Western Force vs Crusaders Prediction: Hosts looking to make history

Western Force will look to pull off the upset when they host Crusaders at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday in Super Rugby (12:55 KO, Sky Sports Action). The Australian outfit will hope for consecutive wins against Crusaders in Australia for the first time in the history of the competition, having beaten them 37-15 at HBF Park in 2024.

Crusaders come into the game on the back of a narrow 31-26 defeat to the Reds, while Western Force were beaten 24-22 by Fijian Drua on their travels. The New Zealand outfit have picked up 20 points in eight games, and they are four places and 10 points better off than their hosts.

Team News

Force will welcome back Wallabies trio Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain and Carlo Tizzano to the XV after recent injury lay-offs.

Lomax gets the chance to impress from the start on the right wing after an exciting 20-minute cameo from the bench in Fiji.

Scrum-half Nathan Hastie returns to the bench after missing the last two games with a rib problem.

However, Jack Daly, Feao Fotuaika, Taj Annan, Ronan Leahy, Doug Phillipson, Alex Harford and Darby Lancaster are sidelined through injury.

Crusaders will travel to Perth without several first-team players, with David Havili, Codie Taylor, Ethan Blackadder, Scott Barrett and Will Jordan all absent.

That means Christian Lio-Willie will captain the team in Round 10.

Kyle Preston, Braydon Ennor, Liam Jack, Aki Tuivailala, Cullen Grace, James White and Tamaiti Williams are also sidelined.

Western Force vs Crusaders Odds

Western Force are 6/4 to win at home, with the draw 18/1, while Crusaders have been made 8/13 favourites for this encounter.

The Crusaders are 10/11 to cover the -4 handicap, while Force winger Zac Lomax is 13/10 to score a try at anytime on his first start for the club.

Western Force to win @ 6/4

The Australian outfit have only won two of their eight games this season, but they have been involved in some close battles.

Western Force have scored 223 points, the most of any team in the bottom five in the Super Rugby table. Home advantage will be crucial for them and they will want to make a statement after their poor display in Fiji last time out.

With key players back from injury and the Crusaders missing some of their big names, this looks like the perfect opportunity for the Force to return to winning ways.

The Crusaders have won only two of their last seven Super Rugby games in Australia and they have conceded at least 31 points in every one of those seven games.

Western Force are not one of the best teams in the competition, but things have fallen into place ahead of kick-off and they look good value for a home success.

Chay Fihaki to score a try @ 11/10

Crusaders ace Chay Fihaki looks like one of the best options in the anytime tryscorer market.

He has scored two tries in his last three Super Rugby games and also picked up two assists during that time.

The 25-year-old comes into the game in strong form and should continue that against Western Force's inconsistent defence.

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