Landmark moment for Mortlock
Brumbies centre Stirling Mortlock led the way as his side overcame Western Force 24-15 in Perth on Friday.
Last Updated: 12/02/10 4:20pm
Brumbies centre Stirling Mortlock led the way as his side overcame Western Force 24-15 in Perth on Friday.
Mortlock became the first player in the history of Super Rugby to pass 1,000 points as he kicked three conversions and a penalty in the victory.
The 32-year-old went in to the game on the 996 points from 118 Super Rugby appearances, but his conversions of tries from Josh Valentine and Stephen Moore saw him pass the milestone.
Mortlock played a key role in the first try as he set away Ben Alexander for a long run, before former Force No.9 Valentine applied the finish touch.
James O'Connor kick the first of his five penalties to before hooker Moore powered over after Adam Ashley-Cooper's break and Mortlock converted for a 14-3.
Force, who lost fly-half Mark Bartholomeusz and winger Cameron Shepherd in the build up to the match, kept plugging away and three more penalties from O'Connor saw them cut the deficit down to 14-12 at the break.
Tough
Mortlock and O'Connor swapped penalties in the second period before crucially the Force full-back missed a kick that would have given his side the lead with 10 minutes to go.
And the Brumbies took advantage as replacement hooker Huia Edmonds broke free from a pass by Mortlock to score.
Although the performance was not the best, captain Stephen Hoiles was happy enough to open the season with a win.
"I thought we started well, but dropped a lot of ball," Hoiles said. "It was always going to be tough coming over here in week one."
Force skipper Nathan Sharpe was left disappointed with the result.
"The ball was a bit greasy out there, but it was the same for both teams," Sharpe said.
"With 10 minutes to go, we were still in it. Next week we might play the same way and get more out of it."
