Western Force head coach Simon Cron has hailed a more “complete” performance in Friday’s 35-19 win over Moana Pasifika but wants more after conceding two late tries to spurn a bonus point.
The Force recorded the side’s first win of the 2026 Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific season with a five-tries-to-three display in Pukekohe, following losses to the Blues and ACT Brumbies.
The WA side had let slip leads against the Blues and Brumbies but went on with it in Round 3 against Moana after leading 21-7 at half-time.
“I thought against the Blues the boys were much better than they were against the Brumbies and this week they were much more complete in that block when they came out after half-time,” Cron told reporters.
“I thought even against the Blues the boys showed some really good rugby.
“That first half for example we were up against them. It was that 15 minutes after half-time we let them back in. It’s building and every week it’s about getting better."
Cron added: “It was a tough match. Coming here and playing was always going to be hard. They’re a great side. They’re well coached. They’ve got some great players in that team.
“There were some ups and downs during that game. We were able to come away with some points. As the game progressed, there’s some great things we can take from it and a few things at the end that we can be better at.”
The Force were set to claim a bonus-point win, entering the final 10 minutes with a 35-7 lead but allowed two late Moana tries much to Cron’s frustration.
“That’s not good enough by us,” he said. “We have to look at what we’re doing in that last 10 minutes.
“Just doing your role, making those tackles, not letting them get such a roll on. It’s an area we’ll definitely review and work on.”
Captain Jeremy Williams was impressed by the kicking performance of Ben Donaldson and Nathan Hastie, who kept the game played in the right areas for the Force.
“I thought our playmakers, Donno and Hastie, really did well playing at the right ends of the field,” Williams said.
“Their kicking options allowed us to relieve pressure and play on the back of that.”
Cron praised former All Blacks star George Bridge’s impact, marking his return to New Zealand with a try and a fine display, with eight hard carries, five defenders beaten, one offload and one clean break.
“Bridgey is an amazing leader for us and a great man,” Cron said. “He’s a professional. He’s really driven to be the best he can be.
“Tonight’s game, he’ll be the first one to review the whole game and come to us and talk about the fixes and solutions. Not only about his game, but the whole team. We love having him.”
The win commences the Force’s three-game New Zealand tour in style, with the side still to play the Highlanders on Saturday in Dunedin, followed by the Hurricanes in Napier on Friday 13 March.
Looking ahead to the Highlanders game, Cron said: “There’s always a set-piece focus. There’s always a territory focus around how we’re going to play and how we’re going to kick.
“There’s some execution stuff we will look at, a couple of breakdown ones and some tackle technique near the end.
“We’ll build on those and there’s a great group of men who’ll work hard on it.”
Kick-off against the Highlanders next Saturday at 11:35am WST, live on Stan Sport.
