The Western Force and NSW Waratahs met at HBF Park on the final night of their Super Rugby Pacific regular seasons, with Ben Donaldson back for Perth after recovering from a quad injury and both teams still chasing something bigger than the scoreboard.
The search around Force vs Waratahs mattered because this was not a finals eliminator so much as a selection audition. Neither side could make the playoffs, but Wallabies positions were still up for grabs, and players who could shape their late-season case were back in frame for both squads.
For the Force, Donaldson's return gave them a familiar playmaker for a fixture they had already handled once this year, when they beat the Waratahs in Sydney. For the Waratahs, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Pete Samu and Jake Gordon were all back after their disappointing home loss to the ACT Brumbies, a result that underlined how quickly the mood had shifted by the end of the campaign.
Stan Sport was due to begin coverage at 7:00 pm ET, with kickoff expected at 7:35 pm ET, and the lineups reflected how seriously both teams were treating a dead rubber on paper. The Force named Harry Johnson-Holmes, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Misinale Epenisa, Jeremy Williams, Darcy Swain, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Carlo Tizzano, Vailoni Ekuasi, Nathan Hastie, Donaldson, Dylan Pietsch, Hamish Stewart, George Bridge, Zac Lomax and Mac Grealy. The Waratahs responded with Jack Barrett, Ioane Moananu, Dan Botha, Matt Philip, Miles Amatosero, Angus Scott-Young, Jamie Adamson, Samu, Gordon, Jack Bowen, Andrew Kellaway, Joey Walton, Suaalii, Harry Potter and Max Jorgensen.
That is what gave the evening its edge. The regular-season finale offered no finals path for either team, but it still carried the kind of pressure that has a way of exposing who can handle the next step. The Force were trying to back up a win over the Waratahs from earlier in the year, while the visitors arrived with the sting of a home defeat to the Brumbies and the knowledge that every clean touch, tackle and decision could still matter to Australia’s selectors.
By the final round of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, both teams were playing for relevance in a different table. The unresolved question was not who would advance, but which returning names would leave HBF Park having done enough to stay in the Wallabies conversation.
