'One of the great wins in the history of this team': Force snap 5060 day drought in stunning upset
The Western Force have pulled off one of the biggest upsets in club history by stunning the ACT Brumbies 45-42 in Canberra.
The Force led 28-7 after 32 minutes but the Brumbies fought back and were on top after 75 minutes of their Super Rugby Pacific clash.
But despite being down to 13 men, with forwards Jeremy Williams and Nick Champion de Crespigny in the sin bin, the Force somehow found a way as hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa burrowed over for the winning try.
Watch all the action from the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every match ad free, live and on demand
It had been 5060 days - in 2011 - since the Force last beat the Brumbies in the nation's capital.
"It's one of the great wins in the history of this team," Morgan Turinui says on Stan Sport.
The Force are now 2-0 and the Brumbies are 1-1.
READ MORE: Defending champions stunned as new star is born
READ MORE: Brazil make history with stunning Aussie upset
READ MORE: Young star blows podium with 'stupid mistake'
The Force were handed four yellow cards throughout the 80 minutes.
"I'm just happy for the boys," Force acting captain Nic White told Stan Sport.
"We were in a dog fight. Credit to the boys, we stuck to our plan.
NEW PODCAST! The crew are back to take a deep dive into the contenders to replace Joe Schmidt as Wallabies coach
"I know how hard it is to come here and get the win so it's bloody special."
Wallabies winger Dylan Pietsch scored two tries for the Force while athletic No.8 Charlie Cale grabbed a brace for the Brumbies.
Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa lamented his side's slow start.
"There was always belief that we could come back, but you can't start like that," Alaalatoa told Stan Sport.
"There were little areas off the ball that we weren't good at, at the start, and the Western Force were good enough to capitalise on that, so credit to them."
The triumph ended the Force's 15 game winless run on the road, dating back to 2022.
Western Force 45 (Tries: Pietsch 2, Dolly, Potter, Tizzano, Paenga-Amosa; Cons: Donaldson 5, Burey; Pens: Donaldson) def ACT Brumbies 42 (Tries: Cale 2, Muirhead, Meredith, Toole, Saumaisue; Cons: R.Lonergan 6)