ACT Brumbies keep Western Force winless and secure Super Rugby AU final

The ACT Brumbies secured a home Super Rugby AU final with a 31-14 win over the Force at Canberra Stadium on Friday.

Although it kept the Force winless after nine rounds, their first-half hit out showed a promising future ahead as they pushed the title contenders in attack.

A recent New Zealand Rugby review suggested a future Trans-Tasman tournament could include as few as two Australian teams due to lack of form.

But Rugby Australia found an ally this week in All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who said he's seen drastic improvement in the nation's teams.

The Western Australians had nearly 72 percent of possession and 82 percent of the territory in the opening 20 minutes. It saw Fergus Lee-Warner score the opening try after 13 successive phases.

The Force will search for their first and only win of the Super Rugby AU season when they meet the Melbourne Rebels next week.

Now the home grand final is secured, the Brumbies could push the ACT government to increase crowd capacity at Canberra Stadium.

The September 19 decider will be the first Super Rugby grand final hosted in Canberra since the Brumbies beat the Crusaders 47-28 in 2004.

They could play either the Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels, or NSW Waratahs, with the latter having their last chance to claim a semi-final spot on Saturday.

The Brumbies could push for Canberra Stadium's capacity to lift to 6000 patrons for the grand final, as it was initially meant to in the lead up to the Canberra Raiders NRL clash with the Melbourne Storm six weeks ago

Crowds are currently capped at 3000 patrons at the venue, with ACT chief health officer Kerryn Coleman reassessing its capacity on a week-by-week basis.

She's been in the middle for Shute Shield, the National Rugby Championship and Women's World Cup matches. But now referee Amy Perrett can add Super Rugby to her resume.

The round-nine clash saw Amy Perrett make history, becoming the first female referee to take charge of a Super Rugby match.

It comes four years after Perrett made her Super Rugby debut as a sideline official, making a name for herself then as the first female to do so.

"There's a bit of relief that we got through it, but now I'm just looking forward to whatever opportunities come after," Perrett said.

"I never had this dream because I didn't think it was possible. It sounds cliche but you can't be what you can't see, so I never thought I'd get here.

"The main thing I want to take away from this game is that young girls and boys can see me and go, 'that's pretty cool, I can do that.'"

After the Brumbies win, Perrett will race back up the Hume Highway to be an assistant referee for the NSW Waratah's must-win clash with the Melbourne Rebels in Sydney.

Alalaatoa, denied. Muirhead, denied. But Wright can do no wrong.

It took the Brumbies three try-scoring attempts to mark the scoreboard, with the first two denied by the television match official in a matter of minutes.

An Andy Muirhead sprint sparked the avalanche of attempts, with the 27-year-old winger picking gaps in the Forces' left-side defence.

He pulled up a metre out from the try-line, for prop Allan Alalaatoa to pick and dive over to score in the 28^th minute.

But the TMO deemed the grounding a "clear and obvious knock-on", denying the Brumbies their first chance of an equaliser.

The Brumbies hit back minutes later when Tom Banks offloaded to Muirhead after breaking through the Force's defence. But the TMO took the try away once more, due to a Joe Powell obstruction.

So Wallaby-in-waiting Wright took matters into his own hands and finished a brilliant breakthrough play, scoring an equaliser with eight minutes left before the break.

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby AU round nine: ACT BRUMBIES 31 (Tom Wright, Tom Banks, Will Miller, Len Ikitau, Andy Muirhead tries; Bayley Kuenzle 3 conversions) bt WESTERN FORCE 14 (Fergus Lee-Warner, Jono Lance tries; Ian Prior 2 conversions) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Amy Perrett.