Hill secure Force win
Western Force finally opened up their account for the season with a hard-fought 16-15 victory over an out-of-sorts Stormers.
Last Updated: 04/04/10 12:13pm
Western Force finally opened up their account for the season with a hard-fought 16-15 victory over an out-of-sorts Stormers.
David Hill landed a drop goal a minute after the hooter for full-time to spark the celebrations among the Force players.
However the win could have been all the more comfortable for the Force had they converted their penalty attempts at goal - with both James O'Connor and Hill missing with shots.
A try from the returning David Pocock, plus two penalties and a conversion from O'Connor helped provide the platform for the home side.
And although Stormers No.10 Peter Grant was spot on as he landed five penalties, Hill kept his cool to snatch the win late on.
The Stormers had arrived looking for a sixth win from seven games - however they never got going.
And although their defence continually frustrated the hosts, they offered little in attack.
Their best chance fell to Sireli Naqelevuki after the interval, but the big winger saw the ball squirm loose over the line as he attempted to power through O'Connor - with Mitch Inman's cover tackle doing enough.
And it was Force who scored the only try, with O'Connor and Scott Staniforth combining to send Australia flanker Pocock over.
"Our confidence was growing, but we still made a lot of errors," Force captain Nathan Sharpe said.
"We didn't come away with as many points as we would have liked, but we're happy with the win."
Stormers captain Schalk Burger admitted his side had not played well in Perth.
"We didn't take it lightly," Burger said. "We were pretty scrappy the whole game through.
"All credit to them. We have to put this one behind us and look forward to the Blues next week."
