March 26 (Reuters) - The ACT Brumbies moved to the top of the Super Rugby AU standings on Friday with a comprehensive 42-14 win over the Western Force at Canberra Stadium.
A four-try first half blitz earned Dan McKellar's side the win and a bonus point to move ahead of the Queensland Reds ahead of the Reds' match-up with the NSW Waratahs on Saturday.
The Brumbies dominated throughout and, after the Force held firm despite the early pressure, it was the sin binning of Tevita Kuridrani that turned the game in the home side's favour.
The former Brumbies centre was shown the yellow card for a deliberate knock on in the 19th minute and it took less than a minute for his old team to capitalise.
Len Ikitau claimed the first of his two tries as he broke through the Force's stubborn defensive line and, by the 26th minute, the Brumbies had doubled their lead when Ikitau scored again.
Those two tries put the Brumbies in command and, despite the return of Kuridrani, McKellar's team went on to further cement their advantage before the halftime break.
Cadeyrn Neville scored his side's third try with a lunge for the corner eight minutes before the break and, with two minutes left in the half, Andy Muirhead's converted try gave the Brumbies a 28-0 lead.
Kuridrani was stopped just short of the line 10 minutes into the second half as the Force sought a way back into the game and the centre played a key role as his side finally found a way onto the scoreboard.
The Australia international powered through the Brumbies defence before offloading to Irae Simone and he touched down over the line for his side's first try.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed just before the hour mark, however, as the Brumbies reestablished their advantage.
Jack Winchester pushed his way through the Force defence to touch down although Ian Prior scored the simplest of tries 15 minutes from time as a consolation for the Force.
Muirhead claimed his second try of the night in the final 10 minutes to cap a comfortable win for the Brumbies.