Giteau strike stuns Chiefs
Matt Giteau struck a last minute penalty as Western Force snatched a dramatic 22-21 win over the Chiefs at the Subiaco Oval.
Last Updated: 03/05/08 1:43pm
Matt Giteau struck a last minute penalty as Western Force snatched a dramatic 22-21 win over the Chiefs at the Subiaco Oval.
The defeat for the New Zealanders ended their run of five consecutive victories and keeps Force in with a chance of securing a play-off spot.
Fly-half Stephen Donald helped himself to 13 of the Chiefs 21 points, however it was his opposing number 10 who stole the show with his last-gasp strike.
Force started the game strongly and took the lead after No.8 Matt Hodgson charged down Richard Nutbrown's attempted clearance to score by the posts.
Chiefs fightback
Donald fired over his first points of the match soon after, but the home side were dominating possession and soon extended their lead when Drew Mitchell ran home following a slick passing move.
Giteau's flawless kicking ensured Force held a 14-3 lead at the interval.
The Chiefs rallied in the second half and tries from Leila Masaga and Donald and a Jeff Bruce drop goal completed a fantastic turnaround as the Kiwi outfit surged into a 21-19 lead to cancel out James Stannard's earlier score for the hosts.
However, it was a case of commeth the hour commeth the man, as Gitau stepped up deep into injury-time to power over a match-winning penalty to keep Force's play-off hopes alive.
