The Brumbies had far too much firepower for the Western Force at the GIO Stadium in Canberra last night, cruising to an emphatic 42-14 victory in the Super Rugby AU.

While the Force defended manfully at first, their inability to gain any kind of a foothold in the match ultimately cost them dearly, allowing the Brumbies to run in four unanswered first-half tries.

The second half was more evenly matched but it was too little too late for the Force to make a competitive game of it.

The result sends the Brumbies back to the top of the Super Rugby AU table with four wins from five, while the Force suffers their fourth defeat of the season to remain down in fourth place.

The Brumbies quickly set about stringing together the phases and applying some pressure, although the Force defense proved equal to what was being thrown at them.

In other matches, the Hurricanes were outstanding after their 30-19 win over the Highlanders.

Jodie Barrett scored 30 points – the most in Super Rugby Aotearoa’s short history – that included three tries, two sweetly-struck penalties from over 50 metres, and three conversions.