World Series Rugby dwarfs Super Rugby turnout once again

The Western Force have chalked up another big victory and drawn another big crowd in their second World Series Rugby match, recording a 47-17 victory over a Tongan representative side at nib Stadium as billionaire Western Force owner Andrew Forrest continues to deliver on his promise of making rugby more exciting.

This was a spectacle that had it all. Fireworks, magic, a marriage proposal. And a thrilling game of rugby.

The Force started quickly after winger Rod Davies, first-five Andrew Deegan and American centre Marcel Brache all dotted down in the first 20 minutes to give the home side a 21-3 lead.

The Tongan side chased them down, trimming the lead to just four points heading into the break after scoring two tries of their own.

It didn’t take long for the home side to find their feet in the second half, as they extended their lead out to 30 points and scored four more tries to secure their second victory, stopping the Tongan side from crossing the try line in the second spell.

After drawing a crowd of 19,466 for last week’s inaugural match, the follow up drew an impressive 16,323 fans.

Despite the slight decline in crowd numbers, the World Series Rugby fixture was the most attended rugby match in Australia for the second week running. The Perth crowd more than tripled the turnout for Saturday’s Super Rugby fixture between the Melbourne Rebels and the Canberra-based Brumbies at GIO Stadium.

World Series Rugby resumes play on June 9 when the Force take on the Melbourne Rebels, who are now led by former Force head coach Dave Wessels and have a number of former Force players on the roster including captain Adam Coleman and Wallaby Dane Haylett-Petty.

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