
Force v Waratahs – a close rivalry
The Force returns to Super Rugby on Saturday when we take on the NSW Waratahs in a first Vodafone Super Rugby AU 2020 clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Saturday’s match will be almost three years to the day since the Force’s previous – and last – Super Rugby clash which, ironically, also saw us lock horns with the Waratahs.
The match will rekindle a fierce rivalry between the two teams that has produced numerous memorable Super Rugby encounters down the years.
Despite a three-year hiatus from Super Rugby, the history of previous results between the two teams in recent years points to Saturday’s clash being a closely fought encounter.
In the six years between 2012 and 2017, the Force and the Waratahs met on 11 occasions with the Force securing five victories and the Waratahs six.
The Force triumphed in its most recent clash – a 40 – 11 victory in Perth in July 2017 that saw the team run in five tries to one.
The Western Australian club has also won four of the previous six meetings since 2014, including a run of three consecutive victories over the Waratahs across the 2014 and 2015 Super Rugby seasons.
The two 2015 victories in particular, a 25 – 13 win in Sydney and an 18-11 win in Perth, hold pride of place for the Force and its fans as the Waratahs were the defending Super Rugby champions from 2014.
History also shows that the Force can win in Sydney with two victories from five games played there since 2012. Aside from a few one-side contests either way, there has seldom been more than an average of seven points separating them and a mouth-watering clash looms at the weekend.
No doubt the Force will be using their 40-11 win in Perth in 2017 as a motivating factor.
That win provided a fond farewell to flanker and skipper Matt Hodgson, who has been instrumental in guiding the Force through the Global Rapid Rugby landscape over the past three seasons and will be there to provide inspiration when they take the field on Saturday. The game was also current captain Ian Prior’s 50th Force appearance.
Head-to-Head
Western Force vs Waratahs 2012 – 2017
P W L PF PA TF TA
11 5 6 229 256 24 25
15 July 2017: Western Force 40 Waratahs 11 in Perth
25 Feb 2017: Waratahs 19 Western Force 13 in Sydney
22 April 2016: Western Force 12 Waratahs 49 in Perth
8 May 2015: Western Force 18 Waratahs 11 in Perth
13 Feb 2015: Waratahs 13 Western Force 25 in Sydney
12 April 2014: Western Force 28 Waratahs 16 in Perth
22 Feb 2014: Waratahs 43 Western Force 21 in Sydney
9 June 2013: Western Force 13 Waratahs 28 in Perth
31 March 2013: Waratahs 23 Western Force 19 in Sydney
13 April 2012: Western Force 18 Waratahs 23 in Perth
17 March 2012: Waratahs 20 Western Force 21 in Sydney