Publications
Partners
The Rebels ended a frustrating try drought on Friday as they held off the Force 10-7 to notch their opening victory of the Super Rugby AU season.
After heartbreaking defeats to the Reds and Brumbies, the Rebels won an arm-wrestle to continue the Force's woes at HBF Stadium in Perth, where they have lost six straight games.
Both teams now have 1-2 records in the five-team competition.
The Rebels scored one try in each half and resisted the Force's late comeback.
"Huge for us to get this win. Sums up the character of the team," Rebels captain Matt Toomua said.
"A lot of heart and resilience to grind out that win."
The sparse crowd in Perth was pumped up with the teams sharing an acrimonious history.
The Force infamously lost out to the Rebels when Rugby Australia culled them in 2017 with several high-profile players and coach Dave Wessels defecting to the Melbourne-based franchise.
It was a bitter defeat for the home side, with the Rebels continuing their mastery of an absorbing rivalry, where all bar one of the last 16 contests being decided by single digits.
The Force had come into the contest confident after a thrilling victory over the Waratahs, which snapped a run of nine straight defeats since returning to the competition last year.
"I still think we can take a lot out of this game and it could have gone either way in the end," Force stand-in skipper Brynard Stander said.
Even though they had scored 45 points across two games, the Rebels had remarkably not scored a try with Wessels preferring his team kick for territory and pressure opponents into conceding penalties.
The contentious strategy had led to the longest barren stretch for a team in eight years.
An aggressive Rebels came out firing but the Force impressively resisted the onslaught and then started to build momentum by attacking on the outside.
Jake McIntyre missed an opportunity to give the Force an early lead after slicing a kickable penalty at the 20-minute mark.
The Rebels' try hoodoo continued when James Hanson knocked the ball on trying to score, but their jinx finally ended when Lachlan Anderson finished on the right hand corner - ending 197 minutes of frustration to start the season.
The second-half continued to be a grind until Marika Koroibete setup Joe Powell in the corner in the 62nd minute to stretch the Rebels' lead.
But the Force finally hit the scoreboard when substitute Jack McGregor scored a try and Ian Prior then converted the conversion.
Momentum was firmly with the home side with Ross Haylett-Petty sent off for a high tackle in the buildup to the try.
The tension was fuelled when the headlights in one part of the ground went off in the 74th minute but the game continued after a 10-minute stoppage and the Rebels grimly held on.
Both teams wore special jerseys to mark the inaugural First Nations round, which aims to spread awareness and celebrate Indigenous culture.
