Forceful victory for Giteau

Matt Giteau made a telling statement to new Wallaby coach Robbie Deans when he won his duel with rival Berrick Barnes, leading the Western Force to an emphatic 39-15 win over the Reds in a Super 14 pre-season outing at the Members Equity Stadium, Perth, on Thursday.

Matt Giteau made a telling statement to new Wallaby coach Robbie Deans when he won his duel with rival Berrick Barnes, leading the Western Force to an emphatic 39-15 win over the Reds in a Super 14 pre-season outing at the Members Equity Stadium, Perth, on Thursday.

Barnes, who wore the Wallaby No.10 jumper in Stephen Larkham's absence at the World Cup last year, was given a timely reminder of the competition he will face now that Giteau has made a permanent switch to fly-half for the Force.

While Giteau was creative and incisive, Barnes showed plenty of early season rust. It also didn't help that the Reds pivot threw the pass which resulted in an intercept try by Force wing Drew Mitchell.

Barnes' compounded his evening of misery when he failed to effectively collect a chip from Cameron Shepherd, allowing the Force to get momentum going at a time when the Reds were in a commanding position.

In contrast, Giteau had a hand in most of the match's decisive moment – including creating a try for Shepherd, which put the Force in the lead for the first time late in the first half.

The only standout players for the Reds, in what ultimately became a drab game for them, were fullback Chris Latham and captain John Roe – the latter in his first game back after a nine-month injury-enforced absence.

Latham put his team in the lead after just six minutes, barging over from a five-metre scrum. Clinton Schifcofske added the conversion for a 7-0 lead to the Reds.

The Force found some momentum in the face a fierce early Reds onslaught, with James Stannard darting over after sustained rucks on the Reds' line. Giteau converted to level at 7-all.

Barnes put his team back in the lead with a drop-goal in the 32nd minute, but four minutes later the Force were in for their second try – through lumbering lock Dave Pusey. It started with a break-out from inside their own quarter, with Shepherd starting it and Fava and Giteau heavily involved. Giteau missed the conversion from out wide.

Giteau took the home team's lead out to 15-10 just before the break with a penalty of his own.

The game ended as a contest inside the first 10 minutes after the break, with two quick tries – putting the Force into a commanding 29-10 lead.

Shepherd crossed to score his team's third try next to the posts, after the Reds failed to control the kick-off and couldn't recover from the mistake. Giteau added the conversion.

And eight minutes later Mitchell intercepted Bares' pass and sprinted 55 metres for a score under the posts. The conversion made it 29-10.

The Reds pulled one back with a try to Chris Siale in the 53rd minute, but by now the momentum had shifted and the Force shut them out with two more scores.

James Horwill was yellow carded for a late charge on Mitchell, after a chip down the touchline, and wing Nick Cummins made the most of the Force's numerical advantage.

Lachie MacKay completed the rout with a minute to play.

The scorers:

Force the Western Force:
Tries: Stannard, Pusey, Shepherd, Mitchell, Cummins, MacKay
Cons: Giteau 3
Pen: Giteau

For the Reds:
Tries: Latham, Siale
Con: Schifcofske
DG: Barnes

Teams:

Western Force: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Scott Staniforth, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau (vice-captain), 9 Matt Henjak, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fava, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 David Pusey, 3 AJ Whalley, 2 Tai McIsaac, 1 Gareth Hardy.
Replacements (from): Luke Holmes, Troy Takiari, Pek Cowan, Sitaleki Timani, Scott Fardy, Matt Hodgson, Sam Wykes, James Stannard, Scott Daruda, Josh Tatupu, Dane Haylett-Petty, James O'Connor, Keiran Longbottom, Lachlan MacKay.

Reds: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Brando Va'aulu, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Chris Siale, 11 Clinton Schifcofske, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 John Roe (captain), 7 David Croft, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 James Horwill, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements (from): Sean Hardman, Ben Coutts, Dayna Edwards, Ed O'Donoghue, Leroy Houston, Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Andrew Walker.

Referee: James Leckie
Touch judges: Sean Popperwell, Matt O'Brien