The Western Force has claimed a dominant 85-13 victory over the Melbourne Rebels in the opening round of the Buildcorp Super W competition in Perth on Sunday.
The star of the show was 17-year-old Courtney Hodder who scored four of her six tries in the first 25 minutes of the game.
With double digit tackle busts and some record breaking run metres for the game, Hodder certainly made her mark on the new XVs competition.
The Force never really looked troubled as the initial fast pace in warm conditions seemed to unsettle the Melbourne side.
The Rebels woes were compounded when Sharlene Fagalilo was shown a red card for leading with her feet in a sliding tackle in the 26th minute.
Despite being down a player, the visitors scored their first try right on the half-time break adding a much needed five points.
Unfortunately Georgia Cormick could not convert from in front for the extras and the Force went into the rooms with a 45-8 lead.
Rebels came out firing with some solid tackling in the second half and had more consistent possession than before the break.
A yellow card on Forces’ Tara Reed just five minutes into the second half meant the numbers were evened up for a short time with both teams down to 14 players.
But it was not long until the Force reasserted control and ran in their first three tries of the second half in the space of just eight minutes, leaving the Rebels looking for answers.
Second half substitutions were made early by the home side and Rebecca Clough’s introduction to the action with some physicality in the tackle on the opposition players had the intended impact.
The onslaught continued as Western Force ran in another three tries to bring the final total to 13 tries for the match with ten conversions while the Rebels added just the one in the 67th minute through Ash Marsters.
It was a dominant win by the Western Force and will have the eastern teams looking carefully at the potential of this team from the west – especially at the young talent in their ranks.
There was healthy sized crowd in attendance at the picturesque ground, close to the famed beaches of Cottesloe, which will please the competition organisers and they were given an inspiring display of women’s rugby from the home side.
SCORE
Western Force Women 85
Tries: Wickliffe, Hodder 6, Putz, Pomare, Kareopa 2, Reed, Tuafa
Conversions: Wickliffe, Pomare, Cope 3, Fell 5
Melbourne Rebels Women 13
Tries: Marsters, Lelei
Conversions: 0
Penalties: Cormick 1
