The Brumbies might have been missing their biggest stars – but that didn’t stop them from firing a big warning shot to the Australian teams, demolishing the Force 45-12 at Marist College in Canberra.
The Force fielded a near-full strength side, with many of their biggest stars stepping out together on the field for the first time.
However, plans were already offset with news that Harry Johnson-Holmes sustained an injury during the Force’s warm-up – although to what extent is unclear.
The first ten minutes of the match looked promising, with the visitors withstanding early Brumby pressure before Harry Potter scored the first try of the day in the eighth minute.
The hosts stuck back six minutes later through their reliable rolling maul, with Lachie Lonergan the beneficiary. Austin Anderson came off the bench after David Feliuai was forced from the field, as both teams slowed down from the initial burst of tries, sussing each other out amidst a flurry of dropped ball of sloppy play.
The Force went on the attack in Brumbies territory over the next 15 minutes, winning several penalities and going to the corner, however, the Brumbies defence held strong, earning a scrum penalty. The Force’s pressure persisted, with several big hits, including by returning star Reesjan Pasitoa, seeing the Force regain possession.
The pressure finally gave way in the 35th minute, with Tom Horton going over to score the Force’s second.
However, the Brumbies would get the last laugh in the first half, rediscovering their long-range attacking style with Noah Lolesio combining with Ollie Sapsford and Andy Muirhead to put Corey Toole away in the corner. Lolesio missed the conversion, seeing the sides go into the break tied up 12-all.
The second half started in much the same vein as the first, with possession changing hands back and forth and both sides trying to get the upper hand in terms of field position.
In the 52nd minute, Luke Reimer scored for the Brumbies – and the floodgates opened.
More tries in the 63rd minute to Billy Pollard and 72nd minute to youngster Kadin Pritchard saw the Brumbies push out to a 33-12 lead, with the bench proving effective and Anderson having a particularly brilliant performance in the centres.
The Force attempted to steady the ship, attempting several attacking plays that made inroads – however, their lack of cohesion started to show in the final ten minutes, resulting in poor handling – which the Brumbies took full advantage of.
A 79th-minute handling error from the visitors saw the youngsters combine for the Brumbies, with Declan Meredith combining with Junior Wallaby Shane Wilcox to put Pritchard away for his second.
The Force, by this point, switched off – and were punished one final time when Anderson, who enjoyed a stellar day in Pearce, capped it off with a try against the run of play, scoring underneath the sticks to put a cherry on top.
While it was only their first trial in 2025 and there were moments of promise, Simon Cron would be disappointed with his side’s performance.
It was a tough afternoon for the visitors, just with the injury to Johnson-Holmes, but with standards slipping in the final ten minutes of the match. With the side determined to turn things around and earn a maiden finals placing in 2025, Cron will have his work cut out to have the side firing when they host Moana Pasifika next week in Perth.
Stephen Larkham cut a much happier figure at full-time compared to last week in Bowral, likely happy with his side’s defensive effort and the performance of the extended squad. However, he remained coy about his side’s prospects as they prepared for a trip to face the Drua in Suva.
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“Both Trial matches were tough games,” Larkham said at full-time.
“Particularly in the first half, the Force has only had one Trial and had to get some minutes into a lot of different players. So we saw a lot of change in that second half.
“We can certainly learn from some of that stuff that happened in the first half. You want to come out of a Trial and know that you’ve performed well. Things aren’t quite what they need to be and we’ve got some aspects to work on. Obviously we’re very pleased, every time you get a win.
“Last week was a draw and we weren’t quite happy with it, but it was a good spectacle. It’s put us in an excellent position for the start of the season.”
