The Super Rugby Women's regular season is complete and it went out with a bang!
Read on for the Round 5 results.
Hookers lead the way as Force edge Brumbies in thriller
The Western Force will front up to Fijian Drua in the SuperW finals on a high after overcoming a three-try burst from Tania Naden to post a thrilling 38-36 win over the ACT Brumbies in Canberra.
A bonus-point victory in Saturday's match might have been enough for the Force to nab a home semifinal, but in the end they will have to be content with tackling the Drua -- who were surprisingly beaten 34-21 by the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday -- in Suva on Friday.
The unbeaten NSW Waratahs finished on top of the table, and will take on the fourth-placed Brumbies at Allianz Stadium in Friday's other semifinal.
The Force entered their final game of the regular season knowing a finals berth had already been locked up, but they were desperate to snap a two-game losing streak and keep alive their hopes of a home semifinal.
The match turned out to be a try-fest for the hookers.
Brumbies No.2 Naden crossed in the 23rd, 29th and 62nd minutes for a memorable hat trick.
Not to be outdone, her Force counterpart Hera-Barb Malcolm Heke scored a first-half double, while her replacement, Canada international Sara Cline, also crossed twice.
It meant hookers scored seven of the 11 tries for the match.
The Force raced out to a 17-0 lead, but the Brumbies hit back hard to take the half-time advantage 24-17.
Cline's second-half double helped turn momentum back the Force's way, with the visitors holding on despite a 77th-minute try to Brumbies fullback Ashlea Bishop ensuring a nervous finish.
The Brumbies will hope to shake off the loss to the Force when they front up to the in-form Waratahs.
"The agression in our team is really good," Naden said after her three-try display.
"We've got really good connection and culture. We've got good skills in our team as well, we just didn't show it today, unfortunately.
"It's always a good battle against the Force."
The Force lost to the Drua 19-5 in Fiji a fortnight ago in wet and muddy conditions and will hope for a more positive outcome next week.
Rebels upset Fijian Drua to break Super W drought
If Melbourne's Super W team have played their last match, they've gone out in style with an upset 34-21 win over Fijian Drua in the final round.
The Rebels have only won once previously in the six-year history of the competition, back in 2020, but shocked the two-time champion Fijians in their AAMI Park clash on Saturday.
Drua fullback Atelaite Buna scored her second try in the 70th minute to close the margin to six points and set up a grandstand finish.
But having conceded 88 points in their previous two clashes, Melbourne continued their impressive defensive effort before superstar Ash Marsters bagged her second try to seal an emotional win.
Like their male Super Rugby Pacific counterparts, the women are waiting on a decision from Rugby Australia about the cash-strapped Rebels' future.
Reeling under massive debt, the Melbourne club could fold at the end of the season.
But for now the women could celebrate, with the Drua unable to keep pace with Melbourne's work-rate around the breakdown and enterprise in attack.
Rebels five-eighth Cassie Siataga was a stand-out with a flawless kicking display.
She nailed a conversion from the sideline and also a booming 50:22 early in the second half to piggy-back her team down the field.
The Drua got off to a flying start, scoring in the second minute with a length of the field effort finished off by Buna.
After an early penalty strike by Siataga, Melbourne scored their first try in the 17th minute when they moved the ball wide before a backhand pass from flanker Mel Kawa found winger Chanelle Kohika-Skipper.
That put the home side ahead 10-7 but the Fijians had the final say of the half when prop Vika Matarugu barged over the line just before the break to take the lead 14-10.
After another Siataga penalty, Marsters -- playing in the centres -- took advantage of a quick tap to slice through the defence to touch down and again put her team ahead.
The Rebels pushed the lead out to 27-14 when prop Jiowana Sauto was able to slam the ball over the line after a pick and go.
The match was stopped in the 65th minute when Merewai Cumu was stretchered off after a heavy collision, with the Drua inside centre handed a red card for her troubles.
Buna then collected a loose Rebels pass to score before skipper Marsters' late effort iced the victory.
Marsters said that after finally cracking a win it was a shame the five-round season was already over.
"It was a long time coming, for everyone in the team, everyone in Melbourne," she said after suffering two-point losses against the Queensland Reds and the ACT Brumbies this season.
"We've been waiting for that one for a long time and to do it against a class team like that, we deserve a pat on our backs."
The Drua will host the Western Force in the semifinals next Friday, with the unbeaten NSW Waratahs welcoming the Brumbies to Sydney the same day.
Tahs beat Reds to end Super Rugby Women's season unbeaten
The Waratahs will enter the Super Rugby Women finals as overwhelming favourites for a fifth title after a 34-19 defeat of the Queensland Reds confirmed an unbeaten regular season.
The NSW side had already secured first place on the ladder prior to Friday's clash with their interstate rivals and will now host either the ACT Brumbies or Western Force in a home semi-final next Friday.
The loss at Allianz Stadium officially ends a disappointing campaign for last season's runners-up, who managed just one win from five starts in 2024.
If the Melbourne Rebels upset the Fijian Drua on Saturday, the perennial Super W heavyweights will finish the season in last place.
Mid-game leg injuries to prop Charli Jacoby and winger Dianne Waight did not help Queensland's cause, with the Waratahs scoring shortly after each setback to rub salt into the wounds.
Jacoby managed to return in the second half, charging over for the Reds' second try, but the visitors lost flyhalf Carys Dallinger to yet another leg issue not long afterwards.
The Waratahs should have been further ahead than 17-7 at the main break but were clumsy shifting the ball.
They opened the scoring in the first five minutes, overwhelming the Reds with their ruck speed to help Atasi Lafai burrow over.
Only three minutes later after Waight had gone down, Waratahs fullback Caitlyn Halse ripped the ball from replacement winger Alana Elisaia and streaked 60 metres down the left side to extend the advantage.
The Waratahs lost Kaitlan Leaney to a yellow card just before the break, the second-rower ordered off for lifting Lucy Thorpe in a dangerous tackle.
It proved the spark the Reds needed to get into the game, with Tiarna Molloy barging over to get the visitors on the board barely a minute later.
Captain Cecilia Smith followed Jacoby onto the scoreboard and helped the Reds keep the heat on their highly-fancied hosts in the final 10 minutes
But it was too little too late as inside centre Cheech Barker skipped through a hole on the left side to confirm the Waratahs' win.