Waratahs hold off Force in Super 15 rugby

The New South Wales Waratahs overcame a spirited second-half fightback by the Western Force to eke out a 23-18 win in their Super 15 clash on Friday. The Waratahs, yet to lose in Perth, appeared set for an easy win when they led 17-3 early in the second half, after tries from Tom Kingston in the 31st minute and Dave Dennis in the 42nd. However, the home side rallied and grabbed the lead late in the match with 15 unanswered points, with Brett Sheehan and Alfie Mafi scoring tries. A David Harvey penalty in the 63rd minute put the Force in front 18-17. At that stage the Force were totally dominating possession and looked to be in control heading into the last 15 minutes of the match. However, two late penalties from Berrick Barnes lifted the Waratahs to their third win of the season as the Force suffered yet another heartbreaking loss at home. The Force made one desperate late surge to try to snatch the lead back in the dying seconds only for Nick Cummins to lose the ball forward on the 22m line. However, referee Glen Jackson gave them one final chance from the resulting scrum when he awarded the Force a last scrum of their own. However, the Tahs forced a penalty and kicked the ball into touch to end the match. It was the second thrilling match between the sides this season, the Force winning their previous encounter a month ago in Sydney by one point. Tahs captain Benn Robinson conceded his team, which led 10-3 at half-time, nearly blew it. "It was a tough night, we didn't control the momentum," he said. "The second half we had some stupid errors and stupid penalties and let them back into the game." Force skipper David Pocock said his side lacked composure in the final minutes. "A very disappointing performance," he said. "The Waratahs held it together for the last 20 minutes and that was when our composure was lacking."