the end that we can be better at."

He commended Moana Pasifika for coming back with two tries and ending the game on the front foot.

Cron said his team will have to work on ensuring they finish games well.

"That's not good enough by us, like we have to look at what we were doing that last 10 minutes.Were the players doing your (their) role, we're making those tackles and not letting them get such a roll on," Cron said.

"But, you know, hard for me to comment without looking a bit closer at it, but it's an area that we will definitely review and work on."

Captain Jeremy Williams said the fight for possession was tough in general play and the set-pieces.

He and his jumpers claimed at least four of Moana Pasifika's lineout throws.

"Yeah, I think it was, you know, work on from the last couple of weeks," he said.

"We wanted to build on our lineout defence from last week, and then possession as well.

"I thought our playmakers really did well at playing in the right ends of the field. And you know, I think their kicking options allowed us to relieve pressure and then play on the back of that."

First half battle

Western Force took the early lead in the first half, scoring the opening try just seven minutes into the game.

Flyhalf Ben Donaldson led their charge, directing play, mixing it up between letting his backline loose and feeding his forward pack to make deep inroads into Moana Pasifika territory.

The first try came through his chip across from left to right, which saw winger Darby Lancaster diving across the line, stepping back inside the defenders to get that done. Donaldson's conversion gave the visitors a 7-0 lead.

But Moana crawled back into the game straight after, keeping play deep inside the Force's red zone straight from the re-start.

Failangi won two good lineout takes, which saw the forward pack send driving mauls towards the Force line.

One of those driving mauls ended up with hooker Millenium Sanerivi crashing over the line to score the hosts' opening try.

Playmaker Patrick Pellegrini converted to draw the scores level at 7-all.

The Force then won their second lineout off Moana Pasifika's throw and suddenly found themselves back in their hosts' 22 metre zone.

Centre George Bridge sliced his way to the tryline in the 31st minute but a good cover tackle by Denzel Samoa saw him drop the ball as he attempted to put it down.

Play went back to the knock on in the lead up to the try - with the Force on attack again.

They were soon on attack again and lock forward Darcy Swain picked up and dived over for the Force's second try, which Donaldson converted again for Western Force to lead 14-7.

Moana Pasifika kept giving away penalties under pressure eventually allowing Bridge to dive over the line for his try - after another good attack, which saw good returns from the forwards' pick and drive.

Donaldson's conversion gave the Force the 21-7 lead at the breather.

Bridge, a former All Black and Crusaders winger, signed a two-year deal with Western Force for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

He won four titles with the Crusaders from 2017 to 2022, before playing in France.

His experience at midfield stood out, even in his battles with fellow former All Black Ngani Laumape and Lalomilo Lalomilo, who were opposite him for the locals.

More tries in the second spell

Moana Pasifika lost another lineout throw on an early attack shortly after play resumed for the second half.

This was a glaring weakness for the hosts, working against their momentum, and will be an area the coaching staff will need to pay urgent attention to.

Franco Molina, Darcy Swain, captain Jeremy Williams, Carlo Tizzano and big number eight Vaiolini Ekuasi worked tirelessly in unison upfront for Western Force, winning the forward battles and keeping the momentum up for the visitors.

The body language did not look good for Moana Pasifika players 14 minutes into the second half, with the stop, start play slowing down any momentum they tried to build.

The Force were back in familiar territory in the 58th minute after another Moana Pasifika penalty, with Donaldson sending the ball to the sideline.

Moana held on with their defence, however in the process gave away another penalty.

The ensuing lineout saw the Force drive over with another maul, this time it was Tizzano claiming the try.

Donaldson kept his kicking record at 100 percent with his conversion putting the Force even further ahead at 28-7.

Moana came close in the 66th minute but ended up giving away a sure try, right on the line and under the crossbar after they were deemed to have been holding on to the ball in a tackle.

That turnaround ended with the Force scoring at the opposite end with replacement rake Leonel Oviedo finishing off another strong maul from a lineout win close to the Moana Pasifika tryline.

The 28 points gap seemed to be too much of a mountain for the hosts to climb after that, and in their desperation, they continued to giveaway possession cheaply this time through another knock-on close to the Force's line.

However, just when it seemed like it was all over replacement nine Melani Matavao was suddenly over the line for his side's second try, with Jackson Garden-Bachop adding the extra two points, in a sudden turn of pace that had fans back on their feet cheering.

Then in the 79th minute mark Allan Craig finished off with Moana Pasifika's third try of the match, diving over in the corner, after an entertaining sequence of play that had been missing for Moana the whole game.

In the end it was a case of too little too late with Western Force claiming their first win in the competition for the season.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Reds defeated the Highlanders 31-14 in the second game on Friday night.