Dylan Pietsch stars as Western Force dent Waratahs’ playoff hopes

Zac Lomax has gained some sweet revenge on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to help the Western Force to a crucial 20-17 Super Rugby Pacific win over the NSW Waratahs in Sydney.

Former Waratahs pair Dylan Pietsch and Ben Donaldson ultimately upstaged the two code-hopping headline acts to lead the Force to the season-saving victory at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.

But, like the excellent Pietsch and Donaldson, Lomax must have given the Wallabies coaching staff food for thought with not only his impressive aerial skills but also his energy on and off the ball.

For all the hyped build-up about the brewing “match-up” between the one-time NSW State of Origin teammates, Suaalii and Lomax seldom clashed.

Suaalii still showcased his signature subtle touches, while Lomax caused the Waratahs all sorts of headaches.

But Pietsch and Donaldson were the true stars for the Force, who pulled within two competition points of the eighth-placed Waratahs to keep their top-six finals hopes flickering.

As if slighted by all the focus and attention on fellow winger Lomax, Pietsch played like a man on a mission in an eye-catching two-try display.

And amid much conjecture over the Wallabies’ No.10 role, Donaldson once again stood up to showcase his credentials to outgoing national coach Joe Schmidt and the incoming Les Kiss.

As well as running the show, Donaldson set up two of the Force’s tries, nailed the conversions and penalties and generally served up a commentary’s “masterclass”.

“it’s always good to beat your old teams, beat a few mates and put in a performance in front of friends and family,” Donaldson told Stan Sport.

The Force’s victory came virtually two years to the day that Suaalii’s Sydney Roosters crushed Lomax’s St George Illawarra side 60-18 in a 2024 round-eight NRL mismatch.

That Anzac Day, Suaalii ran in the Roosters’ 10th and final try of the drubbing.

But Lomax had the last laugh in the latest meeting between the two friends, foes and potential 2027 Wallabies World Cup teammates.

Fired-up flyhalf Lawson Creighton dummied, stepped inside and spun over to give the home team a deserved 7-3 lead after Donaldson had opened the scoring with a third-minute penalty goal.

A Sid Harvey penalty extended NSW’s’ lead before Pietsch willed his way over on the 22nd phase of a relentless Force raid on the stroke of halftime to make it 10-10 at the break.

Pietsch put the Force back in front when he cashed in on a Donaldson break to bag his second try 11 minutes into a frenetic second half.

Another Donaldson penalty goal looked to have sealed the deal before NSW replacement hooker Folau Faianga made life interesting with a late try.

But the Force hung on to stay in the finals hunt – just.

“It was a bit of a tough watch,” said Force coach Simon Cron.

“Even talking to the boys post-game, we’re getting down inside the 22 and just making too many errors, probably trying to overplay a little bit.

“We had lots of opportunities to score points and – score tries – however, sometimes you’ve got to win ugly.”