Roar Guru
In a close affair the Blues have taken out a win on Australian soil, leaving the Force still winless at home in this 2016 Super Rugby season.
Final score
Force 13
Blues 17
The Force welcome the Blues to Perth in this compelling Round 13 Super Rugby fixture. Join The Roar for live coverage from 7:30pm (AEST).
Prior to the bye last weekend, the Force finally broke their seven-game losing streak, beating the Sunwolves in Tokyo.
They will want to win here to stay in touch with the Reds in the battle for the Aussie wooden spoon – and to give their long suffering fans something to cheer about!
The Blues are a bit of a mystery. Before last weekend, they had won three on the trot – against the Sharks, Rebels and Kings – and looked to be building, but then were dreadful in losing to the Lions in Johannesburg.
The Force are winless against the New Zealand sides this season, if they lose this game, they will have lost to all five Kiwi teams, but if we take a line through their one-point home loss to the Crusaders back in Round 7, they can definitely win this game.
Meanwhile, the Blues have only won a single away game this year, against the Kings, but before last weekend their losses were tight games against Kiwi opposition, which is creditable.
The Blues have lost the Ioane brothers to the Sevens squad, and will be without Rene Ranger for the rest of the season. Billy Guyton replaces Bryan Hall at halfback. Ben Tapuai returns for the Force, while Pek Cowan is back on the bench.
Prediction
Blues 1-12