The Western Force has gone down to the Melbourne Rebels 27-22 after a tight contest at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

The Rebels opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Reece Hodge found the line after a Mike Harris offload, however this was answered quickly by the Force through Luke Morahan who collected his own grubber kick for seven points. With penalty goals coming from each side, the Rebels would go into the break leading 10-8.

The second half saw the two sides trade blows, with Harry Scoble scoring the second try of his rookie season followed by Luke Morahan who finished off his double. However, the Force was able to overcome the Rebels stiff play with the home side holding on until the 80th minute.

Western Force captain Pek Cowan said he was happy with the character his side showed.

“We just had a dull period in the last 15 or 20 minutes, and then we brought ourselves back,” he said.

“Credit to the boys though we know how to fight out a game, and that’s us, that’s our character.

“In terms of the way we wanted to play, we did that tonight and we just have to make sure we play for the full 80.

“We’ve got four Wallabies in our side, so let’s hope they can bring what they learn and spice it up a little bit.”

The Rebels opened the scoring through Reece Hodge, who after collecting a pass from Mike Harris ran across the line uncontested. Hodge added his own extras, putting the Rebels up 7-0 early.

Peter Grant answered back quickly for the Force, splitting the posts from 25-metres out and closing the gap to 7-3.

After the Force worked their way out of the 22 on the back of a rolling maul, Peter Grant found Luke Morahan with a cross field kick, which would see Morahan put a grubber kick passed the final defender and regain possession to score the Force’s first points of the day. Grant was unable to add the extras leaving the Force up 8-7.

Reece Hodge took the lead back for the Rebels in the 26th minute, splitting the uprights with a penalty shot from 26-metres out. The score would remain 10-8 heading into halftime.

After working the ball up the field on the back of multiple phases, Mitch Inman set up a pass for Sefanaia Naivalu who powered across the line for the Rebels’ second of the game. Reece Hodge was unable to add the extras leaving the score at 15-8.

Harry Scoble scored the second try of his rookie season, breaking off the back of a rolling maul and running five metres to jump over the line and put the Force back in the contest. Peter Grant tied at 15-15 after adding the conversion.

Lopeti Timani put the Rebels back in front after the home side worked their way up the field, setting Timani up to collect the ball from the back of the breakdown and roll over the line for five points. The missed conversion left the Rebels up 20-15.

The Rebels continued their dominant second half, when Nic Stirzaker set up Sefanaia Naivalu who ran an extraordinary line and powered through for his double. The conversion put the Rebels up 27-15.

Luke Morohan completed his double in the 72nd minute, collecting a pass and finding a gap in the Rebels defence to push himself over the line and put the Force back within striking distance. Peter Grant calmly added the extras to close the gap to five points, 27-22.

The Rebels closed out the match after the Force was caught offside, with Jack Debreczeni kicking the ball into touch for the final whistle.

Dane Haylett-Petty, Adam Coleman, Luke Morahan and Ben McCalman now head into a Wallabies training camp ahead of the highly anticipated June Test Series with England.