Late Ripia strike downs Rebels
Willie Ripia emerged as the Western Force hero as he kicked a late penalty to beat the Melbourne Rebels.
Last Updated: 17/06/11 1:58pm
Willie Ripia emerged as the Western Force hero as he kicked a late penalty to beat the Melbourne Rebels.
The hosts were 24-12 down with only 16 minutes remaining in Friday's Super 15 clash but hit back via tries from Adam Freier and captain Stirling Mortlock in the 64th and 74th minutes to tie the scores.
While Mortlock converted Freier's try, the Wallabies veteran then missed a sideline conversion of his own which would have given the home side a two-point lead.
And replacement Force fly-half Ripia notched a penalty with four minutes remaining to seal a 27-24 win for the visitors.
The result sees the Force finish the season with five wins from 16 games, while the Rebels ended their inaugural Super 15 campaign with their ninth straight loss.
Half-time lead
Fly-half James Stannard kicked three penalties to give the Force a 9-6 lead at half-time and another to put his team ahead 12-6 three minutes into the second spell.
Former England fly-half Danny Cipriani landed two penalties in the first half, then two more in the second spell to lock the teams together at 12-12 after 52 minutes.
But the visitors then took control as winger David Smith, shortly to leave the Force to join French club Toulon, scored the first try of the match after 61 minutes to give his team a 17-12 lead.
Stannard then added another three minutes later and Ripia added the conversion to increase the Force's lead to 12 points.
Roared on by a raucous home crowd, the Rebels hit back via tries from Freier and Mortlock.
But it proved all in vain as Ripia kicked the decisive late penalty to hand the Force the victory.
Tough one
Welcoming the win, Force captain David Pocock said: "It was a tough one, I guess both teams trying to end the season on a high.
"It was really close at the end there but I thought the guys showed really good composure and it was a great strike by Willie Ripia, too.
"The Rebels haven't won a lot of games but they've been real competitive and they've proven that tonight."
Rebels skipper Mortlock added: "It was very disappointing but I guess we paid the price. Consistently we were a bit slow at the breakdown and that showed in turnovers.
"That was the sort of spirit that we've showed throughout the season and it was really nice to have that again tonight.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't get a win to thank all our fans."
