Western Force eliminated from Super Rugby Pacific finals despite win over Drua

Western Force’s 21-year finals drought will extend into 2027 after a 19-15 win over Fijian Drua in Perth on Saturday proved insufficient to keep their season alive. Queensland’s last-gasp victory over Moana Pasifika earlier in the day, combined with the Force’s failure to secure a winning bonus point, ended their campaign with one round still to play.

The result lifts the Force’s Super Rugby Pacific record to 6-7, a tally that flatters neither the quality of rugby they produced nor the margins by which their finals hopes ultimately unravelled.

Coach Simon Cron pointed to a string of second-half collapses as the defining story of the Force’s season. They led the Blues at half-time in Perth before losing 42-32, held an advantage over the Highlanders in Dunedin with ten minutes remaining before falling 39-31, and surrendered an 11-5 lead against the Hurricanes in Napier on the way to a 31-23 defeat. A 24-22 home loss to the Drua in April, in a match the Force dominated, proved equally costly in hindsight.

Yet Cron was keen to frame the season as evidence of genuine progress. The Force pushed the Hurricanes, Chiefs and Blues — the competition’s top three sides — to the wire in each contest, and also recorded a 31-26 win over fourth-placed Crusaders along with two victories over the Reds.

“These guys played some brilliant rugby against some great sides,” Cron said after the elimination was confirmed. “Previously when I’ve been coaching the Force against some of those bigger Kiwi sides, it’s been a challenge and we haven’t really been in the fight. Whereas this year against the Hurricanes, Chiefs and those sides, these guys were actually punch for punch.”

Captain Jeremy Williams acknowledged the disappointment but said the squad was determined to sign off the season on their own terms when they host the Waratahs in Perth next Saturday.

“We’ve still got a lot to play for. We’ve got each other, the club, the fans,” Williams said. “We want to put in a performance that we’re really proud of, and is what the Western Force is about.”