The Super Rugby Women's season reaches its penultimate weekend on Saturday with two semi-finals that could hardly be more different in flavour — one a first for a fast-rising club, the other a road trip few outsiders give the visitors a chance of surviving.
At HBF Park in Perth, the Western Force will host a Super Rugby Women's semi-final for the first time in the club's history, taking on the NSW Waratahs at 2pm WST in a double-header alongside the Wallabies' Test against Italy. The Force earned the home fixture on the back of a three-game winning streak that included a maiden victory over the Waratahs three weeks ago.
Coach Dylan Parsons said sealing a home final and doing it against a side they had already beaten left his group well placed. "It's a good feeling to be able to earn the home semi and do it against a team that we've already done it against," he said. "It puts us in a good spot to go after them."
Parsons pointed to a gritty win over the Brumbies as the sort of hardening the campaign has demanded. "We've made it a bit hard for ourselves but playing under pressure is what finals rugby is about," he said. "The belief was there, it showed where we're at and can win dirty."
The Force named two starting debutants for the occasion, prop Zoe Elliott and inside centre Atawhai Hotene, with Allana Sikimeti returning at loosehead and Aiysha Wigley back on the wing after clearing head injury protocols.
Around 5,000 kilometres away at Churchill Park in Lautoka, the Queensland Reds arrive as heavy underdogs against the Fijian Drua — and appear entirely at ease with it. The Reds sneaked into the top four by upsetting defending champions the Waratahs in the final round, and coach Andrew Fraser has embraced the doubt around his side.
"I love how people phrase it as totally against the odds, because that's what this team's about," Fraser said. "I think those wins against New South Wales and Fiji have shown that this group has grown in two years."
The Drua, semi-finalists on home soil, are wary of a side that has just toppled the competition's benchmark. Captain Bitila Tawake said composure would decide the knockout, stressing that staying calm, controlling what the team can and leading by example would be key as the hosts chase a maiden grand final.
Both winners advance to the decider on 25 July.
