Brumbies weather Force challenge to secure home quarter-final spot

Brumbies 24-10 Force, GIO Stadium
Scorecard

The Brumbies managed to weather a determined Force challenge with a 24-10 win to leapfrog the Waratahs to the top of the Australian Conference to secure a home quarter-final spot on Saturday.

The Canberra side will face the defending champions Highlanders at the GIO Stadium next weekend.

The Waratahs after their 28-34 defeat against the Blues yesterday were holding on to the top position with a single point lead hoping for Force to hold back the Brumbies.

Stephen Larkham’s side scored three tries against one scored by the Force, with centres Matt Toomua (25) and Tevita Kuridrani (40) both crossing over in addition to referee Paul Williams awarding a penalty try in the 35th minute.

Fly-half Christian Leali'ifano successfully slotted a penalty in the 20th minute furthermore successfully converting two tries, while Toomua converted the final Brumbies try at the cusp of first-half.

Centre Ben Tapuai (30) was the lone try scorer for the Force, while scrum-half Ian Prior managed to score a penalty in addition to converting Tapuai's try.

The second-half was comparatively dull with neither side being able to make any further addition to their points tally as the Brumbies managed to secure a 14-point victory.