Quade Cooper made a solid return to the field but the Queensland Reds suffered the first loss of their Super 14 pre-season campaign with a 31-12 defeat to a rampant Western Force in Perth on Friday night.

The Force forward pack was dominant and the backline clinical as the home side ran in three tries to two in front of 6,086 fans at their new home base of ME Bank Stadium.

Cooper made a few errors but also set up the Reds’ first try with a break and perfectly-weighted grubber kick in his first match since being charged with burglary last year.

The Force entered the game with many pundits predicting a season of doom and gloom after it was revealed star recruit Andre Pretorius would miss the entire campaign with a torn hamstring.

But they produced a barnstorming start, dominating possession and territory to race out to a 17-0 lead inside 13 minutes, with Pretorius’s flyhalf replacement Mark Bartholomeusz impressive.

Force fullback James O’Connor, who nailed three penalties and two conversions for the night, kicked off proceedings in the the fourth minute with a penalty before Matt Hodgson made the most of a wayward Reds line-out by driving over the line just two minutes later.

O’Connor played a major part in the Force’s second try of the match, with his deft chip helping Sam Harris cross in the 13th minute.

The scoreline read 20-0 when Shepherd nailed a penalty in the 21st minute but the Reds didn’t give up the fight, with winger Rod Davies making the most of a Cooper break and grubber kick to dive over in the 29th minute.

But the Force went into the break with a commanding 25-5 lead when a series of quick passes made its way to a surging No.8 Richard Brown six minutes before the break.

The Reds started the second half full of run and a scintillating 40m run by fullback Peter Hynes gave the visitors great field position early.

A Force knock-on on their defensive line-out then gifted Reds scrumhalf a try in the 42nd minute.

Cooper nailed the sideline conversion to make it 25-12 in the 42nd minute but two penalties from O’Connor put the result beyond doubt.

“I think we learned today that if we kick the ball away and give away silly penalties it’s hard work,” Reds coach Ewen McKenzie said.

“There’s a couple of lessons there but nothing mind shattering, it’s pretty much the basics of the game that we didn’t get right.

“It gives us something to work on this week.”

Force coach John Mitchell praised his forward pack.

“Really pleasing the way the forwards went about their work in the first 30 minutes,” Mitchell said.

“Even when we didn’t have momentum they were very constructive and created momentum for us as a team.”

© AAP 2012
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